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.
So-Eui LEE (2026) studied this question.