Oral Communication Apprehension among Japanese EFL International Students in a Language Immersion Program in Malaysia

Japanese EFL international students may experience high levels of apprehension when communicating in English due to their culture, educational background, attitudes towards the role of English in their society, and lack of opportunities to practice speaking in English. Although the students in this study had studied English before joining the English immersion program, their language learning experiences might not have focused on oral communication skills. EFL learners' oral communication apprehension has been examined in various contexts, but the Japanese EFL context has not received adequate attention, especially Japanese EFL international students in Malaysian institutions of tertiary education. Thus, this study examined the levels of oral communication apprehension among Japanese EFL international students in four communication contexts (group discussions, meetings, conversations, and public speaking). The study adopted a quantitative approach, using the Personal Report of Communication Apprehension (PRCA-24) to measure oral communication apprehension levels among 23 first-year Japanese EFL students in an immersion program in a Malaysian public university. Data were analyzed using SPSS and Microsoft Excel. The results of this study revealed that most of the Japanese EFL international students exhibited a high level of oral communication apprehension. The study also revealed that the highest levels of apprehension were found in two communication contexts: group discussions and conversation, possibly because oral communication takes place spontaneously in these two communication contexts.