Storied Classrooms: Narrative Pedagogy in American Sign Language–English Interpreter Education

Narrative pedagogy is an educational method that draws on the power of stories to cultivate learning. Narrative has been described as the fundamental way that individuals “make sense” of events by connecting new information to their own lived experiences. In this article, we argue that narratives are underutilized in American Sign Language–English interpreter education, perhaps due to concerns about confidentiality. This article describes an educational project that incorporated narratives from experienced medical interpreters into an interpreting course. The primary learning objective for students was to become familiar with specific competencies necessary for successful practice in medical settings. Drawing on the document “ASL–English Medical Interpreter Domains and Competencies,” students individually interviewed 17 experienced medical interpreters to gain perspectives on competencies needed to interpret in medical settings. The interviews and resulting narrative data were used in the classroom to develop content knowledge about the competencies and to cultivate critical thinking regarding issues that arise in medical interpreting. We provide two samples of narratives collected by students and discuss our instructional methods with the students. We suggest that narrative pedagogy can serve as an effective instructional method in ASL–English interpreter education

Storied Classrooms: Narrative Pedagogy in American Sign Language–English Interpreter Education

Narrative pedagogy is an educational method that draws on the power of stories to cultivate learning. Narrative has been described as the fundamental way that individuals “make sense” of events by connecting new information to their own lived experiences. In this article, we argue that narratives are underutilized in American Sign Language–English interpreter education, perhaps due to concerns about confidentiality. This article describes an educational project that incorporated narratives from experienced medical interpreters into an interpreting course. The primary learning objective for students was to become familiar with specific competencies necessary for successful practice in medical settings. Drawing on the document “ASL–English Medical Interpreter Domains and Competencies,” students individually interviewed 17 experienced medical interpreters to gain perspectives on competencies needed to interpret in medical settings. The interviews and resulting narrative data were used in the classroom to develop content knowledge about the competencies and to cultivate critical thinking regarding issues that arise in medical interpreting. We provide two samples of narratives collected by students and discuss our instructional methods with the students. We suggest that narrative pedagogy can serve as an effective instructional method in ASL–English interpreter education

Insights from U.S. deaf patients: Interpreters’ presence and receptive skills matter in patient-centered communication care

In the U.S., deaf individuals who use sign language have a legislated right to communication access in the healthcare system, which is often addressed through the provision of signed language interpreters. However, little is known about deaf patients’ perception of interpreter presence, its impact on their disclosure of medical information to physicians, and whether this perception affects their assessment of physicians’ patient-centered communication behaviors (PCC). A total of 811 deaf adults responded to questions on a bilingual ASL-English online survey about their experiences with interpreters and physicians. Logistic regression analysis was used to assess the relationship between deaf patients’ perception of interpreters’ presence with disclosure of medical information and deaf patients’ ratings of their physicians’ patient-centered communication behaviors. The majority of deaf respondents reported feeling that an interpreter’s presence does not interfere with disclosure of medical information to their provider; however, approximately 27% responded that an interpreter’s presence does interfere with their disclosure of medical information. After controlling for correlates of physicians’ patient-centered communication behaviors, the negative perception of interpreters’ presence was associated with 1) low ratings of interpreters’ ability to understand their signed communication, and 2) low ratings of physicians’ patient-centered communication behaviors. Deaf patients’ perception of interpreters’ interference with disclosure of medical information to physicians has implications for trust relationships between the deaf patient and the interpreter, as well as between the deaf patient and physician. Understanding the importance of establishing trust in interpreter-mediated healthcare encounters may foster additional training of interpreters’ receptive skills and inform physician’s patient-centered care for deaf patients

International Development of Interpreter Specialization: Assumptions and Principles for Interpreter Educators

Specialization of interpreting practice exists in the field of interpreting and interpreter education through de facto and de jure processes. Interpreters are de facto specialists when they self-designate as having specialized competence for working in a particular setting, with certain populations, or within unique functions. Conversely, interpreters may be designated as specialists through external (de jure) processes such as adhering to national standards, completing advanced educational programming in specialty areas, and achieving specialty certification. There are a variety of factors that have shaped the evolution of specialization in the United States—several of which have application to the specialization of practice regardless of locale. This article addresses the implications of specialization for the fields of interpreting and interpreter education with specific attention to necessary elements associated with the preparation of practitioners for specialist practice. These elements are framed within the context of assumptions that currently exist in interpreting literature and/or current practices related to the training and certification of specialist practitioners. This framework offers sound rationale for the establishment of structured mechanisms to guide the intentional development of specializations within signed language interpreting

“It felt like having a second job”: Perspectives from Deaf Professionals on Communication Equity in the Workplace

More than 50 years of nondiscrimination legislation in the United States has resulted in greater diversity in the workplace; however, questions persist about the communication equity of Deaf employees who use a signed language. In this study, we investigate systemic factors that underlie the provision of signed language interpreting services in the workplace. Using the Critical Incident Technique, observations were collected from 17 Deaf professionals regarding the systems of interpreter provision at work. The data resulted in four main findings: (1) Deaf professionals hold a sophisticated understanding of their communication needs, (2) both quality and quantity of interpreting are important, (3) effective systems are necessary for the provision of equitable communication access, and (4) the pursuit of cost savings usually results in less equitable systems. The aim of this paper is to offer evidence-based data that can guide employers in creating communication access and equity for Deaf employees

Driving Without Directions? Modifying Assignments for Deaf Students in an Interpreter Education Class

In the U.S. and other countries, deaf interpreters are increasingly providing professional interpreting and translation services between one or more languages. One outcome of this trend is that deaf individuals are enrolling in educational degree programs in pursuit of training and credentials for signed language interpreters. Interpreter educators whose experience may have only been with teaching non-deaf students are now seeking to create meaningful learning experiences for their deaf students. In this article, we discuss two course assignments modified for deaf students who were enrolled in a beginning translation course at Gallaudet University and we provide the students’ perspectives about the efficacy of the assignments. The aim of this article is to share ideas about creating or altering tasks to better address the needs of deaf students enrolled in interpreter education programs

Rayco H. González Montesino: One of a kind! ¡Único en su clase!

What makes Rayco H. González Montesinoone of a kind? First, Raycowasfirst person in Spain to make signed language interpreting a topic for a doctoral thesis. For his doctoral studies in Applied Linguistics from the University of Vigo, he created a didactic of available strategies for signed language interpreting as a dissertation study. Rayco has also worked as a Spanish Sign Language-Spanish interpreter since 2002, and since 2004 has worked as a signed language interpreter educator. Currently he is a professor at University Rey Juan Carlos in Madrid. We present this interview in both English and Spanish and hope you enjoy reading about our Spanish colleague as he works to advance interpreter education in Spain

Genetic influences on schizophrenia and subcortical brain volumes:Large-scale proof of concept

Schizophrenia is a devastating psychiatric illness with high heritability. Brain structure and function differ, on average, between people with schizophrenia and healthy individuals. As common genetic associations are emerging for both schizophrenia and brain imaging phenotypes, we can now use genome-wide data to investigate genetic overlap. Here we integrated results from common variant studies of schizophrenia (33,636 cases, 43,008 controls) and volumes of several (mainly subcortical) brain structures (11,840 subjects). We did not find evidence of genetic overlap between schizophrenia risk and subcortical volume measures either at the level of common variant genetic architecture or for single genetic markers. These results provide a proof of concept (albeit based on a limited set of structural brain measures) and define a roadmap for future studies investigating the genetic covariance between structural or functional brain phenotypes and risk for psychiatric disorders