Language Brokering and Self-Concept: An Exploratory Study of Latino Students’ Experiences in Middle and High School

• In Event: Language Issues: Bilingual Language Learners, Language Policy, and Second Language Learning Programs

Abstract

This exploratory study examined the relationships among individual characteristics, language brokering experiences, and multiple dimensions of self-concept among Latino adolescents. The sample was comprised of 66 Latino students in sixth through eleventh grades. Results from regression analyses and correlational analyses showed that language brokering frequency was negatively associated with academic self-concept and perceived popularity at school, language brokering difficulty was a positive predictor of academic self-concept, and language brokering attitudes were positively related to academic self-concept, perceived popularity, and confidence in one’s physical appearance. Students who were first-generation immigrants reported brokering more frequently, brokering in more difficult situations, and feeling more positively about language brokering, but also reported higher anxiety and lower emotional well-being as compared to U.S.-born students.

Authors

• Kate Niehaus, University of South Carolina

• Gerda Kumpiene, University of South Carolina - Columbia