Through this interactive workshop, Chef Jeff Perri, deaf chef and culinary educator, will share his experiences using interpreters for his culinary education and engage the audience to learn ASL signs for food and terms used in the culinary field. And, participants get to take home 2 new recipes!
Co-Sponsored by: Tarrant County College through the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, RSA Region 4 Interpreter Education Project, Grant #H160A50023
This workshops aims to look at causes of deaf-blindness, communication modes, sighted guide techniques, and cultural etiquette. Participants will be able to get involved with deaf-blind simulations to enhance their experience, and learn valuable tips for deaf-blind interpreting such as one-on-one tactile interpreting and close vision.
Friday, March 26, 9:00 am - 12:00 pm & 2:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Interpreting and providing communication access in the school setting is the primary goal of the educational interpreter. It may sound simple, but is it? The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Rehabilitation Act define a "qualified interpreter" to be a person who is able to interpret effectively, accurately and impartially, both receptively and expressively using any necessary specialized vocabulary. This presentation will provide tools to help the interpreter determine if they are "qualified" for a particular situation or class. Participants will be made aware of the legal definitions of qualified interpreter as outlined by federal and state statues, regulations and rules. In addition, information packets will be provided to participants for sharing with school administrators to assist school personnel in making appropriate decisions for those unexpected or unique situations involving the police or child protective service agencies, both of who are required to provide any accommodations necessary for the child involved.
Sunday Co-Sponsored by: McLennan Community College through the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, RSA Region 4 Interpreter Education Project, Grant #H160A50023
Everybody's talking about it, but what is it and can it really do anything to help me improve my work? or is all theory and academics? In this workshop, we will spend some time defining discourse analysis, the features involved in that analysis, and how increased knowledge of some of those features can make the interpreter's work in the community and in the classroom more effective. Terms will be clarified, communication dynamics discussed, and actual interactions observed (English and ASL videotape).
Co-Sponsored by: San Antonio College through the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, RSA Region 4 Interpreter Education Project, Grant #H160A50023
This session contains brief discussion regarding why one should have the skills to enrich story telling, and what it generally involves. There will be group activities, including an opportunity to utilize ones skills expressing assigned children's stories.
This Power Point-based presentation will provide an overview of the basic principles of Federal mandates, State law, as well as rules and policies of Texas agencies that outline specifics to appropriate interpreting protocol. Among others, medical providers, administrators, students and family members may coerce individuals to interpret for situations in which they may not be qualified. Participants will be provided with techniques and strategies through lecture, role play and break outs to help them argue these real life situations.
Like many post-secondary institutions, Austin Community College has experienced an annual rise in the number of deaf or hard-of-hearing students registered for classes. The college has responded to the subsequent demand for qualified sign language interpreters by establishing a mentorship program within Interpreter Services. Since 2002, Austin Community College has recruited, trained and partnered 30 interpreters as either protégés or mentors. The result has been an increase in the pool of qualified interpreters with minimal cost to the institution. This workshop will introduce participants to ACC's successful mentorship program, its philosophy and structure. We hope the information provided will be a seed for attendees to plant similar mentorship programs in their post-secondary institutions, local school districts or community agencies.
Co-Sponsored by: San Antonio College through the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, RSA Region 4 Interpreter Education Project, Grant #H160A50023
This presentation will equip interpreters working in the mainstream setting with the knowledge they need to foster respect for Deaf Culture. Participants will build upon their knowledge of Deaf Culture and will develop sensitivity to different groups of Deaf people. Frequently students in a mainstream setting feel isolated and lack role models or awareness of their own rich culture as Deaf individuals. Interpreters will leave this seminar with greater awareness and sensitivity to this dilemma that many students face.
This is a warm and supportive workshop that addresses issues that we all face in our work. It is important that we learn to handle our work in a way that is healthy and objective and to clearly know that our profession is not our definition of self. We will learn how to be more positive and proactive in our approach to the task and one another. We will explore both content and form in the process of giving and receiving feedback. We will discuss word choice, attitudes, approaches, and challenges. We will seek strategies for maintaining balance in our lives. In a collaborative and cooperative session, we will keep all participants engaged. We will practice the skills we are learning together in a safe and comfortable environment.
