The CATESOL Journal

This article examines the Spanish proverb, quien habla dos idiomas vale por dos, which literally translates to mean he who speaks two languages is worth two people and applies its meaning to immigrant children who are language brokers for their families. Historically, the United States has not promoted multilingualism and even frowned up language brokering because it is viewed as an adult task taken on by a child. However, recent research shows that language brokering is actually a benefit that aids the family in the acculturation process and assists the child in the journey of becoming bilingual. There is much research already on the benefit of being bilingual. This project set out to show that connecting child language brokers to educational programs could ultimately nurture their bilingual skills and support them to be successful academically. The goals of this project were to link language brokers with (a) current research on benefits of bilingualism, (b) to find any pioneers in the United States leading the way in promoting bilingualism or multilingualism, and (c) to offer next steps.