Abstract

This article seeks to explore how the context in which Child Language Brokering (CLB) occurs influence minor and young people’s perceptions, experience and emotions, taking into account the complex nature of CLB, which is a multidimensional activity, influenced by very diverse elements. Data was collected from a threefold perspective, that of educational and social workers, parents who resorted to language brokering by their children and young adults who used to be child language brokers. The authors present a tentative Model of Contexts for CLB which can be useful to explain how contexts affect children’s emotions and reactions when they broker, emphasizing the importance of studying CLB in multiple contexts, in an attempt to understand it in a comprehensive way.

Keywords: child language brokering, immigration, emotions, context model

1. Introduction

In migrant families, children and young members often become fluent in the new language of the country and the dominant societal culture at a faster rate than adults (Suárez-Orozco et al. 2001). Thus, parents and other adults commonly rely on younger family members to help them interact with the local mainstream culture (Agustí-Panareda 2006). These children and young people are known as child language brokers. Child Language Brokering (CLB) is defined by Antonini and Torresi (2021) as an umbrella term for all non-professional interpreting and translation practices performed by children and adolescents. As stated by Orellana (2017), children from migrant families navigate multilingual and multicultural spaces at the same time as having to overcome multiple borders and navigate in very different contexts.

CLB occurs in a range of sites including home, retail, doctor’s, restaurants, dentist’s, housing offices, welfare and immigration offices, police stations and school (Tse 1996; Valdés 2003). Moreover, it involves different forms of communication, including face-to-face interactions, answering the phone, answering the door, arranging appointments, filling out application forms, interpreting television programmes and translating a range of texts (e.g. medicine bottles) (Dorner et al. 2007).

At the same time, as we will see, different studies have shown that CLB has an impact on those who engage in it and is associated with both positive and negative emotions. Despite the increase of studies on emotions of child language brokers, there are few studies which relate emotions to the context in which the CLB takes place. With the aim of filling this gap, this article reflects on whether the context in which CLB occurs has a direct influence on the brokers’ perceptions and experience, taking into account the complex nature of CLB which, as a multidimensional activity, is influenced by very diverse factors.

In order to explore the interconnections between the context and the emotions[1], the authors consider three different points of view: first, that of the institutional actors involved in CLB: the service providers (teachers and social workers). In particular, we focus on their perception of the emotions that arise in relation to CLB in the education and social spheres. Second, we analyse the point of view of the actors within the family sphere including the memories that former child language brokers have of this practice and of what CLB represented for them. Finally, we analyse the perspective of the parents of child language brokers.  

2. Theoretical Framework

Emerging evidence in the literature suggests that the context in which CLB occurs has a direct impact on the emotions experienced by children and young people. In this sense, Crafter and Iqbal (2021) establish that to fully understand CLB it is essential to consider the context in which it takes place. At times, child language brokers step in during conflicts, which can arise depending on the context in which the interaction occurs. Arumí and Rubio-Carbonero (2022), for example, found that a range of emotions arise depending on the settings and cannot be analyzed separately. Orellana and García-Sanchez (2019) also reveal the positive impact of CLB when it occurs within the school setting.

As stated by Kam and Lazarevic (2014), language brokering is a complex activity that is socially situated and tied to a range of contextually influenced issues. CLB takes place in a complex division of contexts. First, we can distinguish between the private space (for example, when children and youth translate on sight a letter received at home, or an electricity bill) and the public space, which encompasses all services that are managed by the administration (for example, the sender of the letter or the bill). A third category consists of contexts related to private services which are nevertheless important for the life of families, such as communication with a bank, rental procedures, etc. In this regard, Romero-Moreno and Vargas-Urpí (2022) refer to an extension of CLB, from the family to the community level (when children assist extended family members, friends of their parents, or other compatriots), to the public sphere, when youth liaise with administrative services.

According to Arumí et al. (2023), CLB occurs within four main contexts, corresponding to the specialized and institutionalized domains in which these activities take place: healthcare, education, social and administrative settings, all of them dependent on some government authority. Arumí et al. (2023) found that CLB is most common in healthcare, in particular in healthcare centres and hospitals. It is relevant in the educational sphere as well, including primary and secondary schools. Moreover, CLB extends to a variety of administrative bodies: the central administration (residence permit and renewal of foreigner’s ID card), councils (census registration), regional authorities (school enrolment), police stations and consulates (renewal of passport). And finally, in the social context, in situations related to social services. Outside institutional settings, minors and young people can interpret in a wide variety of situations: in the bank, in meetings with a lawyer, when managing various supplies (internet, electricity, gas, telephone, etc.), when buying in a supermarket and translating the content of letters and bills.

