Migrant networks, language learning and tourism employment

This paper examines the relationship between migrants’ social networks, the processes of language acquisition and tourism employment. Data collected using netnography and interviews are used to identify the strategies that Polish workers in the UK use to develop their language skills. The paper highlights the roles played by co-workers, co-nationals and customers in migrants’ language learning, both in the physical spaces of work and the virtual spaces of internet forums. It also shows how migrant workers exchange knowledge about the use of English during different stages of their migration careers: prior to leaving their country of origin and getting a job, during their employment and after leaving their job. Implications for academic inquiry and human resource management practice are outlined.

► Examines relationships between migrant networks, language learning and tourism work.
► Data shows the strategies Polish workers in the UK use to develop language skills.
► Highlights roles of co-nationals, co-workers and customers in migrants’ learning.
► Demonstrates learning in and across work spaces and virtual internet spaces.
► Shows how information is exchanged at multiple stages of migration careers.