Su Yeong Kim discussed her research on the effects of language brokering among bilingual immigrant children at Scripps College’s Balch Auditorium on Feb. 18 for Scripps Presents’ Marion Jane Girard Memorial Lecture.
A professor of Human Development and Family Sciences at the University of Texas at Austin, Kim’s research examines the experiences of ethnic minority groups. In doing so, she also challenges common misconceptions — for example, the misconception that Asian American “tiger parenting” methods are most effective in producing child prodigies.
Kim discussed her findings from observing a group of more than 600 adolescents of Mexican descent who translate English to Spanish for their monolingual families and peers. Observing the group from their middle school years into young adulthood, Kim studied the effects that language brokering had on their mental health, as nearly 70% of immigrant Mexican adults report not speaking English “very well.”
Language brokering happens “in immigrant families, often new immigrant families, [where] the parents may not be very proficient in English, so they rely on their children to translate between English and their heritage language for the family,” Kim said.
Appearing in a wide range of proficiencies and modes, language brokering can include families where the parents speak basic English.
“Some kids may come from families that are actually pretty proficient in English, and they may not know just a few words, and that’s also language brokering,” Kim continued. “But other kids may come from families where their parents don’t know any English. It’s a big range.”
Although language brokering is common, many people look down on it.
“Because they’re children taking on the adult-like task of translating for their families, the dominant view about language brokering is that it’s very stressful and very burdensome on children,” Kim said.
In response, Kim argued that kids who feel stressed and burdened are still reaping the same benefits from language brokering as children who don’t feel as negatively about having to do so.
“They’re getting a beneficial experience, especially if they feel a strong sense of alienation [from family]” Kim said.
As a result, she hopes to improve the morale and language brokering skills of these youth.
“Although language brokering is common, many people look down on it.”
“They’re everywhere in our K-12 system,” Kim said. “My future goal would be to be able to develop an intervention to get almost every bilingual kid to feel [confident in their translating skills].”
Attendee Lauren Hwang PZ ’27 considered the ways in which language brokering may have played a role in her family’s experiences as Korean Americans.
“I found it interesting when she talked about some of the mental benefits of being a language broker,” Hwang said. “I know my parents are both fluent in English, but I’m sure that they had language brokers, or my grandparents did growing up, so I was really interested in hearing about that even though I’ve never personally had that experience.”
Another student, Arlen Alexander PZ ’25, was intrigued by Dr. Kim’s comments about the negative assumptions tied to language brokering.
“Something that stood out to me was that people are often seeing language brokering in a bad and negative light,” Alexander said. “They think, ‘Oh, it’s like adultification. It’s making kids do grown-up things, so that’s gonna put too much of a burden on them.’ But she’s really highlighting that it does have some good effects.”
In light of her findings which show the benefits of the practice, Kim expressed her hopes for a future in which language brokering is embraced by those who partake in it and admired by those who observe it.
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