Graduation Date
Summer 2025
Document Type
Project
Program
Master of Arts degree with a major in English, emphasis in Applied English Studies
Committee Chair Name
Daniela Cerbino
Committee Chair Affiliation
Cal Poly Humboldt Faculty or Staff
Second Committee Member Name
Andrea Delgado
Second Committee Member Affiliation
Cal Poly Humboldt Faculty or Staff
Third Committee Member Name
Marisol Ruiz
Third Committee Member Affiliation
Cal Poly Humboldt Faculty or Staff
Keywords
Child language Brokering, Familismo, Parentification, Role reversal, Cultural empowerment, Theory in the flesh, Assimilation, Bilingual, Bicultural, Education, Language revival, Identity
Subject Categories
English
Abstract
Immigrants often pursuing a better life than that in their own places of birth migrate to the states. In order to make lives in the states they bring their families with them or begin to create their own already inside the host country. With little knowledge of the place, they arrive and with nothing more than the help of their children, they seek to find a place in the society they became a part of. Immigrant children or those who come from migrant families often must help their parents, caretakers, or extended family manage the English language and American culture while having only a small idea of how to use the English language. Child Language Brokers (CLB) are not a new phenomenon; they are children who serve as resources for their immigrant families in the dominant societies where they migrated. My research continues the conversation about CLB and extends it to perceived emotions and the relevance to a purist for a higher education by exploring the narratives of five participants most of which are female. I talk about previous research and relevant cultural practices, such as machismo and marianismo, to be able to find an answer to my question; did the experiences former college level language brokers have as children influence them to pursue a higher education? I then talk about steps moving forward and ways to help the children who must assume adult responsibility because of a lack of resources for their families. I present an idea of cultural empowerment highlighted not through the past efforts of my participants but rather through their continuation of their support for their communities’ expansion in soul and intellectual capabilities. I walk hand in hand, soul and spirit with my participants releasing our voices into the wind merging with the essence of our ancestors.
Citation Style
MLA
Recommended Citation
Maldonado, Noemi, "The experience of child language brokering in Latin/Hispanic students: understanding how CLB shapes attitudes towards higher education" (2025). Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects. 2325.
https://digitalcommons.humboldt.edu/etd/2325
Included in
Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons, English Language and Literature Commons, Language Interpretation and Translation Commons, Other Arts and Humanities Commons