Relationships Between Thai Language Proficiency and Livelihoods of Myanmar Urban Migrant Workers

Abstract

For decades, Thailand has been the recipient of foreign migrant workers from neighbouring countries, with the majority of these workers being from Myanmar. Myanmar migrant workers are employed in various job sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing factories, and service sectors. They usually earn an adequate wage, which provides a living that is not possible in their home country. However, their income and working conditions largely depend on several factors, including host language fluency. This paper is one of the first papers about migrants and Thai language fluency using Thailand as a case study. In this research study, open-ended questions were used to conduct semi-structured interviews with Myanmar urban migrant workers from different work sectors as well as a representative from a language academy in Bangkok. The results of this study show that Thai language proficiency affects the income of the Myanmar migrants as well as their career opportunities. The policy implications suggested by this paper include implementation of Thai language training for urban migrants by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration and its non-formal education department.