Journal of Academia UiTM Negeri Sembilan Vol.

7, Issue 1 (2019), 31-36

ANXIETY IN ORAL PRESENTATIONS AMONG ESL STUDENTS

Nurul Amilin Razawi, Luqmanul Hakim Zulkornain, Razifa Mohd Razlan

Academy of Language Studies

University of Technology MARA, Terengganu Branch, Dungun Campus, 23000 Dungun, Terengganu, Malaysia
*Corresponding author:nurulamilin@tganu.uitm.edu.my

Abstract
This study examines the possible causes of anxiety in oral presentations among students who are
currently taking English subjects in UiTM Dungun Campus. Communication apprehension especially
in doing oral presentations is inevitable among ESL (English as A Second Language) students. This
natural phenomenon occurs due to several factors by taking diverse students’ backgrounds into account.
However, there are also other factors that may contribute to the students’ anxiety. The respondents were
invited to answer a set of questionnaires using Google Forms ™. The questionnaire was adapted and
modified from Al-Nouh (2015). A few alterations were made to the questionnaire so as to fit the
respondents’ perceptions. From the survey, several factors of anxiety in oral presentations were
perceived; language ability, personality traits, preparation and audience interest. Overall, the findings
showed that all these four factors did affect the students’ oral presentations. Several implications of the
findings were discussed which include setting a friendly and stimulating class environment to cater to
the different students’ learning needs, sharing the scoring rubrics for students’ preparation beforehand,
encouraging positive attitude among the audience members and emphasizing fluency more than
accuracy while using English. It is hoped that the ideas and suggestions discussed will provide the
lecturers with basic guidelines of how to improve the students’ command of English language through
oral presentation assessments and help the students to work their way out of anxiety.
Keywords: Anxiety, Oral presentations, Communication apprehension

Article history:- Received: 31 October 2018; Accepted: 19 June 2019; Published: 24 June 2019
© by Universiti Teknologi MARA, Cawangan Negeri Sembilan, 2019. e-ISSN: 2289-6368

Introduction
Oral presentation assessments are found in almost all syllabuses, particularly in ESL/EFL subjects in
higher academic institutions. There are countless benefits of oral presentations especially when
preparing students for the real work situations. This type of assessment is essential in which students
are required to communicate their ideas effectively to the audience. Other than presentation skills, soft
skills can also be trained through this assessment. Students may involve in a better interaction and
participation in class. They may also observe their peers’ performance in oral presentations so as to
improve their own presentation skills. All that has been mentioned may be only part of the positive
aspects of oral presentations. There are definitely more advantages, if the students are able to see it from
a positive angle.

However, in a classroom setting, students may come from diverse backgrounds. Not every student in
the class would think about doing oral presentations from the positive angle. Some students may have
fears of public speaking, where stage fright becomes their utmost nightmare. The other students may
have negative beliefs of doing oral presentations. As a consequence, they may not be getting the positive
outcomes of the oral presentations. Students often feel stressed and apprehensive when it comes to
doing oral presentations in class, be it individually or in groups. King (2002) found that very often,
students are anxious with the presentation and communication skills that are necessary for a good
presentation. In a study conducted by Kho and Leong (2015), it was found that other than not being
prepared, linguistic and psychological are the two most common factors of anxiousness while delivering
oral presentations among students. Moreover, in an ESL/EFL classroom setting, it would be more
difficult for the students of non-native speakers to speak with great confidence during oral presentations
(Al Harun, Amirul Islam & Rahman, 2016). This is especially true to students who have not been
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exposed to English in their everyday conversations. The challenge is even more real to them when
English language is part of the assessment.

The factors mentioned above are closely related to the communication apprehension (CA) theory. This
theory was founded by McCroskey (1977). Communication apprehension is defined as “an individual’s
level of fear or anxiety associated with either real or anticipated communication with the audience”
(McCroskey, 1977). Therefore, this study examines the multiple factors that cause the students’
communication apprehension or anxiety specifically in oral presentation assessments.

This study is the first attempt at examining the perceptions of difficulties that are faced when dealing
with oral presentations among students who are taking English subjects in UiTM Dungun Campus. As
the lecturers prepare them for the real-life work situations that always require good oral presentation
skills, therefore it is important that the lecturers know from the students’ perspectives on the causes that
may contribute to anxiety when they are engaged with oral presentations in classrooms.

