Exploring institutional perceptions of child language brokering

Young Adult Language Brokers’ and Teachers’ Views of the Advantages and Disadvantages of Brokering in School

“…The lack of official policy guidelines for professionals on the use of child language brokers is not unique to either the school context or the UK context. There have been similar findings, for example, from a team working in Bologna, Italy (see Cirillo, Torresi & Valentini, 2010). There was, in the past, some official support in the UK for schemes [also known as programs in the U.S.] in which bilingual students were trained to act as interpreters for other students' parents at national level (QCA, 2008), and at the local level, for example, a scheme aimed more towards using young interpreters as peer support for newly arrived pupils (Hampshire Borough Council, Young Interpreter Scheme, 2014).…”

“…In addition, we were interested in exploring further the notion that CLBs are "advocates", "tutors", "surrogates" (Valenzuela, 1999) or a "performance team" with their parents (Valdes, 2003). These roles had been evidenced in an interview study with professionals in Italy (see Cirillo, Torresi & Valentini, 2010) where, in two instances, child language brokers strongly advocated for their families. One situation involved a charity and the other a municipal support centre.…”

“…In locations of high language diversity, the home languages of many immigrants are socially devalued and in some cases, actively suppressed in institutional settings like school (Cummins, 2000). The lack of policy guidelines may also reflect institutional endeavors to avoid using children at all costs (Cirillo, Torresi & Valentini, 2010).…”

“…This view is endorsed by many other professionals who describe various types of discomfort at using children for interpreting and translating, especially when sensitive or confidential matters are to be discussed (e.g. Cirillo, Torresi & Valentini, 2010). Whilst such a perspective may be born of best intentions, the reality is that for economic, social, migratory and cultural reasons it is unlikely the practice will decrease.…”

Child Language Brokering: la percezione degli studenti di origine straniera e dei rispettivi insegnanti

“…La maggioranza degli insegnanti, il 72%, ritiene inoltre che l'utilizzo degli alunni mediatori debba essere evitato in certe circostanze, soprattutto in caso di situazioni familiari problematiche (89%), in situazioni comunicative delicate, come quelle che avvengono negli ospedali o durante le visite mediche (83%), in situazioni ufficiali, ad esempio in questura, in uffici pubblici o a scuola (72%) e in caso di comunicazioni sul profitto scolastico (61%). Queste opinioni manifestano pareri contrastanti sulle attività di child language brokering e riflettono un atteggiamento comune tra i rappresentanti delle varie istituzioni che tendono a considerare tale pratica dannosa per lo sviluppo psicologico dei bambini e negativa per le relazioni intrafamiliari, ragioni per cui ritengono che andrebbe evitata (Cohen, Moran-Ellis, Smaje 1999;Cirillo, Torresi, Valentini 2010;Cirillo, Torresi 2013).…”