The influence of teaching assistant willingness to communicate and communication anxiety in the classroom

This study examined the effects of teaching assistant willingness to communicate and communication apprehension in the university classroom. Results indicated that TA willingness to communicate is significantly related to perceptions of TA nonverbal immediacy. Additionally, as TA communication apprehension increases, student perceptions of TA nonverbal immediacy and TA power use decrease. An examination of TA state anxiety in the classroom revealed that TA state anxiety is negatively correlated with student ratings of instruction, affective learning, perceptions of TA nonverbal immediacy, and perceptions of TA reward power, referent power use, and expert power use.

Key concepts:

• willingness to communicate
• communication apprehension
• state anxiety
• learning
• power
• immediacy
• ratings of instruction