Methods
Students of diploma and bachelor’s degree who are taking English subject participated in this study
where priority was given to those taking ELC270 (English for Workplace Communication) and ELC590
(English for Oral Presentation Skills) as these subjects require oral presentation assignments to be part
of their assessment component. They were invited to answer a set of questionnaires using Google Forms
™. The questionnaire was adapted and adopted from (Al-Nouh, Abdul-Kareem & Taqi , 2015). A few
alterations were made to the questionnaire so as to fit the respondents’ perceptions. The questionnaire
can be reached at https://goo.gl/forms/9jv3VCkoroEg9fFc2. The respondents were required to respond
to the statements of factors that affect students’ oral presentations on the Likert scale of 1(strongly
disagree) to 4 (strongly agree). The statements of factors that affect students’ oral presentations in the
questionnaire were categorized into personality traits, preparation, audience interest and language
ability.

Result and Discussion

In the demographic section, it was found that majority of the respondents were female students, and
most of them were from bachelor’s degree programs. (State number of respondents involved in the
survey).

Figure 1: Respondents according to gender

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Figure 2: Respondents’ academic background

As mentioned earlier, the statements of factors that affect students’ oral presentations are divided into
four categories; 1) Personality traits, 2) Preparation, 3) Audience interest and 4) Language ability.
Majority of the respondents agreed and strongly agreed with all five statements. The responses showed
that the respondents are students with low self-esteem and low self-confidence where they do not like
speaking in public, afraid to speak alone and would prefer to be accompanied by a partner or group
members, anxious and easily embarrassed. Some of the traits showed that the respondents are introverts
(Cherry, 2018) and are the high scorers for neuroticism according to the Five-Factor Model of
Personality (Goldberg, 1990; McCrae & John, 1992; McCrae & Costa, 1987, as cited in Diener &
Lucas, 2018). The responses for personality were recorded as in the table below;

Table 1: Respondents’ responses for personality traits

Factors That Affect Students' Oral Presentations Strongly Disagree Agree Strongly
Disagree Agree
I don’t like the idea of doing oral presentations. 24.56% 30.70% 36.84% 7.89%
I prefer to do an oral presentation in pairs or in 5.26% 21.05% 31.58% 42.11%
groups.
I feel very anxious before an oral presentation. 0.00% 13.16% 45.61% 41.23%
I find an oral presentation difficult because I have 9.65% 23.68% 42.11% 24.56%
low self-confidence.
I feel embarrassed when I do an oral presentation in 12.28% 27.19% 40.35% 20.18%
English.

Proper preparation is crucial before an oral presentation. From the responses, it was discovered that
majority of the students preferred to bring notes during a presentation, still worried even if they have
prepared well, easily forget everything when they begin presenting and organizing ideas logically while
presenting is a challenge for them. This explains that they still need encouragement and help (Rosenthal,
2013) from the surrounding environment and support systems that could be their lecturers and
classmates. The responses for preparation were recorded as in the table below;

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Table 2: Respondents’ responses for preparation

Factors That Affect Students' Oral Presentations Strongly Disagree Agree Strongly
Disagree Agree
I bring notes with me during my oral presentation 14.91% 14.04% 35.09% 35.96%
even if I am well-prepared.
I feel worried even if I have prepared well 7.02% 13.16% 46.49% 33.33%
beforehand.
When I start my oral presentation, I forget everything 14.91% 21.05% 36.84% 27.19%
I wanted to say.
I need to read from my notes during oral 16.67% 33.33% 34.21% 15.79%
presentations.
I find it difficult to organize my ideas logically 9.65% 23.68% 48.25% 18.42%
during oral presentation.

Audience plays a great role in a success of one’s oral presentation. Majority of the respondents agreed
that they tend to be afraid when the audience is watching them. The audience’s reactions such as giving
a bored look or not paying attention also affected their performance. There was also the tendency to be
humiliated when the audience laughs at them while delivering oral presentations. The role of audience
is not simply to hear, but to engage and listen attentively to what is being presented. It may be helpful
and harmful at the same time (Brown & Brown, 2017). The responses for audience interest were
recorded as in the table below;

Table 3: Respondents’ responses for audience interest

Factors That Affect Students' Oral Presentations Strongly Disagree Agree Strongly
Disagree Agree
I feel frightened when a lot of people are watching 11.40% 17.54% 43.86% 27.19%
me.
The audience’s reactions affect my performance in 5.26% 17.54% 42.11% 35.09%
the oral presentation.
I worry that the audience will laugh at me when I 19.30% 19.30% 33.33% 28.07%
speak English.

