Deskilling and delanguaging African migrants in Barcelona: pathways of labour market incorporation and the value of ‘global’ English

Abstract

This article analyses the labour and social trajectories of seven multilingual and well-educated young men from Africa in the Barcelona area (Catalonia, Spain) over a 5-year period. Our data consist of life history interviews combined with ethnographic observations in a settlement non-governmental organisation (NGO). We adopt a critical sociolinguistic perspective on language and mobility which underlines the time-space dimension of migrants' emplacement and understands the value of global languages in relation to socio-economic and linguistic normativity regimes. Our findings suggest that English does not play a role in the local emplacement of these migrants, with the exceptions of the dwindling NGO sector and tourism in Barcelona. However, it indexes their transnational flows, connections and orientations. We argue that the 'ideologies of integration' of the NGOs examined background migrants' global language capitals while funnelling them into the non-qualified labour market. These agencies draw on tabula-rasa discourses that delanguage and, more generally, deskill migrants. In the current crisis, they have adopted new discourses of migration as a learning opportunity to gain experience, make contacts and learn skills. In the absence of paid work, voluntary labour is construed as intensive language practice and an opportunity to expand migrants' networks.

Longitudinal and spatial perspectives on the mismatch of tertiary educated migrant workers in the Czech labour market: The case of Ukrainians

“…At a micro/individual level, such studies enrich knowledge in their attempts to better understand the conditionalities, mechanisms and impacts of immigrants' over-education, as well as the (non-)utilisation of their human capital, and more broadly, the international migration movements of highly-skilled persons (e.g. Rye and Andrzejewska, 2010;Aure, 2013;Raghuram and Kofman, 2004;Webb, 2015;Sert, 2016;Garrido and Codóc, 2017).…”

“…For the purposes of this article, the term can -in a simplified way -be defined as a state in which an individual possesses a higher level of education than is required by their job position, or requirements connected with acquiring a new job (Koutná, 2016;Green and Zhu, 2010). On the basis of a literature review, it seems that overqualification, discrimination, and inequality have become inseparable parts of immigrants' working activities in the labour markets of many destination countries (see the examples in: Chiswick and Miller, 2009;Aleksynska and Tritah, 2013;Spoonley, 2006;Nowotny, 2016;McDonald and Valenzuela, 2016;Garrido and Codóc, 2017;Gupta and Man, 2014;Lagana, 2011;Man, 2004;Spielvogel and Meghnagi, 2018). Though many factors may be behind this situation, Ho and Alcorso (2004) and others (e.g.…”

Migration Regime and “Language Part of Work”: Experiences of Syrian Refugees as Surplus Population in the Turkish Labor Market

“…These academic studies, quantitative in nature, point at deficient language skills and related social skills as one of the barriers to employment (Ho, 2007; Stevens, 2005; Syed and Murray, 2019) overlooking the existence of a particular national migration regime in relation with the labor market (Nawyn, 2016) and its impact on the value assigned to language. Yet, some researchers have also found that the host country language level of migrants does not have a particular positive effect (Duchêne, 2016; Flubacher et al, 2017; Garrido and Codó, 2017), nuancing celebratory discourses about language as a key to employment and upward social mobility.…”

“…The academic field is dominated by the human capital approach, which links skills and qualifications to employment opportunities and tries to explain the success of certain individuals and not others, based on language ability. Yet, some researchers have also found that host country language level does not play a role in the emplacement of migrants, with the exception of the dwindling NGO and tourism sectors (Garrido and Codó, 2017). Additionally, despite possessing highly valued language skills, even English, qualified migrants with tertiary educational qualifications often still undergo declassing and downward professional mobility (Sert, 2016).…”

Work-related language learning trajectories of migrant cleaners in Finland

“…As Canadian research (Creese & Wiebe, 2012) on tertiary educated sub-Saharan migrants with excellent English language skills has shown, employment agencies tend to guide migrants to entry-level jobs instead of helping them to build a long-term career strategy. Garrido and Codó (2017) found that African migrants in Barcelona had appropriated the dominant 'tabula-rasa' discourses and thus disregarded their education and language skills and aimed at low-skilled jobs, although their reason for coming to Spain had been to study further. The migration services in general and employment offices in particular should carefully consider how educated migrants could be supported in finding appropriate employment, because that would facilitate both purposeful language learning and integration into Finland.…”