Volume: 21  Number: 1  Page: 16–30  doi:10.2167/le645.0

Language Brokering as Young People’s Work: Evidence from Chinese Adolescents in England

Nigel Hall and Sylvia Sham Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, UK

Language brokering describes the task in an intercultural language event undertaken by children in families with one or two non-national languaged parents or caregivers. This paper examines the complex issues involved in being a language broker and explores these as they apply to a group of adolescents in Chinese families in the UK. The findings show that for these children the language brokering activities they undertake are not only complex and demanding, but make a significant economic contribution to family life.

Keywords: adolescence, language, language brokering, Chinese, work

© 2007 N. Hall & S. Sham

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