Co-Sponsored by: McLennan Community College through the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, RSA Region 4 Interpreter Education Project, Grant #H160A50023
Have you ever unexpectedly interpreted for an angry Deaf client or worried that you will have to in the future? The goal of this workshop is to introduce you to several different angry Deaf models and learn how to apply your knowledge and skills to work with them as best as you can. We will focus on how to read the ASL Prosody, such as conversational attention, eye contact, social cooperation, body language, and facial expressions used by the Deaf client. Included in as overview of the different techniques on how one may best approach the situation without creating any further aggravation or confusion for the client. Discussion on multi-meaning signs and creating appropriate English word choices will also be included.
The seminar presented by Carla M. Mathers, Esquire, CSC, SC:L (2000), will assist participants in understanding the major roles that court interpreters are expected to master to work in the legal setting and the major tenants of the Court Interpreter's Code of Conduct that affects the interpreter's role. Interpreters will gain a clear understanding of what limitations interpreters must impose on themselves in the face of often-demanding reality of high demand and low supply due to ethical obligations and role restrictions. In addition, participants will view videotape materials designed for spoken language interpreting professionals and analyze these materials on a comparative/contrastive basis. Participants have an opportunity to discuss in peer groups best practices and applications of the principles and theory presented. Finally, participants are given a practical road map for further development particularly with an eye towards legal specialist examination preparation.
Friday, March 26, 9:00 am - 12:00 pm & 2:00 pm - 5:00 pm
This workshop will focus on the public school systems, with the intent being to identify issues and concerns that interpreters face within the educational setting and apply best practices to each situation identified. We will utilize a mixture of lecture, hands on activities in large and small groups and modeling examples.
Friday, March 26, 9:00 am - 12:00 pm & 2:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Are you afraid to interpret in 12 step meetings or alcohol and drug treatment because they have a language that is very unique and not talked about in the classes you took?? Have you ever tried to understand what, "clean house", "suit up and show up"," get off the pity pot", "blue book"," HALT", and many other idioms and slang used in 12 step and treatment settings mean and how should you interpret these phrases/words? This presentation will help relief some of those fears and increase your understanding. Bob LeMons is a certified sign language interpreter and Jackie Hyman is the director of Northwest Deaf Addiction, an alcohol and drug treatment center that only serves Deaf individuals. They worked together for many years within a hearing treatment centers in Seattle, Washington. They have presented this training to interpreters all over the state of Washington and in Oregon. They will provide training through role-play, videos, handouts and resources that will help you improve your skills and understanding.
Friday, March 26, 9:00 am - 12:00 pm & 2:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Co-Sponsored by: San Antonio College through the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, RSA Region 4 Interpreter Education Project, Grant #H160A50023
Interpreters in religious settings today represent a large percentage of the entire group of working interpreters, yet this group is often overlooked when it comes to linguistic, cultural, ethical, and professional training and development. The goal of this workshop will be to approach musical interpretation from a more Deaf perspective, incorporating features of ASL poetry in order to achieve a more appropriate performance that is more conceptually accurate, spiritually uplifting, and, overall, more accessible to the Deaf consumer.
Probing Medical Interpreting will focus on the exciting and demanding specialty of medical interpreting. Participants will be lead through ethics and decision-making tools, anatomy, taking a medical history, specialty clinics (Labor and Delivery, HIV/AIDS etc). Options for interpreting specialized medical vocabulary will be addressed throughout the workshop. Medical texts and videotapes will be provided for practical application.
Friday, March 26, 9:00 am - 12:00 pm & 2:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Sunday Co-Sponsored by: McLennan Community College through the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, RSA Region 4 Interpreter Education Project, Grant #H160A50023
This three-hour or five to six hour track presentation will highlight the need for students to incorporate viewpoint and perspective in classifier production. It will be supported by curricular material designed by the presenter. It would be applicable to the more advanced audiences and can be tailored in scope to fit within the time constraints of either format.
