Workshops
Tentative - This is subject to change.
Legal
Advanced Skills Development for Legal Interpreter: Interpreting Lines of Questioning (Part 1 & 2)
This is a six (6) hour workshop is limited to forty (40) certified interpreters who regularly work in the court system
Advisory Committee on Qualifications for Health Care Translators and Interpreters: Information Update
The Advisory Committee on Qualifications for Health Care Translators and Interpreters was established by House Bill 233 in the 81st Texas Legislative Session. Made up of a variety of members, the Committee was formed in January of 2010. After months of research the Committee made their first set of recommendations to the Texas Health and Human Services Commissioner that focus on improving communication between health care providers and their patients with limited English proficiency and patients who are deaf or hard of hearing. In this session a panel of Committee members will provide an update on the work the Committee has performed to date and will be available to answer participants' questions.
Are you a Minimal Language Skilled Trilingual Interpreter? ¿Enfrenta Ud. obstaculos como intérprete trilingüe debido a sus deficiencias en la mediacion de idiomas?
Is the client Minimal Language Skilled (MLS) or the interpreter? As interpreters is it easier to deem the client limited rather than to accept our own limitations? These questions along with other issues we face as trilingual interpreters will be addressed for the purpose of assessing one’s own multicultural and multilingual competencies, identifying impeding factors based on experience and mental mapping that impact our professional growth, and recognizing the importance of the use of resources such as a deaf interpreter to ensure effective communication to consumers due to interpreters lacking the possession of a wider range of communication skills set.
¿Clasificarías a ti o a tu cliente con alguna deficiencia de idioma o limitación linguistica? ¿Es mas fácil determinar que el consumidor sordo tiene algunas limitaciones en comunicarse más que admitir sus propias deficiencies como intérprete?
ASL Colloquialisms
Part of linguistics study of how colloquialisms and slangs differ in ASL in comparison to English. For example: brown nose, held back anger, lost the thought, and more. Each slang has their own ASL sign/grammar. This is one of the most misused and misunderstood part of our ASL language.
Building a Better Interpreter through an Accredited Program
The Commission on Collegiate Interpreter Education (CCIE) is the accrediting body for interpreter education. Established in 2006, the Commission promulgates the CCIE Standards. Interpreter education programs that apply for accreditation use these Standards to evaluate and report on how they reflect them in their program. This workshop will focus on three areas: (1) the benefits of accreditation through the Commission on Collegiate Interpreter Education, (2) the process of accreditation, and (3) artifacts from successful Self-Study Reports.
Climbing the Pyramids: Professional decision making in Educational Interpreting
This workshop is for people who are interested in, or currently working in, Educational Interpreting. It examines the fundamental questions of “What are we trying to do? Why? and How?” as they relate to educational interpreting. The workshop introduces the idea of stakeholders in the educational process and examines the interpreter’s role in relation to those stakeholders. We will examine some ethical concerns in education. The workshop will give the participants some basic tools to use in professional decision making, enabling them to move out of a reactive mode into a considered planned action mode. The workshop takes some abstract concepts and shows how to apply them to the everyday situations encountered in education.
Code of Professional Conduct
The Code or Professional Conduct doesn't apply to me as a student? Right?!? Good question! In this workshop we will analyze the CPC and discuss its practical applications as a student and as a professional interpreter. We will look at the individual tenets of the CPC and then we will apply those to specific situation in a small group setting.
Communication Access: What ITP Students Need to Know
Providing communication access is the key for your work as an interpreter. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), employers, state and local government agencies and places of public accommodation are required to take steps to ensure that their communications with people with disabilities are as effective as communications with others. As an interpreter training student, what does that mean to you? This session will cover the effective communication requirements of the ADA, the state certification requirements for sign language interpreters in settings from K-12 to the court room, and will cover a number of options for enhancing interpreter skills without attending formal workshops.
