Occasionally, I will have sign language interpreters interpret for me when there is a meeting, a show, or some sort of presentation.
Some of the interpreters I work with love interpreting for me, especially the ones who have students who obviously do not use sign language or depend on sign language. Basically, for the ones with students who do not look at them or use sign language, sometimes it is as if they are talking to themselves or interpreting for an imaginary student. So, when they get to interpret for me, they get excited, because they get to practice and brush up on their skills with someone who knows sign language pretty well, not fluent, but knows enough to have a decent conversation about the weather (unless it is strictly ASL).
As many of you know, my preferred choice of communication is listening, speaking, reading, and writing English. I am the most comfortable with the English language; it is my native language.
You may be wondering why I would ask interpreters to interpret for me sometimes. I do it because not only am I evaluating the interpreters' skills, I am also trying to understand what it is like for the hard of hearing students whose preferred language is spoken English who do have sign language interpreters in the classroom. Some of these students have interpreters on a trial basis to see if sign language interpreting would help. Sometimes they have interpreters simply because their parents request it.
While sign language can be helpful in catching a few words I miss here or there, if I try to only watch what is being signed while also listen to what is being said, it can be the most irritating and exhausting experience. The interpreter is often distracting, as I try to listen to what is being said. If I focus more on what is said, I will understand pretty well. It helps to remain focused on the speaker and then to look at the interpreter as support or to ask the interpreter to clarify. Otherwise, if I only focus on the interpreter, I will not fully understand what is being said.
Also, it does not help that sign language or PSE is not my native language. There are a lot of signs that will be used that I may not be familiar with. One time an interpreter used mainly ASL with me which confused the heck out of me. Sometimes the interpreter will sign a phrase that does not make much sense to me, and I will sit there and try to figure out what it means. I am also fascinated by new signs and will mimic them as I am trying to learn and improve my signing. Unfortunately, as I am learning new signs by watching the interpreter, I am missing out on what is being said.
Occasionally, the interpreter will use a sign that I thought was not appropriate for the word that was used. I noticed that sometimes the sign did not clearly represent the word (such as using the sign for 'don't like' for the word 'despise').
Some of the students will tell me that they do not want an interpreter in the classroom because they do not understand them or because they are distracting.
Because of what they have told me, what I have observed, and because of my personal experiences with being interpreted for, I realize that having an interpreter in the classroom may not be the best thing for them at the moment.
But, for the ones who do use sign language and rely on it, the interpreters are very useful and awesome.
(e
Some of the interpreters I work with love interpreting for me, especially the ones who have students who obviously do not use sign language or depend on sign language. Basically, for the ones with students who do not look at them or use sign language, sometimes it is as if they are talking to themselves or interpreting for an imaginary student. So, when they get to interpret for me, they get excited, because they get to practice and brush up on their skills with someone who knows sign language pretty well, not fluent, but knows enough to have a decent conversation about the weather (unless it is strictly ASL).
As many of you know, my preferred choice of communication is listening, speaking, reading, and writing English. I am the most comfortable with the English language; it is my native language.
You may be wondering why I would ask interpreters to interpret for me sometimes. I do it because not only am I evaluating the interpreters' skills, I am also trying to understand what it is like for the hard of hearing students whose preferred language is spoken English who do have sign language interpreters in the classroom. Some of these students have interpreters on a trial basis to see if sign language interpreting would help. Sometimes they have interpreters simply because their parents request it.
While sign language can be helpful in catching a few words I miss here or there, if I try to only watch what is being signed while also listen to what is being said, it can be the most irritating and exhausting experience. The interpreter is often distracting, as I try to listen to what is being said. If I focus more on what is said, I will understand pretty well. It helps to remain focused on the speaker and then to look at the interpreter as support or to ask the interpreter to clarify. Otherwise, if I only focus on the interpreter, I will not fully understand what is being said.
Also, it does not help that sign language or PSE is not my native language. There are a lot of signs that will be used that I may not be familiar with. One time an interpreter used mainly ASL with me which confused the heck out of me. Sometimes the interpreter will sign a phrase that does not make much sense to me, and I will sit there and try to figure out what it means. I am also fascinated by new signs and will mimic them as I am trying to learn and improve my signing. Unfortunately, as I am learning new signs by watching the interpreter, I am missing out on what is being said.
