"If We Don't Do It For Our Parents, Then Who Will?" Afghan Youth as Cultural/Language Brokers

This paper looks at the role that immigrant adolescents play as cultural/language brokers for their families. Research shows that immigrant adolescents play exceptionally supportive roles as cultural/language brokers for their families during the early years of settlement. There is limited research examining this phenomenon of cultural brokering by immigrant adolescents in Canada, and perhaps no particular research focusing on Afghan youth. The paper presents insights from nine Afghan youth who through their cultural/language brokering are important sources of support for their families during settlement. It will also include a compilation of previous literature on this area. Despite the struggles of negotiating with their role as cultural/language brokers in the early years, the youth generally shared positive experiences of being able to be a source of assistance for their families. Additionally, the participants viewed their role as a cultural/language broker to be a part of their familial responsibility

"If We Don't Do It For Our Parents, Then Who Will?" Afghan Youth as Cultural/Language Brokers

This paper looks at the role that immigrant adolescents play as cultural/language brokers for their families. Research shows that immigrant adolescents play exceptionally supportive roles as cultural/language brokers for their families during the early years of settlement. There is limited research examining this phenomenon of cultural brokering by immigrant adolescents in Canada, and perhaps no particular research focusing on Afghan youth. The paper presents insights from nine Afghan youth who through their cultural/language brokering are important sources of support for their families during settlement. It will also include a compilation of previous literature on this area. Despite the struggles of negotiating with their role as cultural/language brokers in the early years, the youth generally shared positive experiences of being able to be a source of assistance for their families. Additionally, the participants viewed their role as a cultural/language broker to be a part of their familial responsibility

More than words can say: Why health and social care policy makers should reconsider their position on informal interpreters

In the UK, individuals with limited English-language proficiency (LEP) self-report poorer health and face challenges accessing health and social care support. Health and social care policies in English speaking countries provide practitioners with guidance that ensures access to public service interpreters for individuals who require them. The guidance simultaneously discourages the use of informal language brokers, including family and friends, suggesting that they are not educated or objective enough to conduct this role, and that they present unmanageable risks. This poses a challenge, as research exploring patient and service user choices, finds that individuals consistently prefer an informal language broker. The paper explores the contradiction between a legislative shift towards empowerment and choice within social work and the policies that restrict these rights in relation to interpretation. Exploring these challenges with a focus on policy and practice, leads to the suggestion that individuals should be empowered to choose who provides their language support. In contrast, existing policies increase the power imbalance between professionals and users of services, significantly affecting the life chances of those with LEP.

The Contact Zone and Dialogical Positionalities in “Non-Normative” Childhoods: How Children Who Language Broker Manage Conflict

This article examines the processes by which different dialogical positionalities are taken in the contact zone. The contact zone provides a framework for the consideration of potential confrontations and uncertainties during intercultural contacts between migrant children, their family, and another adult. The other adult is usually someone in a position of authority. For young people who language broker, managing the uncertainties and confrontations of conflictual situations highlighted three positionalities: (a) “conflict avoider,” (b) “the neutral or passive broker,” and (c) the “active broker.” The contact zone was a sphere of experience that opened up possibilities for agentic action as well as constraints. The contact zone had the potential to foreground different aspects of their status such as “the child,” “the immigrant,” or the second-language speaker. Equally, the young people took opportunities to utilize these statuses as part of their dialogical positionalities to get the best outcome for them and/or their families. We argue that further exploration of the contact zone within the framing of dialogical positionalities can enable better understanding of critical cultural-development childhoods.