The first studies on the impact of CLB on emotions described it as cumbersome yet accompanied by a sense of being helpful to the family (Shannon, 1990). Children felt embarrassed and burdened, but at the same time proud, independent and mature when brokering (Tse 1996). The literature also highlights both positive and negative emotions associated with CLB experiences. CLB has been perceived as a burden (Wu and Kim 2009), since brokers may need to balance their own interests with the demands of their family, while also navigating multiple identities (Dorner, Orellana and Jiménez 2008), which may cause them stress (Kam and Lazarevic 2014). This is why CLB has been described as a cultural stressor (Love and Buriel 2007, Martinez, McClure and Eddy 2009). More specifically, it has been associated with higher levels of family stress, lower levels of parenting effectiveness, and poor adolescent adjustment in terms of academic fulfilment and emotional health (Martinez et al. 2009) that could even lead to anxiety and depression (Chao 2006). Further to this, brokers reported feeling nervous, scared, embarrassed, and concerned about how others perceive their parents (Orellana 2003). 

In contrast, brokers mentioned a greater sense of responsibility towards their families (Dorner et al. 2008). The experience enhanced their maturity (Acoach and Webb 2004, Dorner et al. 2008), their empathy and self-esteem and they mentioned feeling good about being able to help others (Dorner et al. 2007, Dorner et al. 2008, Orellana and Phoenix 2017). Moreover, the experience also boosted their confidence due to their awareness of their special translation skills (Dorner et al. 2007). These positive feelings have also been associated with better academic achievement (Buriel et al. 1998). 

3. The Study

As stated in the introduction, the aim of this study is to explore if the context in which CLB occurs determines the kind of emotions that the minors and young people experience. Specifically, the study addresses three research questions:

1. Do child language brokers experience different emotions when interpreting in the school context compared to the social settings?
2. Is there a relation between the challenges presented by the school and social settings and the kind of emotions experienced by child language brokers?
3. Could a model of contexts for CLB be useful to understand and analyze the relationship between contexts and emotions?

To answer these questions, data was gathered in 2020 and 2021 using two distinct data collection methods. First, two online questionnaires were used to gather a broad overview: one for secondary school teachers (60 responses) and the other for social workers (96 responses). Second, in-depth qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with 19 young adults who used to be child language brokers, i.e. young adults who arrived in Catalonia as children and used to broker for their parents or relatives as children or teenagers. With this data, we aimed to explore the narrated experiences in depth and detail. Lastly, we conducted interviews with 12 migrant parents who, at the time of the interviews, still required language brokering by their children. The perspective of the families was key to understanding such a complex phenomenon.

Online questionnaires

We sought the collaboration of the Catalan Department of Education to reach teachers who could respond to our questionnaire. This allowed us to reach secondary schools in the province of Barcelona with a high level of student diversity. Questionnaires were sent to 116 secondary schools and 60 responses were received. The questionnaire for social workers was sent to the head of Social Services in Catalonia, who then distributed it to the 106 basic service areas. A total of 96 questionnaires were fully filled out. The data from the questionnaires was analyzed quantitatively, using frequencies and percentages.

Retrospective interviews with young adults, former language brokers

The questions in the semi-structured interviews were mainly retrospective and aimed at gathering information about the interviewees’ experiences as child language brokers, their languages, as well as their attitudes towards each language, and how CLB influenced their language acquisition, among other aspects. Within our pool of informants, the largest migrant communities of the Barcelona province were represented: four interviewees from an Amazigh cultural background, two interviewees from an Amazigh and Arabic mixed cultural background, two interviewees from a Moroccan and Arabic cultural background, seven interviewees from a Chinese cultural background and four interviewees from a Pakistani cultural background. Regarding gender distribution, two informants were male and 17 female. Most interviews were conducted individually. Two interviews were conducted with two informants together. Four face-to-face interviews took place in places agreed with the informants. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, 13 interviews were carried out online. Most interviews lasted around 45-50 minutes and were conducted in Catalan or Spanish.

Interviews with migrant parents

Among the 12 parents interviewed, there were 10 women and two men. Most of the interviews were conducted individually, but two involved pairs of mothers. Parents were interviewed using their dominant language, namely: Amazigh (3), Darija (3), Urdu (2) and standard Chinese (4). The interviews were conducted in person, during the post-lockdown stage, either at the informants’ home or in other places previously agreed.

All interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim and then coded using Atlas.ti software for qualitative analysis. They were translated into Spanish or Catalan prior to their codification to facilitate the analysis. Although the general tone and topic of the conversations were set by the interviewer, the list of analytical codes was created inductively. A qualitative content analysis was carried out, which involved classifying the topics mentioned in the interviews according to initial general codes, and then, inductively, developing the remaining subcodes and subthemes that were not included in the initial script. After coding the first four interviews, the codes were reviewed by two members of the research team and adjusted as needed. This coding system was then applied to the subsequent interviews, with new codes created as necessary. The codes have then been used to extract quotations and compare responses. Each set of data has been analysed separately, and results have been compared and triangulated according to the objectives of the study.

4. Results

4.1 Data from the questionnaires

We have analyzed two variables to determine the frequency of CLB use in each context and the emotions it triggers.

Comparing the responses from teachers and social workers, the frequency of CLB use appears to be quite similar in both fields, though it seems slightly more prevalent in the school setting. As regards to the frequency of use of CLB in education, 72 per cent stated that CLB is used sporadically (between once and three times in the academic year), while 18 per cent said that it is a regular phenomenon (between once and three times a month). Only 3 per cent of the sample highlighted that CLB never occurs. Regarding social workers’ answers, a clear majority (76 per cent) stated that CLB occurs sporadically (between once and three times a year), followed by 14 per cent who stated that it never occurs and 8 per cent who considered it a regular phenomenon (between once and three times a month).

Chart 1: Frequency of use of CLB in the education and social context;

Regarding emotions, the dominant perception in education is that CLB has a positive emotional impact on minors. The emotion most frequently reported is feeling at ease, 35 per cent, followed by feeling happy, 30 per cent. The third most frequently mentioned emotion is feeling nervous, with 14 per cent. Some respondents mentioned other feelings such as being proud, tired, shy or responsible, which have been included in the “Other” category in Chart 2.

In the social settings context, the most frequently reported emotions are negative: stressed, nervous, angry, uncomfortable and apathetic, with 41 per cent. A 24 per cent mentioned positive emotions (happy, important, at ease).

Chart 2: Emotions triggered by CLB in the education and social contexts.

4.2 Perspectives from the interviews

In the interviews with young adults —­who acted as language brokers when they were children— and with parents, we find several references to how the context influences their evaluation of the CLB experience.

Overall, the familiarity of the school context, which is a part of their daily life, is seen as a positive factor, as explained by Xue:[2]

Extract 1. Xue. Ex-CLB.

I feel more at ease at school, because school is more familiar.

However, when classmates are involved, the situation can become more uncomfortable. Meiling, for example, initially feels proud that the teacher trusts her, but later expresses regret that her classmate, who does not speak Catalan or Spanish, is put on the spot:

Extract 2. Meiling. Ex-CLB

It made me a little proud, because for my part the teacher saw that I was a good student, that he could trust in me and that he could ask me to do it and that I’d do it well (...) On the one hand it [the sensation] was very good, but I also knew that the schoolmate I was translating for.. well... I would feel a little shame for him... that was the bad part, that I knew that he would be having a really bad time. And I think it was very rare that the boy or girl for whom I was translating felt good after I had translated, because I felt a little... let’s say... that they gave me a funny look... because of the stress. This is also because they are Chinese and the Chinese are always a little proud and don’t want to ask for help.

Meihui, a Chinese mother, draws a comparison between what happens at school, which triggers a feeling of pride in her daughter, and what happens in the healthcare sphere. She feels that the healthcare setting is more challenging for her daughter, to the point where, at times, they have to rely on someone else who can better navigate the interaction:

Extract 3. Meihui. CLB mother

Meihui: Well, she mentioned not long ago, she’s at secondary school now, you know? Well, a classmate had come from China. Sometimes, the teacher asked her to translate. She sees that, compared with other people, she understands Spanish well now and she also understands Chinese. In the school there are also other schoolmates who were brought up in China and speak Spanish very well, but their Chinese isn’t so good. So the teachers basically asked her to help them by interpreting, and she felt very proud.

Interviewer: When she came back she felt very proud. Do you think that it’s quite tiring for her having to translate in these contexts? 

Meihui: I think it’s tiring for her to translate at the doctor’s. Normally it’s difficult, and when it’s already difficult for us we ask her; we still don’t understand a lot. So afterwards we had to look for someone else to translate for us.

