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Both accounting professionals and accounting academics have noted the importance of communication skills for the career success of students. Further, the general consensus from the academic and practitioner literature is that these communication skills are an area in which many students could use improvement. One factor that has been shown to impact the improvement and development of these skills is communication apprehension.

In this chapter, we describe a combination of pedagogical methods we employed in tax classes at two universities to reduce written communication apprehension among students. More specifically, we draw ideas from communications research which suggest that increased writing opportunities, progressively increasing the weighting of the assignments, using models and examples for study and comparison, and trying to make feedback more effective may help to reduce written communication apprehension. We implemented this suggested approach by using a series of assignments that incorporated writing components.

Results suggest that writing apprehension reduced from the beginning of the semester to the end of the semester. Further, the reduction in writing apprehension was even greater for those students who began the semester with high written communication apprehension. In addition, the results of the survey questions at the end of the semester suggest that the methods also improved students’ confidence in preparing tax-related written communication.

Accounting practitioners and educators agree that effective oral and written communication skills are essential to success in the accounting profession. Despite numerous initiatives to improve accounting majors’ communication skills, many students remain deficient in this area. Communication literature suggests that one factor rendering these initiatives ineffective is communication apprehension (CA). There is general agreement that accounting students around the globe have higher levels of CA than other majors. Therefore, accounting educators interested in improving students’ communication skills need to be aware of the dimensions and implications of CA. This chapter provides a review of the relevant literature on CA, with a focus on CA in accounting majors. It also presents intervention techniques for use in the classroom and makes suggestions for future research.

Communication researchers have observed that students will avoid majors that require the use of certain skills where the individual exhibits a high level of apprehension toward those skills. Historically, accounting has been perceived as requiring more math skills and fewer communication skills than other business majors so accounting has typically attracted students with low math apprehension and high communication (written and oral) apprehension. The current study investigates whether business students' perceptions across business majors regarding the level of mathematics, writing, and oral communication skills required for accounting reflect the recent changes in pedagogy and curriculum content for the accounting major.

The results indicate that the perception of skills required to be an accounting major by students in other business majors (more math and less communication) is different from the perception of accounting majors. On the other hand, accounting majors' perceptions of the skills needed to be in an alternative business major is generally similar to students in the respective major. These observations may lead to the interpretation that accounting majors have gotten the word that professional expectations of accountants involve substantial communication skill while that message has apparently not been shared with students who elect to major in other business fields.

The study aims to ascertain the degree to which Saudi tertiary level writers experience foreign language (FL), English, writing anxiety compared with other variables known to affect writing, such as motivation, types of self-efficacy or teacher assistance, how anxiety relates to those other variables, and whether the effects of anxiety on writing are always perceived as negative.

This study used questionnaire and interview data following writing tasks in two conditions (practice and exam).

The key findings were that, regardless of level or writing condition, writing anxiety emerged as the least strongly experienced of all the relevant variables. From factor analysis, it was found to be associated with perceived general English language proficiency and writing strategic ability and not with topic knowledge, teacher or motivational variables. Contrary to the assumption in much of the literature, many participants experienced some anxiety as having a positive effect on their English writing, in certain ways and at certain times (dependent on the writing condition) and not solely a negative impact.

Implications are drawn for theory and for the teaching of writing.

Drawn towards the end of the paper.

Any research on factors that affect writing seemingly has practical value and implications in such contexts, in addition to interest for L2 writing research and theory.

There remains a question that applies across the whole field of anxiety research in education and applied linguistics concerning whether anxiety is, as often assumed, always bad and so constitutes something to be removed, or whether in fact some degree of anxiety is actually helpful (Alpert and Haber, 1960). This study aims to answer.

In spite of the growing interest in using corpora in language teaching and learning, applying computers and software (especially corpora software) is still new in second language teaching and learning. In addition, employing a learner corpus-based perspective in teaching metadiscourse features in International English Language Testing System (IELTS) writing tasks is not reported to the best knowledge of the researchers. Understanding and spotting this gap, the purpose of this paper is to utilize a learner corpus-based approach in teaching metadiscourse features and investigate its possible impacts on IELTS writing performance of the Iranian second language learners. Therefore, this study addressed the following research questions and hypotheses.

The current research utilized a quasi-experimental research design. In addition, this research used a learner corpus-based methodology. The corpus-based methodology was exploited to enable the researchers to have access to a large body of authentic language materials. In other words, a corpus-based methodology was used due to the fact that it made it possible for the researchers to elicit the metadiscourse features from a large number of authentic writing materials and to employ them during the treatment process with authentic examples.

The findings showed that there was a positive correlation between teaching metadiscourse features and writing performance of IELTS learners; in that, teaching metadiscourse features could soar the writing performance of the subjects. In addition, interactional metadiscourse features had more impact than interactive metadiscourse features on writing performance.

The results of this research can have useful implications for second language teachers and learners as well as researchers in learner corpus as they can learn the creation and application of learner corpora in second language teaching and learning.

This paper is value in that it uses corpus software and methodology in teaching metadiscourse features in writing section of IELTS test.

