This study aims to investigate the level of Willingness to Communicate (WTC), Communication

Apprehension (CA) and Speaking Anxiety (SA) in identifying the paradigms that influence oral engagement

for English language among undergraduates from the Science and Mathematics programmes at the Faculty of

Education in a public university, Selangor. The study uses WTC heuristic model, CA continuum and Foreign

Language Classroom anxiety for the theoretical frameworks where both Communication Apprehension (CA)

inclines towards peer-supported tasks but decreases in speaking tasks with significant academic values as well

as spontaneous speech. On the other hand, the CA level was moderate but may increase in formal situations

while the SA level was high due to the fear of making mistakes and negative feedback. These findings

situation. Future research suggests the emphasis on Scaffolding learning, rehearsal and practices, as well as

low-stake speaking with simulated practices for increasing undergraduates WTC in oral engagement while

minimising CA and SA.

Keywords: (Willingness to Communicate, Communication Apprehension, Speaking Anxiety, undergraduates,

Faculty of Education)

Although the Malaysian education system aims to prepare learners to possess speaking proficiency from early

schooling, most learners still find it difficult to produce accurate and fluent sentences in real-time speech.

Public statistics show that despite most learners are deemed as highly proficient in speaking, it varies across

different regions with a constant decrease of speaking performance each year, indicating uneven results (EF

Education First, 2024). In practice, learners often hesitate to engage in oral tasks that require high-level

sentence productions. Consequently, early exposure towards English language speaking is still not sufficient

among learners despite the compulsory practices in classrooms.

In addition, prior research on Willingness to Communicate, Communication Apprehension, and speaking

anxiety rarely focuses on undergraduates from the Faculties of Education. Recent studies display contextual

gaps, particularly the need for specific investigations for effective classroom interactions and operations

opportunities for speaking practices and early exposure. Therefore, this study addresses on how WTC, CA,

and speaking anxiety take place among undergraduates at the Faculty of Education.

The research objectives for this study are as the following:

1. To determine the level of Willingness to Communicate among undergraduates at the Faculty of

Education.

2. To determine the level of Communication Apprehension among undergraduates at the Faculty of

Education

3. To determine the level of speaking anxiety among undergraduates at the Faculty of Education.

MacIntyre et al. (1998) proposed the Willingness to Communicate (WTC) heuristic model which evolved

from the earlier studies on first language communication and was adjusted to the context of second language

The Communication Apprehension (CA) Continuum Model (Richmond et al., 2013) focuses on the factors on

anxiety to communicate as a spectrum rather than attributes. Individuals experience different degrees of

apprehension though different settings such as interpersonal, group meeting, and public speaking situations.

The CA model is dynamic and context-based, which highlight situational triggers and trait-like as the

affecting factors. Current studies confirm that high CA is significant in reducing classroom participations and

oral performance, while it can be reduced by specific interventions such as counselling and structured

practices (Alnaeem, 2023; Abdulaal, 2023).

Correspondingly, the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale by Horwitz (1986) is the most common tool

for measuring language-related anxiety. It examines three primary sections: communication apprehension, test

engagements. Empirical investigations among university learners commonly conceptualise WTC as a function

of anxiety, perceived competence, and enjoyment. One study that employed a cross sectional survey design

with structural equation modelling among 1,269 Korean EFL learners reported that lower speaking anxiety

and higher WTC in online environments (Lee & Chiu, 2023).

Accordingly, a past study on a public speaking course involving 132 undergraduates demonstrated the

strongest predictor of WTC and speaking performance (Peng & Wang, 2024). Collectively, these findings

indicate that affective states, particularly enjoyment and reduced anxiety can supersede proficiency in driving

learners‘ readiness to speak, implying that classroom designs should cultivate psychologically safe spaces that

normalise making errors in speaking practices.

mixed method study with 120 EFL undergraduates identified moderate anxiety with recurrent somatic and

cognitive symptoms such as trembling, forgetfulness, and fear of negative evaluation, alongside self-initiated

coping strategies including practice and relaxation (Quvancha et al., 2024). At the motivational level, a

meta-analysis encompassing 26,589 learners documented a strong negative association between foreign

language anxiety and self-efficacy, which reveals the roles of anxiety in undermining confidence and

constraining opportunities in speech production (Zhou et al., 2023). Thus, SA not only decreases speaking

performance but also erodes the motivational resources required for sustained oral engagement in longer term.

