Speaking anxiety among TVET undergraduates and its implication on graduate employability

Balakrishnan, Subatira and Abdullah, Nurlisa Loke and Khoo, Linda Mei Sui and Thambu Raj, Joseph Alagiaraj (2025) Speaking anxiety among TVET undergraduates and its implication on graduate employability. Asian Journal of University Education, 21 (1). pp. 15-29. ISSN 1823-7797

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Abstract

Speaking skill is an important predictor in graduate employability. Many job seekers suffer from speaking anxiety and this has affected their job employment opportunities. The focus of this research is to examine the TVET undergraduates’ speech anxiety level and determine what makes them apprehensive when speaking. The study also finds out the anxiety level differences between male and female TVET learners. The 313 research participants who answered McCroskey's Personal Report of Public Speaking Anxiety (PRPSA) questionnaire were undergraduates from a public technical university. The findings revealed that the learners had moderate levels of speech anxiety (M=115.7) and t-test results indicated that the mean scores for speaking anxiety levels of male and female learners did not differ in a way that was statistically significant though TVET female learners (M=113.30, SD =14.309) experienced slightly higher levels of speaking anxiety compared to their male counterparts (M=111.58, SD=15.996). The idea of giving a speech sent fears to the learners while losing concentration during speech heightened the learners’ speech anxiety level. Higher learning institutions could include public speaking trainings in their TVET syllabi. Additional soft skills such as public speaking helps ensure TVET graduates become industry priority in the employment market.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Speech anxiety, Public speaking, Soft skill, TVET, Graduate employability
Divisions:	Centre For Language Learning
Depositing User:	Norfaradilla Idayu Ab. Ghafar
Date Deposited:	12 Jun 2025 12:54
Last Modified:	12 Jun 2025 12:54
URI:	http://eprints.utem.edu.my/id/eprint/28724
Statistic Details:	View Download Statistic

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