COW-THAT: ASL Phraseology
The translation for COW-THAT in English is “not too crazy about it” or “not my cup of tea.” ASL has a set of expressions and phrases used by native ASL users that often have no simple ASL to English translation equivalent. An ASL user’s choice of words and the manner in which they are blended subtly in the message may cause an interpreter to unconsciously overlook those expressions or skew the translation. The content of this workshop will assist participants in recognizing and mastering the challenge of accurately producing equivalent interpretations.
Creativity, Courage and Collaboration: Finding Our Way to Community Integrity
This fast-paced, interactive workshop is designed for anyone who has ever regretted accepting a job—as well as for those who have seen colleagues get in over their heads and wondered whether—and how—to intervene. In a supportive environment Deaf and hearing interpreters at all levels will discuss and role-play responses to realistic job dilemmas. Participants will build their self-awareness and ethical decision-making skills, while honing effective negotiation techniques. In addition they can expect to laugh, play hard, and enjoy the challenge of thinking on their feet, all with the support of their colleagues and a skilled workshop leader.
Developing and Applying Oral Transliteration Skills for Today and into the Future
Where does oral transliteration fit in with consumer’s increased use of speech to text services? Is the need for oral transliterating decreasing due to technology? What about clear articulation for English signing consumers when providing face-to-face services or VRS/VRI? Are there special considerations for oral students or students with Cochlear Implants or Cued Speech? If you answered yes to these questions, this workshop will interest you. Participants will study the mechanics of and skills needed for oral transliteration including how to articulate clearly, how to recognize low visibility words/phrases and those that look alike on the lips and practice techniques for responding to these concerns. We will discuss skills application when providing transliterating services to oral or English signing consumers and address unique interpreting needs of CI students or who use Cued Speech. Participants will also review the TX requirements for Oral Certification and peek into the future of technology.
Don’t be a Fugitive from Factoring and Figuring: Mathematics in Education
This workshop is for people who will be interpreting math in the classroom. The workshop will cover from pre-K into high school math. We will cover both vocabulary and interpreting concepts with emphasis on determining the objectives of the lessons and providing a conceptually accurate interpretation. Lively, interactive, low-stress, non-critical environment to help take you from where you are toward where you want to be. Presented by an interpreter who survived more than 25 years of educational interpreting, including lots and lots of math.
Educational Interpreting: Could You Be the Missing Part of the Puzzle?
This overview of educational interpreting focuses on the interpreting student. The students will learn of the various pieces to the sometimes puzzling aspects of educational interpreting and how they may be a missing piece of that puzzle. The students will learn how the educational team works together and how the interpreter is a very important part of the educational process. The presenters will use interviews with working interpreters, teachers, administrators and students to get a real life understanding of interpreting in this genre. The goal is to pique the students? interest in becoming a piece of the puzzle and thereby produce a full picture of quality education for Deaf students.
Ethics in Religious Settings
“Does being a volunteer interpreter at my church make me immune to ethical standards?” “Is it okay that tell other people about my Deaf client’s prayer requests to have others pray too?” In this workshop, we will take a look at the RID-NAD Code of Professional Conduct and its practical applications in religious settings. The line between interpreter and church member can be difficult to determine at times and we will explore that boundary. We will look at the individual tenets of the CPC and then we will apply those to specific situation in a small group setting.
The Ethics of Cultural Mediation
Maintaining role while providing effective cultural mediation can be a nerve-wracking task. How do I know if this is in my purview or if I’m stepping outside the boundaries of the Code of Professional Conduct? During this session, participants will explore how to approach the “gray area” that exists when mediating the two cultures in which interpreters work. An analysis of the cultural disparities will be performed in conjunction with a look at common mistakes made by interpreters while navigating cultures.