"It is not uncommon that the level of mastery in classifiers is perceived as an indication of the degree of mastery in American Sign Language." (Kuntze 2002). Often second language learners plateau in their acquisition of ASL because they are not able to make much progress in comprehending and producing classifiers. The three-dimensional properties of classifiers are unlike anything that speakers of English are accustomed to. Some students struggle in making the transition from the linear and sequential processing of English to the three-dimensional and visual way of talking in ASL. "Comprehension of ASL means constructing a visual representation in the mind on the basis of linguistic information; production means encoding the visual representation into a linguistic expression." (Kuntze 2002) The use of classifiers consists of making the connection between a visual representation of reality in the mind and its linguistic expression.
When learning classifiers, students frequently feel that they may not change the viewpoint they used to produce a classifier once they have established it in their signing space. They are not aware that fluent signers of ASL often rotate the object in their mind. The rotation provides the signer with another viewpoint from which to describe the object. For example, a student may be attempting to describe a complicated scene involving trees and buildings and their location with respect to one another. A fluent speaker of ASL may approach the elements from several angles to more accurately describe their physical properties and spatial relationship. A student may attempt to describe all the properties from the same angle or viewpoint. This would not be physically possible, and if attempted, it would not be phonology correct. ASL therefore permits, or even requires rotation.
The presenter uses a movie set analogy to facilitate the learning of this concept. It begins with a step-by-step analysis of an ASL videotext where students first recognize this technique in use by a sign model. Then students generate simple examples using the same technique, and eventually perform their own rendition of the original ASL text.
Participants in this workshop will practice this instructional approach through small group activities. The presentation will be interactive in format with examples on video. There will be hands-on activities for the participants that they can take away and use in their instruction or their own sign production.
Co-Sponsored by: Tarrant County College through the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, RSA Region 4 Interpreter Education Project, Grant #H160A50023
Register variation refers to how people use and modify their language use depending on the social activity or current situation in which they find themselves. People automatically adjust from one register to another and use language in ways they feel are most appropriate given where they are, what they're discussing, and with whom. Using an inappropriate register, even if unintentionally, can sometimes alienate or insult other people.
Interpreters are called upon to work in a variety of settings ranging from formal to informal. Interpreters, however, do not have extensive experience using formal language, whether it be English or American Sign Language (ASL), either in their daily lives or in an interpreting assignment. While English is the first language for many interpreters in the United States, the number of situations that call for formal language use seems to have decreased in recent years. Similarly, many interpreters are second language learners of ASL and learned their second language in the classroom where the predominant teaching method is through the use of storytelling. In general, storytelling tends to be done in a less formal register. Problems may arise when an interpreter is called upon to work in a more formal setting and he/she is unable to make the shift in his/her language use to fit into a more formal atmosphere.
It is important for interpreters to understand and know how to use register variation. An interpretation may be accurate for content, but if the target message is produced in an inappropriate register, then the interpretation will be inadequate.
This workshop on register variation in interpretation will focus on the characteristics of formal and informal language use. Participants will view models of Deaf and Hearing presenters using formal and informal registers in ASL and English, respectively and will analyze the texts for various characteristics of register. Time permitting, participants will also have an opportunity to practice using formal and informal registers when working from ASL-to-English and from English-to-ASL.
Participants in this workshop will be challenged to consider the role of interpreters working in religious settings including ethics, boundaries and demeanor. Next, we will consider the skills required to interpret religious music and sermons. This will include hands-on practice working in small groups. Finally, we will apply all of the above to interpreting for weddings and funerals, again with an opportunity to practice with selected texts.
Friday, March 26, 9:00 am - 12:00 pm & 2:00 pm - 5:00 pm
This workshop teaches a process that interpreters can use to discuss the work we do or analyze their own decisions. We will cover such situations as mentoring, teaming, lag time, and self feedback. Participants in the workshop will: become familiar with three kinds of feedback (praise, criticism and analysis), identify which situations/individuals benefit from the three kinds of feedback, learn the benefits of analysis and its power to influence the growth of interpreters and their work, gain skills in using self analytical feedback in peer to peer and mentor to intern relationships, as well as oneself, assess the interpreter readiness to address different aspects of their work, recognize questions that will lead to analysis, formulate and use a series of non evaluative questions.
Friday, March 26, 9:00 am - 12:00 pm & 2:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Texas Commision for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing