A Proxy of Social Justice? A Co/Autoethnographic Account of Language Testing and Translation Training for Migrant Workers in Thailand

Abstract

This article explores the possibilities and limits of advancing social justice through language-related support for migrant workers in Thailand. Using collaborative autoethnography, we reflect on our experiences in two university-led initiatives with Myanmar migrant workers: healthcare translator/interpreter training and Thai language proficiency testing, with ad hoc translation support. We show that language access depends not only on the provision of translation or interpreting, but also on migrants’ everyday constraints and on the institutional and bureaucratic conditions under which support is organized. Our analysis highlights that researchers, positioned as proxies for university commitments to inclusion, must negotiate tensions among ethical responsibility, organizational procedures, and the symbolic value of socially engaged projects. These tensions constrain what language-based interventions can realistically achieve, even when they are intended to promote inclusion and access to knowledge. The article contributes to debates on translation, migration, and social justice in Southeast Asia by demonstrating how institutional mediation shapes the practical reach of advocacy-oriented language support.