Harnessing Communicative Anxiety as a Stepping Stone to Enhance Undergraduate Students' Communicative Competence

This study investigates the paradoxical role of communicative anxiety in the development of undergraduate students' communicative competence in English within higher education settings. Traditionally regarded as a barrier to effective language acquisition, recent pedagogical paradigms suggest that, under appropriate conditions, anxiety can serve as a motivational catalyst for active engagement and skill development. Drawing on qualitative data from university students in Pakistan, this research explores how educators can strategically leverage communicative anxiety to foster confidence, resilience, and linguistic proficiency. The findings highlight the importance of creating supportive classroom environments through acquisition oriented approach instead of learning, employing anxiety management techniques, and designing pedagogical interventions that reframe anxiety from a hindrance into a developmental asset enhancing undergraduate students’ academic writing and critical thinking skills. Practical implications for curriculum design, teacher training, and student self-regulation strategies are discussed.