Both former brokers and parents mention the challenges that arise when children and young people intervene in contexts such as administration and social services. They highlight various types of difficulties that can arise due to the attitude of service providers when they realize that communication relies on a minor. This is explained very well by Surinder, a Pakistani mother, who says that the workers in the administration did not take the girl very seriously due to the age of her daughter and how this snub affected the girl:

Extract 4. Surinder. CLB mother

In general there hasn’t been any problem when it came to interpreting. But at the beginning [when the girl was eight years old and began to act as an interpreter], the workers in the administration didn’t take the situation very seriously. As the girl was small and very often didn’t really understand what they meant, they wanted to do without her. And this affected the girl as she thought that she was doing it badly.

In other cases, such as that of Zhousi, the service provider’s attitude is one of concern, fearing potential mistakes in communication or a lack of understanding due to the minor’s young age:

Extract 5. Zhousi. Ex-CLB

The truth is that it was very uncomfortable, very uncomfortable. Not because of my parents, but because of the other people. The Spanish who were working didn’t accept it when they saw a young girl, they didn’t accept it and they were very afraid of making a mistake, because with a child more mistakes can occur… they also suffered a little when they saw that a minor was translating. They told me, they said “you’re very young; I don’t know whether you’re going to understand.” And they were more patient on explaining it and repeated it a lot of times.

In this regard, Hana also mentions the pressure felt by professionals in social services, which she perceives when acting as a broker in these contexts:

Extract 6. Hana. Ex-CLB

Also on the social level… (…) they also have their hands tied. It’s a question of helping this person to be able to fill out their report and give the resource [to the person who needs the brokering] rather than asking the person directly which would be much easier.

Another challenge stems from the specific characteristics of the services and contexts. This is illustrated by Dounia, who explains that the difficulty arises from the attitude of the person she is accompanying —in this case, her father— who does not understand how the public service system works:

Extract 7. Dounia. Ex-CLB

(…) you have to be very patient, especially the men. I see it when I go with my father; the men become much more nervous. And it’s much more difficult to translate. For example, one wanted a document and wasn’t going to leave without his document, although it wasn’t possible. Often when I accompany my dad to the tax office, I tell him “They can’t give you this document; they say they can’t” and he says “No, no, I’m not leaving until they give it to me”.

Simarleen, a Pakistani mother, also refers to how her daughter hated having to interpret in certain contexts, due to the amount of bureaucracy:   

Extract 8. Simarleen. CLB mother

She hates having to go to the offices. She says “Mum, we waste a lot of time” and she’s tired of the attitude of these people. I don’t know if you understand. You must know how complicated it all is (…) For example, the other day a letter came from the bank which I read myself and which said we had to take them some documentation. I told my daughter and she said to me “Mum, we’ll go on Friday”. But when we got there it turned out that I didn’t understand well and that there weren’t any documents missing. You should see how cross she was that I made her waste time.

Another difficulty arises from the discomfort that language brokers may feel when interpreting for people from the same community. Zhousi, for instance, explains that interpreting for people she does not know often requires asking more questions, which makes the interaction take much longer:

Extract 9. Zhousi. Ex-CLB

Yes, yes… more with people that I didn’t know, the friends of my parents and suchlike, or the parents of friends of my parents, people that I didn’t know at all. Then I had to ask everything. I had to interview them beforehand… about what was happening to them and what they had and all that… so that I’d have an idea about what they had, because if I asked them what the problem was at the time it took much longer… it took a lot of time. So I had to be prepared before, so that at the doctor’s I directly said what I knew… that they had this and that, that they had taken that, the times… because I knew from before. Unless the doctor asked something very specific which I didn’t know and I had to ask them and clear it up… and this took a certain amount of time.

5. Discussion and conclusions

In terms of the frequency of CLB, there are no significant differences between the educational and social contexts. However, there are notable differences when it comes to the emotions that CLB evokes in child and young language brokers. According to the perceptions of service providers regarding broker’s feelings, it seems that, in general, the emotions detected in the educational context are of a positive type while those generated in the social sphere are of a more negative type. Although this has also been evidenced in previous studies (Arumí and Rubio-Carbonero 2022, García-Sanchez 2019), more empirical data would be needed to validate this finding.

