Language Brokering

My foundational texts are all written by Latinos, and my favorite one was Translating Childhoods. These books show us different perspectives of

children who are their family language brokers. They even interviewed the parents, and I noticed that most of the materials we used in class were anthologies and testimonials. And the interviews with the parents are testimonials because they share their experiences. And I hope teachers and

students understand language brokering and the Latino diaspora and how having a better bilingual education can help future students not only in school but at home.

If I had more time to work on the lesson plan, I would like to include more information about bilingual education. A thing I noticed while doing my research was that language brokering tied up with bilingual education. And to fully have a better understanding of it, more information should be added to it because, as many people said in their academic journals, this is a phenomenon. Composing this lesson helped me understand that there isn’t enough time to cover everything you want to teach. I also learned that information is gatekept from a general population; most of the articles I read were sources the colleges pay for. If I didn’t have access to the ACC Library, I wouldn’t have been able to read them unless I paid for them. And these articles are expensive to purchase. A lot of work goes towards teaching and planning these lessons to teach students honestly and adequately; this line of work comes from passion and heart, and I appreciate everyone who does it. -- Student C. Rivera

Students Learning Goals and Objectives

By the end of this unit, students will be able to:

Discuss the role of language broker and the importance of the role in the LatinX community
Identify and apply personal experiences with language brokering
Gather, analyze, and synthesize research on the experience of language brokering in different communities
Develop, interpret, and express ideas and information through testimonios, art and poems
Identify effects of today's culture on language brokering

Foundational Text

The following literature is used in the unit to guide students to meet learning goals and objectives.

"Children of Immigrants "Brokers" in an Era of Exclusion" by: Vanessa Delgado
Translating Childhoods ( Introduction and Chapter 1 ) by Marjorie Faulstich Orellana
"Bilingual Sestina" by: Julia Alvarez

Study Questions

Children of Immigrants "Brokers" in an Era of Exclusion

What are some times in your life when you had to translate or define legal terms or medical terms to loved ones or friends?
- We have seen or experienced the rhetoric change towards the LatinX community these past few years; how has that affected your role as the language broker?
- A question imposed in Vanessa Delgado's academic journal article is "How does this sociopolitical context influence brokering among immigrant families?" What are your thoughts on her response? And do these responses relate to your own personal experiences?
- After reading this article, has your view changed towards language brokers in the LatinX society?

Translating Childhoods

Do you agree that language brokering undermines parental authority? Why or why not?
After reading the introduction and chapter 1 of Translating Childhoods, how does your perspective on the role of language brokering change?
How do social structures affect language brokers? And have any social structures affected you or benefited you?
Many students that Orellana studied believe that the role of language broker was something normal. Do you believe this a normal thing for children to be doing? If you grew up being the family language broker did you believe it was normal? Why or why not?

Bilingual Sestina

As a bilingual person or someone who has to code switch how does this poem make you feel?
Language is part of our identity and Julia Alvarez shows us in her poem how the languages she speaks connect to her. How does she make these connection in her poem?
What are some types of figures of speech Alvarez uses in her poem?
What is a line in the poem that stands out to you and why?

Reflective Journal Prompt

Journal and journey have the same root word. In your reflective journals for this course, you have an opportunity to relate the works we're discussing in class with your own life and experiences to document how you're moving on your journey through the course, through Mexican American Studies, and through your education and on to your career. These journals are confidential, which means it's a one-on-one dialogue between you and me. Feel free to share as much or as little as you wish, knowing that you can always come back to the journal to reflect on how far you've come in this course.

In this unit we have disccused Language Brokering and read an academic article, read the introduction and the first chapter of Translating Childhoods and also read and analyzed Julia Alvarez poem, all literature telling us about language brokering and the difficulty that arises in being bilingual. Let's reflect with these questions.

Many of us weren’t conscious of the term "language brokering" before the reading and discussion. Now that we have a better understanding of the term, what connections can you make with it?
When was a time you felt out of place or not capable of translating or defining a word or a phrase to a loved one or friend. How did it make you feel?
Would you consider language brokering part of the Latinx community identity or part of your own? Why or why not?

End of Unit Project

For the end of the unit project, students will have the opportunity to apply their new knowledge on language brokering.

Students will conduct research finding local resources/organizations that can help language brokers, for example, finding legal organizations that can help translate legal forms.

Students can create poster boards, Powerpoints, or 1-minute advertisement videos. Presentations must include two resources and information about the resources on how each can help.

These presentations will be added to the school website to help make these resources more available to students in need.

In addition to the project, students will write a 300-word response explaining the benefits of the organization or resources they found for students who language broker and why they believe their research can help a fellow student.

The objectives of the project are to:

Help students develop civic and cultural awareness.

Gather and analyze research.

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