Occasionally, the interpreter will use a sign that I thought was not appropriate for the word that was used. I noticed that sometimes the sign did not clearly represent the word (such as using the sign for 'don't like' for the word 'despise').
Some of the students will tell me that they do not want an interpreter in the classroom because they do not understand them or because they are distracting.
Because of what they have told me, what I have observed, and because of my personal experiences with being interpreted for, I realize that having an interpreter in the classroom may not be the best thing for them at the moment.
But, for the ones who do use sign language and rely on it, the interpreters are very useful and awesome.
(e
What would you recommend for someone who is considering requesting an educational interpreter for the first time? I've made it through my education thus far relying on lip reading and what I can hear, but am considering requesting an interpreter. I'm just not sure if it would be helpful or hurtful at this point.
ReplyDeleteI guess it could be distracting if ASL is not your primary language...you could get so involved in what the interpreter is doing your not really 'listening' to the speaker.
ReplyDeleteI can understand that...just keep doing what is best for you and 100% communication.
S.E.E. interpreter probably be more helpful for English native ( I don't think English was really my native language because I did not have full access to English until I was three with a powerful hearing aid - I was in the low profound hearing loss so I was able to benefit from hearing aids - and even when I did have hearing aids, it was still not fully accessible to spoken English as I couldn't hear every sounds in the speech banana so lipreading had to assist me to fill in the blanks that I was missing out. Semi-English)
ReplyDeleteOr you could use some sort caption, hopefully the child know how to read by now.
(e, I'm not sure how well versed you are in signs. PSE is pretty much sign language in English order. Anyone that knows signs and understand English shouldn't have much problems with PSE or SE. But, what do I know? I've known sign language all my life. ;o)
ReplyDeletePSE Rules!!
Candy~
I think the problem for me, when looking at an interpreter, is not so much trying to understand a lot of the signs, because they usually sign in English order or PSE, it is because I am trying to listen at the same time. If I turn off my hearing aid and only focus on the interpreter it would be easier. When I communicate with someone who uses sign language, it is not too much of a problem, but if I try to use an interpreter it is different.
ReplyDeleteJoy,
ReplyDeleteI would try it out and see how you like it, if it is not too much trouble. It may work well for you or it may not.
Let me know if you do request an interpreter and tell me how it went.
I think I might request one for a class or two next semester and see how it goes.
ReplyDeleteWhen I've had interpreters for conferences or such it's been helpful, I'm just not so sure on using one in class. I feel like it would draw even more attention to me and I'm not sure I want that... I'll have to think on it more.
English (and spoken English) is my first language, and I learned ASL (PSE) as an adult. That said, I ALWAYS request an ASL interpreter for large meetings, conventions, surgeries, etc. In meetings, there are so many things going on, and I'm a heavy lip reader, that it's very difficult for me to follow everything. My listening skills alone are not that good. I think my word recognition for listening only is less than 20%. Combined with lipreading, it's almost 100% depending on who is speaking. If someone new speaks, by the time I figure out who is speaking, I already missed half of what was said. By having an interpreter, I don't miss anything.
ReplyDeleteSo Joy, even if you never used one before, it doesn't hurt to try it. If the experience isn't for you, then you know next time not to request one. I've had interpeters for a couple of college courses, and they were a lifesaver. The classes are huge, and it was very difficult to see who was speaking, and many people don't speak clearly. With an interpreter, s/he lets me know who is talking. Any attention that was received from others was usually positive. (At one PhD conference, one woman even asked to hug me because she was inspired to see a deaf person going for a PhD!) I use both listening (sometimes) and watching the interpreter, and when it's my turn to speak, I always speak for myself verbally. I DO find listening to speech and watching an interpreter extremely distracting sometimes, so I often turn off my hearing aid in these situations. It's like trying to listen to Chinese and Greek simultaneously; it just doesn't work. That may be why the kids are not finding it beneficial.
An interpreter can be a good language support model though, like e) said when she may sometimes look at the interpreter to catch something she might have missed. I know one kid who was completely oral, then given an interpreter for language support. Her reading level jumped 4 grade levels in 3 months just because of the interpreter; she was picking up more words that she otherwise missed previously.
