Exploring English language anxiety toward global participation activities among Bangkok content team employees in a multinational company

This study investigates English language anxiety among Thai employees in a multinational company by focusing on global participation activities such as cross-location meetings, training, and collaborative work. In multinational companies where English serves as the primary medium of communication, Thai employees—who are non-native English speakers—may experience varying levels of communication anxiety that can affect their confidence, participation and work performance. The study targeted 41 Thai employees from the Bangkok content team of a multinational company where English is used daily. Data were collected via a questionnaire consisting of three parts which are demographic information, close-ended questions based on the Personal Report of Communication Apprehension (PRCA-24), and open-ended questions. Descriptive statistics were used to assess the overall anxiety levels, while qualitative responses were analyzed to examine the strategies employed by employees to cope with their anxiety in English communication. Findings indicated that Bangkok content team employees generally experienced moderate to high levels of English communication anxiety. However, a high level of anxiety was reported in the interpersonal context when communicating in English in global participation activities. In terms of coping strategies, participants identified several approaches, with preparation being the most frequently used, followed by relaxation techniques and self-talk, practice and rehearsal, and careful listening and concentrating.