Brokering Across Home and School: Brazilian Immigrant Children and Caregivers' Experiences During Remote Learning in the United States

Abstract In this article, Mariana Lima Becker and Gabrielle Oliveira examine how a group of Brazilian immigrant children in a Portuguese-English two-way dual language bilingual education program in the United States experienced remote learning at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in the 2020–2021 school year. Drawing on prior theorizing at the intersection of language brokering and care work in immigrant households, Lima Becker and Oliveira examine the field notes of virtual classroom observations stemming from a multiyear ethnographic project. Findings indicate that second and third graders with ties across Brazil and the United States negotiated various constraints (e.g., a classroom policy of muted microphones) to engage in language brokering to support each other9s learning, including utilizing the chat box on Google Classroom. This practice shaped their in-class participation and ability to coconstruct belonging. Moreover, students created avenues to (re-)center caring relationships during virtual lessons, emphasizing interdependence in their brokering across home and school. Finally, Lima Becker and Oliveira9s analysis points to the significant role of immigrant parents and other adult caregivers in supporting children9s remote dual language education, a process that resignified school readiness and worked to center care in the face of continued threats to the children9s safety and academic learning. The article9s focus on children9s and families9 agency and resilience has implications for equitable schooling for elementary immigrant students in a postpandemic world.