Reducing public speaking anxiety in university students: Effects of the Anchor App program

Abstract

This study tested a voice training program supported by an appli cation (Anchor) to observe its effects on public speaking anxiety (PSA). A quasi-experimental design was used, with 340 students as the participants of this study. 161 participants were assigned to the experimental group and 177 were assigned to the control group. The results showed significant differences between the experimental group and the control group in PSA posttest measures (t = 2.147, Sig = .033) with an effect size (d = .25) which could be considered large for educational interventions. Even though some aspects need to be re-
viewed, the program had significant effects which suggest app-supported voice training as an option to intervene public speaking anxiety in higher education.