NH Immigrants’ Perspectives on Their Experiences Serving As Language Brokers for Their Families

Abstract

Many communities lack trained and/or licensed bilingual professionals that reflect the recent demographic changes in the United States. Consequently, immigrant youth whose English language proficiency is often better than their parents/caregivers are being used as interpreters to help their families in a range of contexts from schools to doctors’ offices and more. With this in mind, a qualitative study was conducted with seven New Hampshire immigrant young adults on the benefits and challenges of their childhood experiences as language brokers. Insights gained from this study could help New Hampshire’s growing immigrant population and the professionals who serve them