The qualitative data reveals that there may be a direct relation between the challenges posed by the context and how these challenges manifest in the emotions triggered in the brokers. For example, according to the data, the school context tends to be mostly free from difficulties and teachers’ attitudes are generally trusting and supportive. On the contrary, in the social setting, four different types of difficulties are identified by the participants:

1. difficulties caused by the attitudes of both the service providers and the relatives that children and young people accompany, which often result from the lack of knowledge the brokers have on how the public service works;
2. difficulties when it comes to expressing ideas in specialized subject areas;
3. difficulties related with the bureaucracy of the public system;
4. the discomfort that language brokers feel when interpreting for people from the same community (beyond family members).

In addition to the impact of context, we have identified two more factors that are crucial for young people involved in CLB to feel comfortable with the task and for it to evoke positive emotions. One is the involvement of the participants in the interaction. The closer these participants are (such as direct relatives or teachers), the stronger the sense of security expressed by the young people. As the relationship becomes less direct (community, service providers), they express greater insecurity and more negative emotions. In this respect, various informants stressed how important it is that service providers have a positive and supportive attitude to reduce the anxiety experienced by the minors and young people. The nature of the subject discussed during the interactions is another important factor. When the subject is known and simple, they have a greater sense of security and control of the situation. As the subject becomes more unfamiliar, complex, and specialized, young people express greater anxiety and discomfort.

The relationship between the emotions and the challenges minors face when acting as brokers highlights the importance of considering the specific context in which the interpretation takes place before determining whether it is advisable for a minor to interpret. Furthermore, the participants involved, as well as the nature and degree of specialisation of interaction, should also be examined.

A tentative Model of Contexts for CLB

With the goal of gaining a comprehensive understanding of CLB and providing guidelines for those who rely on it in their services, we believe it could be useful to have a model that clearly identifies the contexts in which minors and young people interpret and how the nature of these contexts, as well as the challenges and the complexity they entail, can make the brokers feel most comfortable when interpreting, as well as the factors that cause them stress. Based on the results obtained from the school and social contexts, we propose a tentative model of contexts, which we hope can be tested and validated by future research.

Like other members of the society in which they live, children and youth are immersed in various interconnected contexts, ranging from the most intimate, such as the home and family, to more distant ones with which they only have occasional contact. We propose a Model of Contexts structured into three nested levels of external influence spanning from the most intimate to the broadest.

Figure 1: Model of Contexts for CLB proposed by Arumí and Vargas-Urpí

Considering the broker in the middle as in Figure 1, the first level would be the intimate context, which is the most immediate environment in which children live. As such, it comprises the home and the family. This would be the level where the minors and young people would feel most at ease, when they interpret within the family, in the private sphere. Next would be the level where children’s intimate contexts interact with each other. As observed, school is typically a safe place, a familiar space they are comfortable with, where they do not normally face difficulties, and a setting that makes them even feel a sense of pride.

In their studies, Orellana and Sanchez (2019) emphasized how, taking advantage of the positive emotions developed within the educational domain, the skills of youths from non-dominant groups can be seen as strengths that can be further developed through classroom sharing. If the school offers the necessary support and encouragement, the work on CLB should make it possible to increase visibility and awareness of aspects related to multilingualism and linguistic diversity, among others.

The third level encompasses the more unfamiliar settings. As seen in the results, the social sphere is more unknown, and parents mention that sometimes the minors do not understand the interaction well and they therefore have to resort to other people. At the same time, their lack of understanding of how public services operate creates discomfort, along with difficulties in mastering the specialized language. Health and legal settings could be also included in this third and more distant level.

The study reveals how CLB is experienced more negatively in the social setting due to a range of intrinsic difficulties. In this regard, it would be advisable to avoid resorting to CLB in the settings included in this third level, and when it cannot be avoided, the circumstances should be carefully managed, ensuring smooth interaction and openly addressing the various challenges that may arise.

To complete the model, we propose to consider the political and ideological framework that can influence the rest of the levels.  For example, the data reveals attitudes of mistrust and doubt when service providers are required to rely on a minor for communication. Furthermore, the fact that children and youth are asked to broker in social, healthcare and legal settings is also indicative of an absence of institutional policies that foresee public service interpreting in these settings. Such policies would undoubtedly serve to reduce the pressure on minors to become the referent for the entire community.

This tentative and preliminary model is a first attempt to emphasize the importance of the contexts when analysing children’s emotions and reactions when they broker, in an attempt to understand the phenomena in a comprehensive way. The results of this study lay the foundation for future research which could contribute to the validation and completion of the model.

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