ICT Students, Stress and Coping Strategies: English Perspective A Case Study of Midsize Middle Eastern University

Abstract

This study evaluates the perceptions of stress among Information and Communications Technologry (ICT) students and their coping strategies in dealing with English as the medium of instruction during their university studies. A semi-structured administered survey was conducted using a sample of 267 male students of a Computer Science college from a midsize Middle Eastern university The study also used a phenomenological approach with semi-structured interviews carried out with ten students in order to clarify some qfthefindings qfthis study. Since the research topic is based on student's stress perceptions, the phenomenological analysis of transcribed student's interviews was also an appropriate tool for this study. Phenomenology enables participants to express their feelings about a particular situation or incident in their own point afvieiv which may not be easy to express on a survey. All students who took part in this study thought that they had been stressed at one time or another due to having English as the medium of instruction without a Preparatory Year English Program (PYEP) befbre entering ICT courses. 62% of the students maintained that they have had episodeS of stress due to the English language during their studies at one time or another. The students use different mechanisms to cope up with stress outside the university by engaging themselves in sports, surfing the web, Meditation, hanging out with, friends, sleeping or going in to isolation. The students demand interactive' English language courses, more leisure time activities on campus, proper guidance in English language courses to ease their ICT course-studies. advisory services and peer counsel ling on campus to reduce their stress.PAPER TYPE: Research PaperKEYWORDS: Information Communication Technology (ICT); ICT students; English Language; Stress and Coping strategies; User Behaviour; Survey