The goal of this workshop is to help participants avoid making decisions based on intuition alone. Instead, through group discussion and case studies, attendees will develop a logical, reproducible, and ethically sound approach to mediating cultureFacing and Beating your Goliath: Before, During and After the Sermon
Have you walked up to the battle line only to retreat because you weren’t ready to face the same giant you faced before? Do you see your ‘Goliath’ standing before you and yet have no idea how to knock him down? Do you even know what your ‘Goliath’ is? This workshop will guide interpreters to discover the set backs, mistakes and annoying habits (your ‘Goliath’) they face when preparing and presenting sermon interpretations. After the ‘Goliath recognition’ stage, interpreters will determine how to strike down these giants and move forward to interpreting sermons with confidence and clarity. You will leave this workshop with a “sling shot and stones” (useful techniques) to be used in beating your giants!
HUH?!? Spell Again! Strategies for Improving Fingerspelling Skills
This workshop is designed to help interpreters improve their fingerspelling skills (receptive and expressive) by focusing on the linguistic reasons for the use of fingerspelling in ASL discourse. Participants in this training will also learn and be exposed to the various production norms for properly incorporating fingerspelling into ASL and Interpreted discourse.
Interpreter Accountability: How do our Vocabulary Choices Impact Consumers?
Sign language interpreters are often faced with the challenge of interpreting for consumers they have never met. In addition, interpreters are regularly required to provide sign-to-voice interpreting with little or no preparation work. This is true in most video relay & medical interpreting settings and often true for educational & community setting interpreting. Being ill prepared and without topic information might cause us to worry before we even begin voicing. In this workshop participants will learn strategies for providing sign-to-voice interpreting to the best of their ability. The goal is to provide consumers with dynamic equivalent interpreting. If consumers are experts in their fields we must do all we can to insure they sound that way. Dynamic equivalence, clarifying techniques, gender influences and powerless language will be defined and examples will be provided. This workshop will assist and challenge interpreters to reach the next level of their sign-to-voice interpreting.
Interpreter Ethics: A Practical Look at the CPC and Its Impact on Our Work
This workshop is intended for those with some interpreting experience to discuss application of the Code of Professional Conduct in our daily working circumstances. It will involve a discussion of each tenet of the CPC, case studies, small and large group discussion, and videos of Deaf individuals sharing their thoughts on the CPC and some of their experiences.
Interpreting in a Legal Setting
Interpreting is a difficult task that requires the interpreter’s full attention; overlapping voices are impossible to interpret, as in the case of a court reporter who is unable to take down two voices speaking simultaneously. It is imperative that the parties allow the interpreter to finish rendering an utterance before they continue interrupting one another. The panel will be comprised of a District Judge, a trial lawyer, a spoken language interpreter, a sign language interpreter, and a witness.
Is Your Foundation Cracked? Structural-Nutritional-Mental Well-being: Pillars for Success
It’s not just about interpreting skills. Without a healthy foundation based on these 3 pillars your risk for injury and illness will increase and your interpreting skills will plateau or diminish. The best insurance policy available today is prevention and healthy lifestyle choices. In this workshop we cover the basics while providing you with things you can do now to improve your foundation. Students and seasoned interpreters can find this information beneficial. Handouts and activities will be used to inspect your “foundation” to see if it’s “built to last”.
LegASLese:Legal Vocabulary for Interpreters
This workshop will be an introduction to legalese (legal vocabulary), what is it and how to accurately interpret legal words and concepts. Participants will learn how to accurately interpret a variety of legal terminology that is used in everyday and situational specific instances, including civil and criminal settings. They will learn the structure of the justice system, the roles of all parties involved, including the interpreter, and a basic construct of the process, charges, and consequences of the criminal justice system. This workshop will demonstrate the importance of defining criminal legal terminology from civil terminology and how to adequately convey the message through conceptually accurate signs. The presenter will explain legal words and concepts (legalese and Latin) through English and ASL. The presenter encourages discussion of signs and formulation of variations of conceptually accurate signs. Participants will discover the barriers that trip up most interpreters and will lower their apprehension to legal interpreting.
