College helps students with phone call phobia

A college is helping students tackle their fear of making or taking telephone calls.

Nottingham College is running coaching sessions on phone confidence and etiquette to support them in overcoming their fear, known as telephobia.

Liz Baxter, careers advisor at the college, said young people "simply don't have the confidence" to use the telephone in a formal manner, which was unfortunate as phone interviews were widely used by recruitment companies.

Nyah, 16, said she "dreads" phone calls as she uses her body language to talk so "I can't convey what I'm trying to say over the phone".

A Uswitch survey of 2,000 people found nearly 70% of people aged 18-34 prefer a text to a phone call, with 23% of the same age group saying they never pick up calls.

More than half assume an out-of-the-blue call means bad news.

Ms Baxter, 53, said: "Phone anxiety is something we come across regularly."

She offers practical, classroom-based sessions where students practice role plays of questions commonly asked in interviews.

Attendees were also encouraged to call restaurants to ask what time they open or shops to ask if a certain item was in stock to test their boundaries in bite-sized ways, Ms Baxter added.

Student Donna, 16, said she was "mostly anxious" when the phone rang "because it's normalized for our generation to be used to text messages".

"So if there's a phone call I always think it's an emergency," she added.

She said she felt more in control when texting, because "you can think about the right way to approach someone".

Source : https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgm9klmzpjeo

Comprehension

What is Nottingham College doing to help students with phone anxiety?
Who is Liz Baxter, and what does she say about phone anxiety?
Why do many young people struggle with phone calls?
What percentage of young people prefer texting over calling?
What is one method students use in the coaching sessions to practice phone confidence?
Why does Nyah feel uncomfortable making phone calls?
What assumption do many young people make when they receive an unexpected call?
Why does Donna prefer texting over calling?

Discussion

Do you feel nervous about making or receiving phone calls? Why or why not?
How often do you make phone calls, and in what situations?
Do you think texting is better than calling? Why or why not?
What are some advantages of speaking on the phone instead of texting?
How can schools and colleges help students improve their phone confidence?
Have you ever had an important phone call that made you feel nervous? How did you handle it?
Do you think phone calls will become less common in the future? Why or why not?
How do you think older generations feel about young people’s fear of phone calls?
What advice would you give to someone who feels anxious about making a phone call?
Do you think social media and messaging apps have changed the way we communicate? How?

Vocabulary

Telephobia – Fear or anxiety about making or receiving phone calls.
Etiquette – The proper or polite way to behave in a certain situation.
Recruitment – The process of finding and hiring people for jobs.
Convey – To express or communicate an idea, feeling, or message.
Out of the blue – Something that happens suddenly and unexpectedly.
Role play – Practicing a situation by acting it out.
Bite-sized – Small and manageable in size or difficulty.
Anxious – Feeling nervous or worried about something.