The Effects of Presentation-Centered Liberal Arts Education Program on University Students' Expressive Communication Abilities

Effective communication skills are essential for success in the modern era, yet many university students lack adequate presentation training. This study examined the perceived changes in expressive communication abilities following a presentation-centered liberal arts education program among university students. A 15-week systematic communication education program was implemented for 210 humanities and social science students at a university in Busan, and learners' self-perceived changes were analyzed using a single-group pre-post design. The measurement instrument consisted of a 16-item questionnaire covering four domains: presentation confidence and attitude, verbal expression ability, nonverbal expression ability, and audience interaction. Results showed statistically significant improvements in learners' self-perceived expressive communication abilities in all domains (p<.001), with an average effect size (Cohen's dz) of 1.24. Effect sizes ranged from 1.21 to 1.26 across all four domains, with verbal expression ability showing the highest value (dz=1.26). However, as these effect sizes were calculated using the paired-sample Cohen's dz, which tends to yield larger values than the independent-sample Cohen's d, direct comparison with meta-analytic findings requires methodological caution. Learner perception analysis revealed that 52.4% reported increased confidence as their greatest achievement, and adequate instructional time, integrated theory-practice approaches, continuous feedback, and repeated presentation opportunities were perceived as key elements of effective communication education.