Linguistics for Interpreters
This workshop will focus on ASL linguistics, starting with beginner basics such as the part of speech then moving on to more advanced structural phenomena which affect syntax. Through this workshop we will define and describe the basic structure of ASL. We will then move on to more advanced structures of ASL. The more advanced topics we will discuss are such structures as deictics, pronouns and real space, the use of surrogates, and more. Each of these structures in ASL creates unique word orders and unique challenges to interpreters. By defining and identifying these structures, interpreters will be better equipped to manage the task of interpreting these phenomena into English.
Medical Interpreting: A Hands On Approach
Participants will learn about interpreting in the medical field (doctor’s offices and emergency rooms) using a “Hands On Approach.” The first step will be to analyze what needs to happen “Before your hands are up.” This includes defining, understanding and demonstrating qualities such as diplomacy, customer service, and professionalism. Second, we will discuss “Things to process” before, during and after medical interpreting. Some examples of “Things to process” are: desired outcomes, emotional/physical requirements of a medical interpreter, challenges of medical interpreting and preparation techniques. The workshop will conclude with role-plays where participants walk into a doctor’s office as the interpreter, interactively practicing the skills used, from the introduction to the receptionist to leaving the office when the appointment has been completed. A basic script will be used with a “receptionist,” “patient,” and “doctor” addressing problems and questions that arise while interpreting in medical situations.
Medical Terminology for Interpreters
This workshop is designed as an interactive experience for the interpreter who is commonly working in the medical setting. Focus is on comprehension of common medical terminology, including Latin derivatives and body system-specific terminology. Common nomenclature and acronyms will be discussed as well. Goal is to provide basic working understanding and comfort with medical terminology in the source language, and support the interpreter in providing effective communication and cultural mediation. Discussion will include addressing personal experiences from members of the audience that they wish to share from their own medical encounters in interpreting.
Misjudged: The Tragic Case of Stephen Brodie
This workshop will discuss the importance of unbiased interpreting in legal and court settings; using as example the case of Stephen Brodie, a young Deaf man who through police biases was arrested and charged with aggravated sexual assault of a child in 1991. Mr. Brodie?s interrogation was tainted by the interpreters during interrogation, and Mr. Brodie?s ?confession? to the crime led to his plea bargain and sentence of 10 years in a Texas prison. Ten years became 20 when Mr. Brodie continued to profess his innocence. Mr. Brodie was finally released from prison in September 2010, not by DNA evidence, but by way of analyzing the Deaf individual and ASL; becoming the first Deaf man to be exonerated in the United States. Interpreters have the knowledge and skills to prevent an injustice like this from occurring. Participants will learn how and when to use their vital role as interpreters in a police interrogation setting, and how to self-analyze and handle their own biases. Participants will learn the plan and agenda of police interrogations, the psychological methods used and the role of interpreters in the process. With this knowledge, participants will be better able to adequately perform in their role as interpreter.
Qualifications of Certified Deaf Interpreters: What Do They Prepare for Their Profession?
This workshop is ideal for everyone who is a deaf or hearing interpreter. It will enable Deaf people to better understand the roles of interpreters, as well as enable hearing interpreters to better understand how to work with them as team interpreters. This workshop will cover types of interpreting, team interpreting, ethics, interpreting settings/situations, and the differences between Deaf Interpreters and Certified Deaf Interpreters.
Workshop partially sponsored by DARS-Office for Deaf And Hard of Hearing Services
The Right Rights: A Conceptual Look at Miranda
“You have the right to remain silent,” a statement that seems simple enough to interpret… but is it? The dense nature of legal texts often requires more cultural and linguistic expansion than interpreters initially realize. Further complicating this process is the ever-changing nature of the law. In this session participants will learn various strategies for extracting embedded information and making it explicit to deaf suspects all while considering the implications of the recent Supreme Court decision regarding Miranda. Through language models and text analysis, workshop attendees will gain confidence in developing a conceptually accurate and culturally appropriate interpretation.
