The Second Draft Policy and Supporting Documents
Round Two of Not Yet Ready For Prime Time Interpreter
Discussion: Welcome
This posting has four parts: an introduction; a draft policy; a discussion section; and a short definition of other non-classroom components of USM's Interpreter Training Program.
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Part I - Introduction:
The Interpreter Training Program of the University of Southern Maine wishes to add to its program a safe and systematic way for its students to gain experience in the actual practice of interpreting. The program desires to obtain broad public input - from the Deaf community, the community of working professional interpreters, and other interested parties - in development of a solid system.
This program is one component of an interpreter training program that includes practicum and internship training as well as classroom instruction. The intent is to provide student interpreters with additional opportunities for practical development of their skills and, at the same time, to develop mentoring skills in a group of Deaf consumers who will serve as the consumer/mentors in this program. As a bonus, the program will provide the general Deaf community with access to events that are normally not interpreted at this time.
A first draft of program policies was posted on February 10, 2005, and the discussion period for that lasted through February 24, 2005. In the time between then and now, we have attempted to incorporate posted comments and suggestions into a second draft.
What follows is that second *DRAFT* policy document.
Please bear in mind that the discussion period remains open, and that if you wish to register agreement or disagreement, or simply express your opinion, you are encouraged to do so here in this forum, where everyone can participate in the discussion.
The English gloss of the name-sign of this program is NOT-YET; the glossed written name will be NOTYET.
This second draft will also be open for discussion for approximately two weeks. We must close the discussion on this policy soon so that we can construct the final version of the policy and begin to do the practical work necessary to put it into effect.
We are hoping that one last posting/comment cycle will help us produce a stable and broadly-supported policy.
Thank you very much for your time and assistance.
Judy Kegl
Brenda Schertz
John Dunleavy
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Part 2 - Second Draft Policy:
Not Yet Ready For Prime Time Interpreter Policy
Department of Linguistics
University of Southern Maine
Student interpreters:
1. Will receive no monetary compensation for their work. Their compensation will be the experience, which includes guidance and feedback from a trained participating onsumer/mentor.
2. Will not interpret in any situation where a professional interpreter is legally required to be provided; inability or unwillingness to pay an interpreter on the part of a service provider that the Deaf individual is trying to access is not justification for requesting a Not-Yet-Ready interpreter.
3. Will not interpret in any situation in which an inadequate interpretation could bring physical or financial or personal risk to the consumer.
4. Will obtain feedback from the consumers on their performance.
5. Will adhere to ALL the tenets of the RID code of ethics, including compensation for services. The only compensation Not-Yet-Ready interpreters receive is candid feedback from and joint problem solving with the Deaf consumer.
Consumer/Mentors:
1. Will agree from the beginning that there is no assurance of the skill or competence one would expect from a professional interpreter. A student is a work in progress.
2. Will clearly and in advance define the situation for which they request student interpreters.
3. Will not seek to use student interpreters in inappropriate situations. When doubt arises as to what is appropriate, consumers will accept the determination of the program coordinator at USM.
4. Will when possible meet with the student interpreter in advance to brief her/him on the situation.
5. Will provide constructive feedback to the student interpreter.
6. Will remain mindful that student interpreters are students, and at the same time expect and encourage professional behavior.
Both student interpreters and consumer/mentors:
1. Will register with the program.
2. Will undergo training prior to their first assignment./use of this service.
3. Participate in training that will cover:
a. the nature of interpreting;
b. the respective roles of the consumer and interpreter;
c. using interpreters effectively;
d. what is and is not appropriate use of student interpreters;
e. how to provide and process constructive feedback;
f. how to fill out the program documentation;
g. how to deal with foreseeable emergencies;
h. how to reach the designated emergency contact for an assignment.
4. Will sign contracts agreeing to the program rules. Non-compliance with these rules will result in dismissal/exclusion from the program
5. Will be provided with instructions on how to make emergency contact with program staff during each assignment, but will also hold program staff and the University of Southern Maine free of liability for circumstances outside of the control of the program.
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Part 3 - Discussion:
Only students enrolled in USM’s ITP who have completed one or more LIN 330 level interpreting course(s) may participate in the NOTYET program. We cannot control what people do outside of USM, but we can control the program itself. Students and ex-students who do volunteer interpreting outside of this program may not call themselves or their work part of the NOTYET program.
