My Researcher Story

Early in my career, I found that many education researchers worried that children learning English in school had little access or opportunity to develop their bilingualism outside of school. However, in my experience as an immigrant child who learned English in school and whose parents learned English informally at their workplaces, I had ample opportunities outside of school to practice language skills.

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Friends with similar families and backgrounds also had many opportunities to explore language through language brokering. Language brokering involves translating, explaining culture, decoding documents, and mediating tools like computers for others, primarily families. As a result, language brokers like myself excel at communicating complex ideas and have cultivated skills that are often overlooked in academic and professional contexts.

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Driven to expand research on language brokering, I pursued a doctoral degree in education. I narrowed my focus to children’s and young people’s language brokering in health contexts, such as translating medication instructions or assisting doctors and families at hospitals.

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Studying language brokering in health contexts naturally situates me as an interdisciplinary scholar. I regularly engage with education, health, public health, human development, psychology, family studies, and legal studies. I regularly engage with scholars and initiative partners to inform research reports, policy briefs, and funding initiatives.