And not to worry, we’ll have some fun in the process!Schooled in Discretion: From Accountability to Empowerment
K-12 interpreters: Isn’t it time you had more say in your work environment? Common sense dictates that it takes a strong and well-supported workforce to provide optimal services for students and schools and after all, isn’t that what we’re all striving to achieve? In this session you will hone your negotiating skills, practice making astute job decisions, begin to build a network of colleagues and mentors, develop specific strategies for winning the support and understanding of teachers and administrators in your workplace, and develop a personal plan for increased effectiveness. Challenging topics are broached in a safe atmosphere with ample opportunity to practice new skills and to laugh. While all are encouraged to participate fully, taking the time to listen and to observe is also valued. Come join us!
Seed Money Options for Local Chapters
Gone are the days of easily accessing federal seed money for local interpreter skill building workshops. TSID has a mechanism in place to help local chapters co-sponsor but how do you create funds with which to enter into a co-sponsorship agreement? Join this interactive discussion/brainstorming session to scope-out possible options while learning about the greatly under-used TSID Workshop co-sponsorship plan.
Workshop sponsored by DARS-Office for Deaf And Hard of Hearing Services
Silver Tongues: Let's Make that Voicing Sound Smooth!
This workshop is intended for inexperienced interpreters in sign-to-voice interpreting. A variety of video and auditory material will be used during the workshop to see examples of various signing styles, topics and working interpreters. Using videotaped segments, we will analyze content to determine the speaker’s intent and what information is critical and what is not. Team interpreting, strategies for preparing before assignments to make voice interpreting more successful and for handling assignments that didn’t go well and when there are not many opportunities to prepare will be discussed. There will be opportunities for students to work in small groups to practice voicing videos of various Deaf people. Prediction skills and knowledge of related materials to improve voicing will be discussed. Participants will have the opportunity to voice a video segment “cold”, after watching it once and discussing content within groups, and with background information provided prior to viewing the video.
Smorgasbord of Numbers in ASL !
Sometimes when you interpret in different settings such as VRS/CBI, you feel uncertain with interpreting numbers in ASL. This presentation will dissolve most of your uncertainty. Participants will have an understanding of the origin (French etymology) and evolution of ASL numbers as well the fluidity principle, language register usage, and categories of ASL numbers. Interaction will be focused on categories of numbers, such as cardinal, clock, years and informational numbers. Even seasoned interpreters enjoyed a refresher lesson and tips in this aspect of ASL.
Team Interpreting in the Courtroom and Compliance to the Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibilities
Interpreting is a challenging and unique profession. Accurately conveying meaning in two languages is indeed a demanding job in the interpretation process. Attendees will participate in practical exercises, utilizing scripted material and hands-on electronic interpreting equipment. Handouts and glossaries will be provided. Team interpreting prevents burn-out, mental fatigue, minimizes mistakes, overload and exhaustion from occurring. Working in teams is recommended since it reduces stress and fatigue, allowing interpreters to preserve the accuracy, quality, and uniformity of the interpreting task and render high quality services.This interactive seminar will review guidelines of an interpreter's professional responsibilities, ethical standing, linguistic capabilities and the challenges of the profession, taking into consideration that interpreters must comply with the code of ethics and professional responsibilities as it relates to their conduct.Many scientific studies have corroborated that loss in accuracy occurs whenever a sustained interpretation is rendered for prolonged periods of time and output quality becomes unreliable.
Ten Ways to Improve your Sign to Voice Interpreting Linda Stauffer
This workshop is for intermediate interpreters who want to improve their sign to voice interpreting skills. We all know we need to prepare for assignments and increase our interaction with Deaf Community Members. But there are also other ways we can improve and enhance our voicing product. This workshop will provide information, examples and allow for "voice-on" practice in a relaxed and safe learning environment. Participants will leave with new knowledge and some practical ways to continue their skill development on their own.