efl learners' perception of their teacher's immediate behavior (verbal/ non verbal) and their communication apprehension across gender

Objective: achieving mastery of english in foreign language learning contexts is a daunting task for many efl learners whose exposure to the target language is highly restricted and dominantly influenced by communication apprehension (ca). what may either deteriorate or ameliorate learners' ca can be their perception of their teachers' immediacy (ti) or the extent to which their teacher is accessible verbally and nonverbally. ti might be subject to individual variations like gender and is significant with regard to the impact it may exert on classroom atmosphere and learners' ca.methods: the present ex post facto correlational study set out to explore iranian efl learners' ca in relation to their perception of their male and female teachers' verbal and nonverbal immediacy.  to this end, a purposive sample of 210 efl learners in 30 classes taught by 30 teachers, including 17 females and 13 males, were selected from different english language institutes in tabriz, iran. the research data were gleaned through personal report of ca (prca) questionnaire and ti questionnaire comprising nonverbal immediacy and verbal immediacy (vi) scales to measure the participants' level of ca and their perception of teachers' vi and nvi. the research data were analyzed via manova, an independent samples t-test, and linear regression.results: the results revealed no significant difference in the participants' ca taught by male and female teachers; it was also found that ti could not predict the participants' ca.conclusions: by broadening the scope of investigation, educators can gain a more comprehensive understanding of how to effectively support language learners in overcoming communication barriers.