Investigation into Non-Academic Staff Communication Apprehension in Using English Language

The ability to communicate confidently in the English language is highly demanded of administrative officers in an organisation dealing with international clientele. However, the ability could be impeded due to high apprehension level. The study was conducted to investigate the communication apprehension among the administrative officers in a public university in Malaysia. To measure the level of apprehension in various settings, an instrument - PRCA 24 (McCroskey and JcCroskey, 1988) was distributed to 150 officers holding various positions in different departments. The findings indicate that the officers experience a moderate level of apprehension. Additionally, females were reported to be more apprehensive in all communication settings. Another finding is, with regards to the types of communication, public speaking was found to have caused the highest apprehension while interpersonal communication the least. A conclusion that can be drawn is apprehension level is influenced by the nature of the communication. The more formal the communication is, the higher the apprehension level will be. An important implication is the need to develop (introduce) continuous in house training to lessen the level of anxiety among the staff should be considered.