When undergoing English subjects, specifically among ESL students, English language component is
taken into great consideration as it is a big part of the scoring rubrics for the oral presentation
assessments. As non-native speakers, majority of the respondents worried of low English speaking
ability. They tend to think about grammar more than fluency in English. Most of them would think in
Bahasa Malaysia before they translated into English. Lack of vocabulary has made them a challenge to
find suitable words in order to express meaning. Pronunciation was also a big problem as they were not
exposed to speaking English daily. These are all normal problems among ESL students where they tend
to strive for perfection in speaking the language when in reality they have minimal exposure to the use
of English language in their daily lives. Oral presentations should have positive impacts to the language
learners, but the lack of exposure to the language may diminish the impacts (Brooks & Wilson, 2014).
The responses for language ability were recorded as in the table below;

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Table 4: Respondents’ responses for language ability

Factors That Affect Students' Oral Presentations Strongly Disagree Agree Strongly
Disagree Agree
I’m worried because of my low English speaking 6.14% 19.30% 36.84% 37.72%
ability.
I care about grammar more than fluency in oral 10.53% 35.96% 36.84% 16.67%
presentation.
During an oral presentation, I think in Bahasa 6.14% 32.46% 43.86% 17.54%
Malaysia then translate it into English.
I find it hard to find the suitable word to express my 3.51% 21.05% 50.00% 25.44%
meaning.
I have a problem with oral fluency and pronunciation 7.02% 27.19% 47.37% 18.42%
during oral presentation.
I prefer to memorize the script of the speech / oral 22.81% 31.58% 29.82% 15.79%
presentation rather than understand it.

Conclusion
Overall, the findings showed that all these four factors did affect the students’ oral presentations i.e.
personality traits, preparation, audience interest and language ability. There are several implications of
these findings. First, since students come from diverse backgrounds, that means they possess different
learning styles and personality traits. It is vital for the lecturers to be able to cater to their different
learning needs. Not every student in the class would think about doing oral presentations from a positive
aspect. Students with low self-esteem and self-confidence should be treated with different and suitable
teaching methods. When it comes to handling anxiety with this group of students, creating a conducive
environment in class should be given an emphasis. They might have prepared their scripts and contents
thoroughly. It is the lecturer’s job to set a classroom environment which is not threatening to them while
they are delivering presentations. Lecturers should be able to set a friendly and motivating environment.
When sitting at the back and assessing the students’ performance, lecturers should always put a smile
on the face and nod their head as to give sign that they understood what the students are trying to convey.
When they feel comfortable and motivated on the stage, the confidence will take place itself. Second,
before the students begin their oral presentations, they should be exposed with the scoring rubrics so
that they know how to go about it and minimize the flaws. The scoring rubrics should not be treated
confidential and should be shared with the students beforehand. Allowing the students to bring lengthy
notes with them while presenting would not be a good practice, but lecturers can always allow them to
bring short notes as guidance and not to be read all along the presentation. This will help them to be
more prepared in terms of having a good flow and coherence of the presentations. Having a good slide
show may also aid them while presenting and a good way to help them prepare for the presentations.
However, they should always be reminded that the slides should be concise, or else the slides may
hinder the run of the presentations. Third, audience members can be both helpful and harmful to one’s
presentation. Other than teaching the students the presentation skills, lecturers should also teach them
how to be good audience members. Audience plays a great part in helping the presenters to feel
motivated to speak and keep speaking. Among things that could be practiced include to be actively
engaged by answering questions when they are asked, clap their hands at the beginning and at the end
of the presentations, smile, and always show interest to what the presenter is talking about. When
audience members manage to show positive attitude, it will certainly help reduce the speaker’s anxiety
while on the stage because they would feel motivated and appreciated. Fourth, to possess a good
command of English language is inevitably necessary in shaping the students’ oral presentation skills.
When communicating, lecturers should emphasis that fluency is more important than accuracy. It is true
that being grammatically correct while speaking is good, but when it is being emphasized greater than
fluency, it may impede the success of an oral presentation. The students should be reminded that as long
as they are able to convey the message to the audience correctly, then their presentation is a success
already. As for accuracy, it takes years for people to be good at. In teaching them oral presentation skills,
language phrases are things that are far more important to be mastered. Therefore, get the students
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familiar with the language phrases as a preparation beforehand. The enrichment of vocabulary too is
deemed important. This will help them to find suitable words to express meaning and avoid being lost
in the midst of delivering the presentation. Common to non-native speakers, students tend to do direct
translation of Bahasa Malaysia to English. This is the part where lecturers should help them to be
exposed to the authentic English conversation engagement. Various videos of good speakers with good
command of English language could be shown to the students. When they are able to prioritize fluency
rather than accuracy, the confidence level will be raised and hence the reduced level of anxiety while
delivering oral presentations. With the ideas and suggestions given, it is hoped that they will provide
the lecturers with basic guidelines of how to improve the students’ command of English language
through oral presentation assessments. It may take years for the students to reduce their anxiety, but
with correct supervision, they may go far.

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Brooks, G., & Wilson, J. (2014). Using oral presentations to improve students’ English language skills. Kwansei
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Brown, C. J., & Brown. V. L. (2017). Role of the audience.

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