Spoken Language Interpreters andSigned Language Interpreters: Towards Cross-fertilization

This commentary aims to give an overview of developments in the related fields of spoken and signed language interpreting, with consideration given to professionalization, standards, education and training, and research. We base our discussion on our observations of the changing nature of the sister professions over the years, as the two related fields become more closely aligned. We propose that spoken and signed language interpreters can work more closely together to promote more cross-fertilization in interpreting studies

Innovative and Collaborative Use of iPads in Interpreter Education

This article reports on findings from a collaborative action research project that was conducted to investigate the use of iPad in teaching interpreting students. Action research is well documented as a method for encouraging innovation and change in education, and it has been applied in translation and interpreting educational research. The goal of the project was to investigate how iPad technology can be used to enhance the learning experience for interpreting students in a master’s-level Conference Interpreting program, with an evaluation of the benefits of using the iPad generally and in relation to the development of interpreting skills, as well as through one particular iPad application (AudioNote). The project incorporated periodic cycles of evaluation to reflect on the effectiveness of the use of iPads in this teaching context, for instructors and students to share information about what applications they had found, and to design learning and teaching activities together using those applications. The iPad applications downloaded by students can be categorized into three main areas of learning: general study, language enhancement, and interpreting skills. Recommendations are made about how iPads can be used innovatively and creatively in educating interpreting students of any language combination

Tracking The Development Of Critical Self-Reflective Practice Of A Novice Sign Language Interpreter: A Case Study

The purpose of this case study was to track the progression of a novice interpreter’s use of self-reflective practice while interpreting a series of six University lecture segments, in a controlled environment over a period of three months. It became evident that the novice interpreter in this case study was able to articulate a variety of coping strategies used, and found improvements in her self-reflective practice skills. The results of this study support key suggestions in the literature: that interpreters need to be motivated to aim for expertise by improving their skills through self-reflective practices, via supported environments such as ongoing mentorship, training and professional development. This longitudinal case study was developed as a multi-methods qualitative study that triangulated three forms of data (quasi-experimental, ethnographic, and retrospective), comparing the novice interpreter’s performance through observations from both the researcher and the participant. A rubric (Appendix 1) was designed based on a variety of assessment tools and taxonomies related to interpreting, and used to track the participant and researcher perceptions each session. This case study has contributed to the field of interpreting in that very few case studies to date have focused on novice interpreters’ self-reflective practices over a period of time

Reading the signs : impact of signed versus written questionnaires on the prevalence of psychopathology among deaf adolescents

Objective: There are no empirically validated measures of psychopathology that can be easily understood by signing deaf children and little reliable data on the prevalence of psychiatric disturbance in this population. The aim was to meet this need by developing an Australian Sign Language (Auslan) version of a widely used measure (the Youth Self-Report; YSR) which could be administered in an interactive CD-ROM format, to assess its reliability, and to compare the prevalence of clinically significant psychopathology in deaf adolescents when using the Auslan questionnaire versus the standard written version. This would also allow examining the validity of written questionnaires in this population. Method: Twenty-nine male and 25 female adolescents with severe or profound hearing loss from public and private schools in the Australian States of Tasmania (n = 11) and New South Wales (n = 43) agreed to participate and completed the written and the interactive Auslan versions of the YSR. Parallel forms were completed by parents (Child Behaviour Checklist) and teachers (Teacher's Report Form). Results: The Auslan version showed comparable reliability to that reported for the standard YSR: internal consistency ( ) ranging from 0.77 to 0.97 and test-retest agreement (r) from 0.49 to 0.78. The interactive Auslan version yielded a prevalence of clinically significant emotional and behavioural problems in deaf adolescents of 42.6% compared with 21.4% when using the standard English version. Prevalence for the wider Australian adolescent population (18.9%) was similar to that obtained among deaf adolescents when using the standard YSR (21.4%). However, it was higher among deaf adolescents (42.6%) when using the Auslan version (OR = 3.2, 95% CI = 1.83-5.58). According to the Auslan version, the syndromes Withdrawn/Depressed (OR = 6.5, 95% CI = 2.96-14.25), Somatic Complaints (OR = 4.8, 95% CI = 2.53-9.22), Social Problems (OR = 8.3, 95% CI = 4.16-16.47) and Thought Problems (OR = 5.7, 95% CI = 2.50-12.80) were much more prevalent among deaf adolescents than in the wider adolescent population, while Attention Problems (OR = 1.1, 95% CI = 0.39-3.17) and Rule-Breaking Behaviour (OR = 1.5, 95% CI = 0.73-3.17) were not. Conclusions: An interactive Auslan version of the YSR is reliable, better accepted and yields higher rates of disturbance than the standard written questionnaire. Clinicians should be aware that using written instruments to assess psychopathology in deaf adolescents may produce invalid results or may underestimate the level of disturbance, particularly emotional problems.9 page(s

Medical Signbank as a model for sign language planning? A review of community engagement

This paper reviews a sign language planning project conducted in Australia with deaf Auslan users. The Medical Signbank project utilised a cooperative language planning process to engage with the Deaf community and sign language interpreters to develop an online interactive resource of health-related signs, in order to address a gap in the health lexicon of Auslan. The goal of this paper is to evaluate the outcome of the bottom-up language planning model that was used in this context, and to make recommendations for similar future sign language planning projects.17 page(s