Relationships between language proficiency and economic mobility of Myanmar migrant workers in Bangkok

Abstract

Thailand has been the recipient of foreign migrant workers from neighboring countries for decades. Among them, the majority are from Myanmar. Myanmar migrant workers have been significant parts of the agriculture, manufacturing, and service sectors. In Thailand, they usually earn decent wages comparing to wages in their home countries. However, their incomes and working conditions in Thailand largely depend on several factors. Thus, this research aims to study the relationship between Thai language proficiency and the income of Myanmar migrants in Bangkok.

Several studies claim that the employment opportunities of migrants depend primarily on their levels of education and technical skills as well as their ability to communicate with other people in the host country. Language proficiency is one of the fundamental parts of human capital, especially for immigrants. Several studies have been conducted and proved that the host language proficiency is an important determiner of income levels or chances of being employed of migrants. This research is one of the first studies on the relationship of Thai language proficiency and economic mobility of migrants in Thailand, focusing on the context of Myanmar urban migrants in Bangkok. In this study, open-ended questions were used to conduct semi-structured interviews with Myanmar urban migrant workers from different work sectors and a representative from a language academy in Bangkok.

This study proves that Thai language proficiency does affect the incomes and career opportunities of Myanmar migrants. The study also suggests an urban strategy for including the Thai language training for urban migrants by the Thai government or any organizations such as the Office of Non-formal and Informal Education and Bangkok Metropolitan Authority in implementation.