Standing in the Spotlight
Public Speaking Anxiety in an Academic Presentations Course
Roč.15,č.2(2025)
This article examines public speaking anxiety (PSA) among university students presenting in English as a foreign language. Public speaking is widely recognized as an essential academic and professional skill, yet many learners experience significant stress when asked to perform in front of an audience. The study draws on data from a questionnaire and from students’ self-reflection journals written during a Master’s-level presentations course at a Czech university.
The findings show that anxiety manifests in multiple ways, including physical symptoms, negative thoughts, and loss of confidence. Students reported that presenting in a second language made them especially self-conscious, as they worried about vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation. At the same time, the journals revealed important strategies for coping, such as thorough preparation, supportive peer feedback, and positive classroom atmosphere. Over the course of the semester, many students described gradual improvements in their ability to manage nervousness and to view presentations more positively.
The study argues that PSA is not only an individual challenge but also a pedagogical issue that can be shaped by course design. It concludes that fostering a safe environment, normalizing anxiety, and encouraging reflection are effective ways to help students build resilience and develop greater confidence as speakers.
EAP; public speaking anxiety; resilience; peer feedback; presentation skills; safe learning environment; self-reflection journals
Petra Trávníková
Department of English and American Studies, University of Ostrava
Petra Trávníková is an assistant professor at the Department of English and American Studies, University of Ostrava, Czech Republic. Her research focuses on applied linguistics and ELT, particularly pragmatics, learner self-presentation, and evaluative language in students’ reflective writing. She has worked with learner corpora, analysing self-reflection journals, language learning histories, and narratives of success and failure in EFL contexts. She uses discourse and corpus-based approaches to examine how learners express themselves in educational settings. She currently teaches courses in English didactics and Practical English.
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