Anxiety Among Students in Public Speaking: Causes and Possible Remedies

Authors

Keywords:

anxiety, confidence, fear, public speaking

Abstract

Today, practical communication skills are crucial at all levels. The dynamic changes in the educational landscape have affected students' public speaking abilities, especially since classes were held online. Most public speakers are trained, but they still get nervous when speaking in front of an audience. Speakers and learners cannot convey ideas and concepts fluently when stressed.

This study looked into undergraduate public speaking anxiety, its causes, and possible interventions. The study used a quantitative research design to determine the causes of public speaking anxiety in 100 college students. The findings show that students fear public speaking due to a lack of confidence. Moreover, audience size significantly impacts students’ performance and nervousness. The results also revealed that being involved in public speaking activities will aid students to present better, and that students believe they can reduce their fear by using different strategies and reaching for professional help.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Abu-Rabia, S. (2004). Teachers’ role, learners’ gender differences, and FL anxiety among

seventh-grade students studying English as a FL. Educational Psychology, 24(5), 711–721. https://doi.org/10.1080/0144341042000263006

Botes, E., Dewaele, J.-M., & Greiff, S. (2020). The Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety

Scale and Academic Achievement: An Overview of the Prevailing Literature and a Meta-Analysis. In International Association for the Psychology of Language Learning (IAPLL) Journal for the Psychology of Language Learning journal (Vol. 2).

Dwyer, K. K. (1998). Communication apprehension and learning style preference:

Correlations and implications for teaching. Communication Education, 47(2), 137-150.

Kondo, D. S. Y.-L. Y. (2024). Strategies for Coping with Language Anxiety: The Case of

Students of English in Japan. ERIC - Institute of Education Sciences, v58(n3), 258–265.

Lucas, S. (2017). The Art of Public Speaking (9th ed.). The McGraw-Hills Companies.

Raja, F. (2017). Article Anxiety Level in Students of Public Speaking: Causes and Remedies

Journal of Education and Educational Development (Vol. 4, Issue 1).

Richmond, V. P., Wrench, J. S., & McCroskey, J. C. (1998). Communication apprehension,

avoidance, and effectiveness. (No Title).

Rosemary Black. (2019, September 12). Glossophobia (Fear of Public Speaking): Are You

Glossophobic? 2025 HealthCentral LLC.

Sawchuk, C. N. (2017). Fear of public speaking: How can I overcome it. In Mayo Clinic (Vol.

.

Woodrow, L. (2006). Anxiety and speaking English as a second language. RELC Journal,

(3), 308–328. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033688206071315

Published

2025-12-25

How to Cite

ALUNDAY, C. (2025). Anxiety Among Students in Public Speaking: Causes and Possible Remedies. International Journal of Linguistics, Literature and Culture, 12(2). Retrieved from https://sloap.org/journals/index.php/ijllc/article/view/2587

Issue

Vol. 12 No. 2 (2026): March

Section

Research Articles
Copyright & Licensing

Copyright (c) 2026 International journal of linguistics, literature and culture

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Articles published in the International Journal of Linguistics, Literature and Culture (IJLLC) are available under Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives Licence (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0). Authors retain copyright in their work and grant IJLLC right of first publication under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Users have the right to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of articles in this journal, and to use them for any other lawful purpose.

Articles published in IJLLC can be copied, communicated and shared in their published form for non-commercial purposes provided full attribution is given to the author and the journal. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.

This copyright notice applies to articles published in IJLLC volumes 6 onwards. Please read about the copyright notices for previous volumes under Journal History.