Across Europe and internationally, higher education has placed growing emphasis on employability, graduate attributes, and the quality of learning outcomes in internship and work-based learning (European Commission, 2017; Yorke & Knight, 2006). Communication competence, particularly the ability to use a second language effectively in professional contexts, is widely recognised as a key component of graduate readiness (Bennett, 2019). Nevertheless, research increasingly suggests that linguistic knowledge alone does not guarantee meaningful communicative engagement, especially in high-stakes workplace settings where social evaluation and professional identity are involved (Jackson, 2015).

In non-European English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) contexts such as Thailand, these challenges are particularly visible. Despite sustained policy attention to English proficiency and extensive formal instruction, many university students remain hesitant to engage in English communication. This situation highlights a broader quality gap between instructional provision and actual communicative performance (Sirijanchuen & Tangkiengsirisin, 2025). Prior studies have linked this gap to pedagogical constraints, limited interactional opportunities, and restricted exposure to authentic communication, as well as to psychological barriers such as anxiety, fear of negative evaluation, and low confidence (Chaisiri, 2022; Tian & Dumlao, 2020).

From a psychological perspective, willingness to communicate (WTC) provides a useful lens for examining the quality of second language learning outcomes. WTC reflects learners’ readiness to convert language competence into communicative action and is shaped by an interaction of psychological, social, and situational factors, including self-confidence, motivation, anxiety, and perceived communicative risk (MacIntyre et al., 1998; Yashima, 2002). Research consistently shows that WTC varies across interpersonal contexts, with learners typically more willing to communicate with familiar partners than with strangers, highlighting the roles of trust and social distance (Peng, 2014; Kruk, 2022). Accordingly, WTC is increasingly understood as a dynamic and context-sensitive construct rather than a stable individual trait.

Internships offer a particularly important setting for investigating WTC because they require learners to communicate in authentic professional environments where performance, feedback, and social judgement are integral to the learning process (Jackson, 2015). In such contexts, communication quality depends not only on linguistic ability but also on psychological readiness to manage uncertainty, interpersonal risk, and evaluative pressure, making internship communication highly relevant to European discussions on work-integrated learning and graduate employability (European Commission, 2017).

Among psychological factors influencing WTC, self-esteem plays a central role. As a global evaluation of self-worth, self-esteem supports emotional regulation, confidence, and willingness to take communicative risks (Orth & Robins, 2014). While previous research has linked self-esteem to second language communication, most studies have focused on classroom-based settings, offering limited insight into how self-esteem operates across different interpersonal relationships in workplace learning environments (Dörnyei, 2005).

In addition to individual psychological resources, social exposure shapes communicative readiness. Family educational background, intercultural contact, and engagement with English in digital spaces influence learners’ confidence and opportunities for authentic interaction (Baker & MacIntyre, 2000; Lin & Warschauer, 2015). However, few studies have examined how psychological and social factors jointly contribute to communication quality during internships, particularly in Southeast Asian contexts.

Addressing this gap, the present study applies first-order structural equation modelling (SEM) to examine how self-esteem and selected background variables—father’s education, number of foreign friends, and English use on social media—predict English WTC across three interpersonal contexts: communication with strangers, acquaintances, and friends during internship. Although situated in a non-European context, the findings contribute to European debates on the quality of work-based learning by highlighting the role of psychological readiness in shaping communicative engagement in professional settings.

Participants This study involved 312 fourth-year university students in Thailand who were participating in internship programs. Internships were selected as the study context because they require students to use English in real workplace situations with clear performance expectations. Most participants were female (71.15%) and enrolled in business-related programs. Instruments Willingness to Communicate (WTC). English WTC was measured using a 12-item scale adapted from McCroskey and Baer (1985). The scale assessed students’ willingness to communicate with strangers, acquaintances, and friends. Responses were rated on a 5-point Likert scale. Procedure Data were collected using a paper-based, self-administered questionnaire distributed during regular class sessions. Prior to data collection, students were informed about the purpose of the study, the voluntary nature of participation, and their right to withdraw at any time without penalty. Informed consent was obtained from all participants before questionnaire administration. Eligibility criteria required participants to be fourth-year undergraduate students who were actively enrolled in an internship program at the time of data collection. Students who were not undertaking an internship, were not in their final year of study, or declined to provide informed consent were excluded from participation. In addition, questionnaires with substantial missing data (more than 10% unanswered items) were excluded from the final dataset to ensure data quality and analytical reliability. Data Analysis Data analysis was conducted using SPSS version 29.0 and Mplus version 8.3. First, descriptive statistics—including means, standard deviations, and distributional properties—were calculated to summarize participants’ characteristics and observed variables. Pearson correlation analyses were then performed to examine preliminary relationships among self-esteem, background variables, and willingness to communicate (WTC), and to assess the suitability of the data for multivariate analysis. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was subsequently employed to evaluate the measurement model and to verify the construct validity of the latent variables. Model fit was assessed using multiple goodness-of-fit indices, including the comparative fit index (CFI), Tucker–Lewis index (TLI), root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA), and standardized root mean square residual (SRMR). Following validation of the measurement model, structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the hypothesized relationships between self-esteem, background variables, and English WTC across three interpersonal contexts: communication with strangers, acquaintances, and friends. Standardized path coefficients were examined to determine the strength and significance of relationships, with statistical significance set at p < .05.

The findings supports psychological perspectives that conceptualize communication quality in work-based learning as dependent not only on linguistic competence, but also on learners’ internal readiness to engage under evaluative pressure (Harvey, 2024; Leal Filho et al., 2025). From a social cognitive perspective, self-esteem operates as a foundational resource that strengthens communicative self-efficacy, thereby enhancing motivation and reducing avoidance in challenging interactions (Bandura et al., 1999; Harris & Orth, 2020). Extending classroom-based research on second language communication (Clément & Kruidenier, 1985; Dörnyei, 2005), this study shows that these psychological mechanisms remain salient in authentic professional environments, where communication contributes directly to learners’ emerging professional identities and perceived employability. In this sense, WTC during internships can be interpreted as an indicator of the quality of work-based learning outcomes (Westerheijden & Kohoutek, 2014). The findings further suggest that supporting students’ emotional and psychological development is essential for fostering communication quality, particularly in contexts where sociocultural norms related to face-saving and fear of error may inhibit oral participation (DeWaelsche, 2015). From a European perspective, this resonates with current debates on integrating psychological support, reflective practice, and formative feedback into internship and work-integrated learning models aligned with employability agendas (European Commission, 2025). Although situated in a non-European context, these findings contribute to European discussions on the quality and effectiveness of internships by underscoring the importance of psychological readiness alongside structural and curricular design. The study suggests that employability-oriented reforms within the Bologna Process and related European frameworks may benefit from greater attention to learners’ internal psychological resources, positioning WTC as a meaningful bridge between language education, psychological development, and high-quality work-based learning outcomes (Alzafari & Ursin, 2019; Westerheijden & Kohoutek, 2014).

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