The Value of Grassroots English for Bangladeshi Migrants to the Middle East

Abstract

This chapter, based on a research in rural Bangladesh, investigates the value of grassroots English for the Bangladeshi migrant workers in the Middle East, and sheds light on some of the methodological and ethical issues relevant to the findings. The chapter draws insights from the narratives of three participants and argues that it is difficult to establish a straightforward relationship between grassroots English/language skills and successful economic migration because of issues like global inequality, and the social and psychological costs of economic migration should also be considered. The chapter provides useful sociolinguistic insight into the value of English in a grassroots area of growing importance, economic migration, which is relatively under-explored. It also describes the methodological and ethical complexities of working with vulnerable communities, such as low/semi-skilled economic migrants, while also throwing into relief the value of gaining insight into their experiences, language practices and reflections.