The purpose of this study was to understand what it could mean to have communication apprehension (CA). Literature that focuses on the research and theoretical aspects of communication apprehension was collected. From this research the concept of communication apprehension was conceptually defined, tools for measuring this phenomenon were outlined, and the concept was compared and contrasted to related research constructs. Next a critical interpretation was performed on several foundational pieces of communication apprehension research on international and marginalized social groups using a critical paradigm derived from the disciplines of intercultural communication, multicultural education, and critical perspectives on race and difference. The results of this critical interpretation suggest that there is the potential for misattributions of communication apprehension when working with students from marginalized US-American socio-cultural backgrounds and international populations that speak English as a second language. This critical perspective suggests that what may be perceived in some student populations as communication apprehension might actually be the result of speaking a marginalized dialect or English as a second language or coming from a different cultural background as this may require the speaker to translate their language into socially acceptable forms. Results suggest that educators and practitioners of communication apprehension diagnosis and research need to be aware of linguistic, cultural, and sociolinguistic background to ensure that correct attributions of communication apprehension are being made. Suggestions are offered for enhancing students' oral communication within speech and language classrooms in ways that are cognizant of these differences.