E) before you remove the interpreter, make sure you look at the IEP. If the IEP states that the child must have an interpreter, the only way you can remove that service is to have a new IEP meeting. Removing the service without the meeting is denying a service made legal by the IEP and grounds for a lawsuit. Personally, I'm a little iffy about removing the interpreter, but then I don't know your kids, so I can't make a judgement.
I do recommend that you, as an educator, try to improve your own understanding of ASL, if only because it will allow you to make better judgments about the quality of an interpreter. There are little nuances in ASL that are important but are only gotten if you're fluent, IMO. Even though ASL is not my native language, I am almost equally fluent in ASL now, to the point that I can determine if an educator, interpreter, or any other professional working with deaf kids is qualified or not (I'm a deaf educator). I still have a "hearing" accent though; everyone thinks I'm hearing instead of deaf/hoh! lol.
J.K.
"E) before you remove the interpreter, make sure you look at the IEP. If the IEP states that the child must have an interpreter, the only way you can remove that service is to have a new IEP meeting. Removing the service without the meeting is denying a service made legal by the IEP and grounds for a lawsuit. Personally, I'm a little iffy about removing the interpreter, but then I don't know your kids, so I can't make a judgement."
ReplyDeleteMy goodness, NO, I am not going to personally remove the interpreter without holding a meeting and getting everyone's agreement!!! That would be illegal. I should not be working as a teacher if I was not aware of this. I have two meetings set up to discuss this with the parents, teachers, principals, ESOL teachers, speech pathologists, and many more.
So far, everyone is in agreement for one student, and we will discuss this some more at the meetings.
I think that if the student never looks at the interpreter, never uses sign language, tells us that she does not want an interpreter, and if she prefers to listen and use spoken English, it is pretty clear an interpreter is not needed at the moment. Of course, if things change and it seems as if an interpreter or other services are needed, we can easily meet again and add these services.
"I do recommend that you, as an educator, try to improve your own understanding of ASL, if only because it will allow you to make better judgments about the quality of an interpreter. There are little nuances in ASL that are important but are only gotten if you're fluent, IMO."
ReplyDeleteI 100% agree!!!
I am working on it. It is hard when everyone I work with, except for some interpreters, are not fluent in ASL or any type of sign language. I was pretty fluent a few years ago, but my skills are weaker now that I am hardly working with anyone who uses ASL or sign language. I have one student who is using sign language I work with and see 45 minutes two times a week, and another I see once or twice a month. They mainly use PSE or Contact English signs.
I have been trying to practice on my own and with some friends, when I get the time. I am hoping to take some classes this summer to help improve my signing skills.
However, maybe my skills are a lot better than I think they are, because interpreters and other deaf people I have met have said that my signing is pretty fluent. But, I think they are just being nice.
:)
ReplyDelete@Joy - do you have a working knowledge of ASL? There are different kinds of interpreters out there - some do SEE (signed exact English), or cued speech. There are also oral interpreters (they sit near a person and mouth what the speaker is saying - this can help if you're watching a video that doesn't have CC or just to combat any of the usual foils of lip reading). I'd suggest looking into a transcriber or CART first - somebody who types what a speaker is saying onto a projector of computer. You can sometimes get a printed transcript at the end.
ReplyDeleteGREAT post, (e!
(This is Jenn - I couldn't get my Google account to post!)
@Jenn - I do have a working knowledge of ASL, though when I sign, it often comes out closer to SEE...it's a strange hybrid of ASL and SEE that I have developed over the years. I was diagnosed with hearing loss and Central Auditory Processing Disorder very late, much later than I would have been if I had grown up somewhere where services were more readily available.
ReplyDeleteI've made use of ASL interpreters at large conferences before and found them helpful. I struggle most in classes that are discussion based. By the time I figure out who is speaking, they are half done and the next person is starting. Or if I have professors who like to talk to the whiteboard...
I met with the disabilities coordinator at school today to talk about the option of getting an interpreter for 1 course next semester to see what kind of difference it makes. He said he'd look into it. Apparently they've never had to get one before. So we'll see how it goes. The next challenge is to figure out which one course I want to try it in.
ReplyDeleteGood luck Joy! Hope it works really well for you. :) Perhaps you should start with the easiest class? The one with the least amount of jargon?
ReplyDeleteThe quality of the sign language translator service plays an important role for communication to be effective. Certain guidelines must be taken into account before you employ these services for personal or business purposes.
ReplyDelete