The present study examined the relationship between library anxiety and social interdependence. Participants were 115 graduate students from various disciplines who were administered the Library Anxiety Scale (LAS) and the Social Interdependence Scale (SIS). The LAS assesses levels of library anxiety. The SIS measures individuals’ cooperative, competitive, and individualistic perceptions. The higher the score on each of the three SIS subscales, the more cooperative, the more competitive, or the more individualistic the respondents consider themselves to be. Scores on these scales are relatively independent so that a student could conceivably receive a high score on all three scales. A canonical correlation analysis (R_c = 0.41) revealed that cooperative attitudes were related significantly to barriers with staff, comfort with the library, and knowledge of the library. Individualistic attitudes, affective barriers, and mechanical barriers served as suppressor variables. Implications are discussed.

This paper examines the experiences of engaging with academic writing of international doctoral students in the schools of humanities and education at a UK university. The purpose of this paper is to uncover the real accounts of international students whose cultural and language backgrounds are often marginalised and considered, not as facilitators, but as barriers to academic writing in the western context of universities.

Developed broadly within an interpretive post-positivistic paradigm, the study utilised Harré and van Lagenhove, 1999 Positioning theory and Goffman’s theory of Stigma to interrogate accounts of 12 students from the two schools in a year-long project involving three focus group discussions, questionnaire responses and personal reflective summaries by the students.

The paper highlights the notions of stigma associated with their foreign writing conventions and how students experience tensions and apprehensions about their ability as they painfully negotiate the new academic writing conventions of the institution. International students position themselves as vulnerable outsiders working within an ill-defined but highly valued language environment.

The research is limited to the extent that it utilises a very small number of students as its key source of evidence. However, the study was not aimed at providing generalisation as much as it sought to explore issues associated with the use of language by international studying in UK universities.

The study has practical implications for the professionals in HE to develop clear guidelines about what constitutes good English and to provide greater support to international students who see themselves as vulnerable outsiders in an environment which marginalises their linguistic and cultural identities.

The study has implications for the social, cultural, and academic integration of international students in HE institutions.

The paper signals a need for diverse writing frameworks which seek to promote rather than silence and marginalise potentially rich sources of knowledge and understanding in an increasingly globalising world.

Nonexperimental research, defined as any kind of quantitative or qualitative research that is not an experiment, is the predominate kind of research design used in the social sciences. How to unambiguously and correctly present the results of nonexperimental research, however, remains decidedly unclear and possibly detrimental to applied disciplines such as human resource development. To clarify issues about the accurate reporting and generalization of nonexperimental research results, this paper aims to present information about the relative strength of research designs, followed by the strengths and weaknesses of nonexperimental research. Further, some possible ways to more precisely report nonexperimental findings without using causal language are explored. Next, the researcher takes the position that the results of nonexperimental research can be used cautiously, yet appropriately, for making practice recommendations. Finally, some closing thoughts about nonexperimental research and the appropriate use of causal language are presented.

A review of the extant social science literature was consulted to inform this paper.

Nonexperimental research, when reported accurately, makes a tremendous contribution because it can be used for conducting research when experimentation is not feasible or desired. It can be used also to make tentative recommendations for practice.

This article presents useful means to more accurately report nonexperimental findings through avoiding causal language. Ways to link nonexperimental results to making practice recommendations are explored.

To establish the existence of barriers to communication and numeracy skills development and to establish the levels of these exhibited by accounting and business students at the commencement of their courses in higher education.

Uses questionnaires to establish the levels of communication apprehension (CA) and maths anxiety (MA) in students at the commencement of their accounting and business courses in higher education. Establishes the underlying factors that are influential in determining the levels of apprehension and anxiety in individual students. An analysis of the underlying demographic variables such as age, previous educational background, etc. is also undertaken.

Identifies the existence of high levels of CA in accounting students and MA in business studies students at the beginning of their courses.

Where high levels of CA in accounting students and MA in business studies students are shown to exist consideration must be given to relevant curriculum design and delivery, and the use of techniques designed to reduce apprehension/anxiety in the students concerned. Because the apprehension/anxiety is present on entry to higher education it may be that specific courses appear to be recruiting students whose perception of their longer term vocational skills requirements may be inappropriate to their chosen career area.

Identifies specific differences in the areas of CA and MA between differently focused vocational courses, which have syllabus overlap, within a business school.

The literature evidences the effects of communication apprehension (CA), defined as the level of fear and anxiety associated with either real or anticipated communication, on educational efforts and suggests that (via the perceived desirability of certain professions) it could affect vocational choices. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the link between CA and the vocational choice of secondary education students.

Data were obtained from two sources: a self-administered questionnaire to measure the students’ CA levels and their academic preferences, and the vocational counsellors’ advice for these students.

The results confirm the existence of a link between CA and both students’ vocational choices and counsellors’ advice. In general terms, apprehensive students tend to choose vocational education, whereas students with lower levels prefer university for further education. Focussing on the later, more apprehensive students tend to choose science degrees, which are perceived as requiring lower levels of communication skills.

Limitations include the use of a convenience sample in only a country.

Apprehensive students could be avoiding a path, with all the implications for their professional future, because it is perceived as frightening due to the apparent communication level required. As the literature note the links between CA and communication self-efficacy allows the development of educational interventions resulting in a reduction of CA.

The scarce early literature has paid attention to occupational and educational choices in higher and further education, but there is no research focussing on the link between CA and pre-university academic decisions.