ASSESSING EFL COMMUNICATION APPREHENSION AMONG PAKISTANI UNIVERSITY UNDERGRADUATES: A PRCA-24 BASED DESCRIPTIVE STUDY

Abstract

The study aims to assess the level of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) Communication Apprehension among undergraduate students at the University of Sindh, Jamshoro, Pakistan. Employing a descriptive research design, data were collected from a sample of 363 students drawn from the four disciplines: Business Administration, Public Administration, Chemistry and Computer Science. The sample comprised 246 female and 117 male students. The PRCA-24 was utilized as the primary instrument to measure students’ communication apprehension across different communicative contexts. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistical analysis including mean, and standard deviation. The findings of the study indicate that students, on average, experience a moderate level of communication apprehension in EFL contexts. A slight variation was observed across gender, with male students reporting marginally higher levels of communication apprehension compared to their female counterparts. Moreover, the results for all the four departments also revealed that the students from all the four disciplines reported moderate level of communication apprehension, with students of Business Administration reported the highest and the students of Public Administration reported the lowest level of communication apprehension.   The results suggest that while communication apprehension is not extreme, it remains a persistent factor influencing students’ willingness to engage in English communication. The study contributes to the existing body of knowledge by providing a contextualized descriptive profile of EFL communication apprehension in a Pakistani public sector university. It also highlights the need for pedagogical strategies aimed at fostering a more supportive and confidence-enhancing language learning environment.