In correspondence to this paper which investigates the level of WTC, CA, and SA among undergraduates, the

following diagram explains the relationship between the investigated variables:

through organised scales for measuring and comparing the respondents ‘levels. Therefore, this approach offers

structured data collection and statistical interpretation, in determining the patters and levels of these domains

among undergraduates. Descriptive design is employed to analyse the data through the summary of

percentages, means and standard deviations (Research Connections, 2024).

The questionnaire occupied in this study intended to investigate the level of Willingness to Communicate and

Communication Apprehension with speaking anxiety. Three classifications of specific measurements are

included in the questionnaire under Section A, Section B, and Section C.

Section A focused on the measurement of Willingness to Communicate in speaking that was adapted from

Weaver (2005) as 15 items were formatted according to the context of the study. The items measured the

where it was designed by Horwitz, Horwitz and Cope (1986). This particular instrument has 33 items that

retained and adapted according to the context of second language learning and speaking anxiety. The

responses of all items were described according to the Likert scale form. The value of numerical figures in the

scale of 1, 2, 3, 4, were assigned to Strongly Disagree, Disagree, Agree and Strongly Agree. Nonetheless, a

reverse scoring was applied for calculating the mean score and standard deviation for the items with negative

statements. The reversion led to the changes in the numerical values as; 4 = Totally Disagree, 3 = Disagree, 2

= Agree and 1 = Strongly Agree.

This study collected data from 80 undergraduates at the Faculty of Education in a public university, Selangor.

The respondents were from Science and Mathematics Education programmes as they came from various

Table 3: Descriptive Statistics of Willingness to Communicate

Table 3 displays the descriptive statistics for mean and standard deviation for each item that measures WTC.

The average mean and standard deviation for all items were also calculated. Table 3.1 includes a summary of

0.848), and presenting arguments to the whole class (M = 2.78, SD = 0.729).

To conclude, the undergraduates ‘WTC at the Faculty of Education heavily rely on the context as learners are

most ready to engage in oral tasks that focus on collaborative aspects with minimal evaluation or value of the

speaking tasks.

Table 3.1: WTC Contextual Examples

Table 4 indicates 24 CA items where the negative statements were reverse scored as explained in the

methodology section. The mean and standard deviation for each item was calculated, including the averages.

Table 4.1 includes thecontextual examples of items that range from highest to lowest CA levels. The average

mean for CA level was 2.57 (SD = 0.7640, signifying moderate apprehension. Undergraduates reported that

they were comfortable in group discussions (M = 3.35, SD = 0.731) and favoured to engage in oral tasks

within such setting (M = 3.25, SD = 0.626). However, undergraduates indicated formal or evaluative settings

showed greater apprehension towards formal and evaluative settings such as meetings (M = 1.98, SD =

0.856), conversing with new acquaintances (M = 2.10, SD = 0.80) as they would forget their speech due to

anxiety (M = 2.20, SD = 0.786).

Table 4.1 includes a summary of the items allocated according to the level of CA and its contexts

Table 4.1: CA Contextual Examples

average mean level was 2.17, which indicates low speaking anxiety among undergraduates at the Faculty of

Education. However, strong anxiety indicators can be identified when the undergraduates felt that their friends

could speak better than them (M = 1.55, SD = 0.673), worrying about the consequences of failing to speak (M

= 1.65, SD = 0.695), worried about making mistakes (M = 1.80, SD = 0.644). Moreover, the undergraduates

reported that their heart would pound when required to speak (M = 1.92, SD = 0.652), indicating

physiological response towards speaking anxiety. On the other hand, there was a high indicator the

undergraduates would still participate in oral tasks and conversations despite such fear towards speaking as

they would not be bothered to speak English (M = 2.68, SD = 0.823). The undergraduates also reported that

they were not nervous speaking with strangers (M = 2.63, SD = 0.832). Table 5.1 includes a summary of the