Abstract Migration has become a vital element of the Bangladeshi economy, which has led to an increasing focus on providing Bangladeshis with the skills needed on the international labour market. English is often cited as one of these skills, and previous research has shown that a primary reason why Bangladeshis wish to learn English is due to its perceived value for pursuing work abroad (Erling, Elizabeth J., Philip Seargeant, Mike Solly, Qumrul H Chowdhury, & Sayeedur Rahman. 2012. Attitudes to English as a language for international development in rural Bangladesh. London: British Council. Available online at http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/publications/attitudes-english-a-language-international-development-rural-bangladesh.). The extent to which English is of value in economic migration, however, has been underexplored in research (Coleman, Hywel. 2010. The English language in development. London: British Council. Available at http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/publications/english-language-development.). Drawing on data from a qualitative study which provides new insights into the experiences and perceptions of a cohort of returnee migrants, this article investigates the perceived value of (English) language skills for migration. The study finds that economic migrants see the advantages of having particular skills, especially English, for economic gain. However, applying a capabilities lens to their narratives (Sen, Amartya. 1999. Development as freedom. Oxford: Oxford University Press.) reveals the difficulties of classifying their experiences in terms of “success” given the deeply embedded structural issues and challenges the participants report facing. This article therefore questions assumptions that language skills can be transformational when social inequality is (re)produced in the context of migration.

中文翻译：

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“成功”移民，（英语）语言技能和全球不平等：孟加拉国中东移民案例

摘要移民已成为孟加拉国经济的重要组成部分，这导致人们越来越重视向孟加拉国提供国际劳动力市场所需的技能。英语经常被认为是这些技能之一，并且先前的研究表明，孟加拉人希望学习英语的主要原因是其在国外从事工作的感知价值（Erling，Elizabeth J.，Philip Seargeant，Mike Solly，Qumrul H Chowdhury和Sayeedur Ra​​hman，2012年，对英语作为孟加拉国农村地区国际发展语言的态度，伦敦：英国文化协会，在线提供，网址为http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/publications/attitudes-english-a-language -国际发展农村孟加拉国。）。但是，英语在经济移民中的价值程度是，尚未在研究中进行探索（Coleman，Hywel。2010年。发展中的英语。伦敦：英国文化协会。可在http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/publications/english-language-development。获得）。本文利用一项定性研究的数据为定居移民群体的经历和看法提供了新的见解，本文调查了（英语）语言技能对移民的感知价值。该研究发现，经济移民看到了具有特定技能（尤其是英语）以获取经济利益的优势。然而，在他们的叙述中运用能力的视角（Sen，Amartya。1999年。发展为自由。牛津：牛津大学出版社。）揭示了由于存在深刻的结构性问题和参与者报告所面临的挑战，很难按照“成功”对他们的经历进行分类。因此，本文对以下假设提出了质疑：在移徙的背景下（重新）产生社会不平等时，语言技能会发生转变。