The impact of language brokering frequency and psychological health on academic motivation and learning strategies of university students in the United States

Previous research studying language brokers (i.e. children/adolescents who translate for family members) has indicated some positive correlations between frequent language brokering and gains in cognitive development, although little of this research has been conducted on language brokers during the university/higher education years. At the same time, there is evidence documenting elevated levels of depression and anxiety in brokers who translate frequently, which may undermine positive cognitive developments. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of accumulated brokering frequency on academic motivation and learning strategies in United States university students, while accounting for psychological health symptoms. Greater brokering experience uniquely predicted increases in academic motivation and learning strategies. In particular, these relations were driven by greater value components (i.e. intrinsic and extrinsic goal orientation, task value understanding) and cognitive and metacognitive strategy use. This suggests greater self-regulated learning abilities in the university setting for language brokers with more translation experience. The brokers' reported psychological health symptoms did not interact with these positive correlations. Overall, these findings help to more directly understand the context of the language broker in higher academia and the impact on cognitive outcomes during this important transition into adulthood.