Language brokering is a complex process in which children engage when translating and interpreting for their parents. This study investigated the deeper meanings of language brokering by conducting semistructured interviews of 13 Mexican heritage women who served as language brokers for their families when they were children. Using the critical lenses of Chicana feminism and Latino critical race theory, a grounded theory methodology generated a theoretical model of Language Brokering. The model was comprised of the following four overarching themes: (a) contextual factors, (b) personal and family processes, (c) the process of language brokering, and (d) the impact of language brokering. Contextual factors accounted for the experiences that served as the backdrop of their language brokering experiences, such as the immigration and citizenship process and participants' daily environmental contexts. Personal and family processes involved Spanish language maintenance and English language acquisition, their parents' personalities, gender roles, and their siblings' roles in language brokering. The process of language brokering was related to the logistics of language brokering (e.g., people for whom they brokered and spaces where they brokered) and the development of language brokering. Last, the impact of language brokering encompassed the many areas of participants' lives that language brokering affected. Implications for the theoretical model for research, clinical practice, critical theory development, education, and educational policy are discussed.
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