English as a Border-Drawing Matter: Language and the Regulation of Migrant Service Worker Mobility in International Labor Markets

This multi-sited study in Canada, Mexico, and the Philippines examines how appraisals of English language competence transnationally mediate labor market entry for temporary migrant workers. Focusing on “low-skilled,” interactive service sector jobs, we show how border drawing along English language lines contributes to the regulation of access to global labor circuits and the segmentation of workers into occupational niches. Mediated by the …