3.

THEORETICAL AND CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

3.1. Theoretical framework

Oral communication apprehension is when one is anxious or afraid when speaking. His

mind would think before him that he would stumble or flunk while speaking. This is supported by

Karl Marx’s conflict theory. Conflict theory focuses on the struggle to maintain dominance and

power. It is a theory which places emphasis on conflict in human society. Unlike Sociology issues

on social classes and social systems, conflict theory connects in this study as to how an

individual feels the apprehension within himself. The conflict perspective assumes that social

behavior is best understood in terms of conflict or tensions (Vega, et. al., 2009) .

Speaking skills can be associated with the theory on second language acquisition,

focusing on the acquisition-learning distinction. Learners take in English as a second language

learning so they must acquire the language. Stephen Krashen’s theory states that this is perhaps

the most fundamental. Language acquisition is a subconscious process; language acquirers are

not usually aware of the fact that they are using the language for communication. We are

generally not consciously aware of the rules of the languages we have acquired (Krashen, 2009).

This is an advantage for learners so that they learn without the feeling of oral communication

apprehension.

In order to reduce the feeling of oral communication apprehension towards speaking

skills, organizational learning must take place. According to Charlesworth (2006), the study of an

individual’s fear of interacting with others has been researched using terminology such as social

fear, reticence, oral communication apprehension, unwillingness to communicate, audience

anxiety, stage fright and social anxiety. It is important to note that oral communication

apprehension is usually measured on continuum and often changes for each person based on

individual situations. Thus, a person with oral communication apprehension would always

experience on a high level of apprehension---no matter what the oral communication context

whereas a person with state-like communication apprehension would have communication

apprehension levels that fluctuate in different settings.

 It is often based on observations derived from failures, either minor or substantial. They

claim that failure is an essential prerequisite for effective learning. Teachers fare best when they

constantly monitor and respond to failures. Learning is often inevitable because anxiety or fear

“shocks organizational systems out of complacency,” thereby creating a willingness to learn.

Thus, the learning process moves sequentially through the general stages of experience,

meaningful change and healing (Sellnow and Seeger, 2013).

From the perspective of organizational learning, experience is an opportunity to re-

evaluate an organization’s performance at every level. Learning from experience requires the

stamina and competence to endure and to regain perspective. To learn from experience needs

meaningful change. Meaningful change occurs when the errors observed through experience are

analyzed and converted to lessons that are shared throughout the organization, to inspire

changes in routine procedures. Once the learner takes in meaningful change, he will undergo

healing. This is a “multifaceted” dimension of the learning process that “allows the organizations

and stakeholders to reconstitute themselves and move past the crisis” (Sellnow and Seeger,

2013).

3.2. Conceptual framework

The study was focused on the oral communication apprehension towards the speaking

skills of the students enrolled in Grade 10. The students’ oral communication apprehension

depends on how they feel about communicating in front of a group or a crowd. This may affect

the speaking skills of the students as to how high or low they feel the apprehension. It is also

important to know their level of speaking skills to determine their capabilities.

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 Oral communication Levels of speaking skills
apprehension of Grade 10 through speaking activities
students  Impromptu speaking
 Report on Personal  Clinical interview
Communication  Peer discussion
Apprehension

Figure 1. Conceptual framework of the study

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