Program sessions will be synchronized with the USM academic calendar. There will be a fall term and a spring term, and each will be separate and complete unto itself. Training is not transferable from one session to another; all participants will be required to take training specifically for the session in which they are enrolled.
Student work in the program will be considered a course assignment and will earn the student academic credit. We are working to determine the details but at present think that a minimum of three NOTYET assignments will be required of a student participant.
Student interpreters will be referred to this program by their course instructors, and will need to register with the Linguistics Department, where they will be screened by program staff to determine their qualification for volunteer interpreting assignments. As part of this process, these student interpreters will develop a document analogous – but not identical - to the interpreter disclosure form currently required by Maine law for professional interpreters.
On entry to the program, each consumer/mentor will take a workshop that will cover: what is and is not appropriate use of student interpreters; how to provide constructive feedback; how to fill out the program documentation; how to deal with foreseeable emergencies; and how to reach the designated emergency contact for an assignment.
Requests for student interpreters must be routed through the program administrator(s) and assignments will be made in consultation with participating student interpreters. Requests will be recorded in a standard program document that covers assignment details, contact information, name of student, name of responsible instructor, name of emergency contact person, etc.
No request for student interpreters that is not made in accordance with program procedures will be considered part of this program, and no student interpreting work that takes place outside of the NOTYET program will be considered part of this program.
When on assignment, student interpreters will wear an as-yet-undetermined article of clothing that will clearly identify them as student interpreters. We are currently thinking of black T-shirts, emblazoned with “Danger! Student Interpreter in Training” and also identifying the semester in which the student participates in the program. These shirts would help to identify official NOTYET interpreters.
The student interpreters will provide copies of their student disclosure document to consumers when on assignment in this program. Student interpreters will also bring to each assignment a document, provided by the program, identifying the event, the student interpreter, the responsible Deaf consumer/mentor(s), and the person(s) to contact in the event of an emergency.
There is at this time no funding available for stipends to the Deaf consumer/mentors. The consumer/mentor will however gain access to events that would not otherwise be open to her/him.
The first semester of this program is likely to be tightly constrained, with only a small number of student interpreters and Deaf consumer/mentors participating.
There is a great need for a program like NOTYET for after-school activities where Deaf children are involved in programs with mostly hearing children. The NOTYET program may not be appropriate for this setting, because children are not able to provide appropriate feedback and support to student interpreters.
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Part 4 - Other components of the USM Interpreter Training Program:
INTERNSHIP: Students in internships, with proper permission, may be involved in two kinds of activities: (a) observing working interpreters and journaling their thoughts on role, situation management, and various aspects of Demand-Control Schema; and (
observing situations (without interpreters or Deaf consumers present) that give them insights into the culture and protocol in contexts in which they want in the future to interpret (medical contexts, educational contexts, performance contexts, etc.). In no case may an internship student actually interpret.
PRACTICUM: Practicum students are licensed in the state. They operate under the supervision of Dr. Kegl, and attend a minimum of one meeting every two weeks with Dr. Kegl. They are also supervised on site, preferably by a certified interpreter; or in designated cases by a licensed interpreter with the capacity to engage in this supervision. At educational sites, they are generally teamed with another interpreter, although they may not receive money for this work. We have attempted other placements in the past, where a Deaf individual has taken the interpreter under their wing and has supervised assignments where the practicum student is serving as a third wheel with an interpreting team; where individual interpreters have taken on a practicum student who tags along where possible; where students have been scheduled into the docket at educational sites; and where students (typically Practicum 2) have been placed on a beeper with agencies and scheduled as a third wheel in possible freelance situations. We prefer the school placements as opposed to assignment to a given freelance interpreter as the first assignment because of the regularity and predictability of the experience. We did one year attempt (at the suggestion of a number of interpreters) to apprentice interpreters to given individuals. While wonderful in terms of building relationships with practicing interpreters, this proved problematic on many levels.
There have been cases where practicum students (who are licensed) have been hired to interpret after-school sports practices, etc. Such hours do not count toward the practicum, because the goal for practicum is to place students in situations where they are challenged and can make use of the safety net of professional interpreters to hone and polish their skills. In Practicum 2, we have had students actually want to withdraw from the practicum because the number of paid assignments from an agency (which could not count for practicum) was so high that they couldn't build their hours. In the past we have compromised and counted some of these hours for practicum. However, at this point we plan to be more strict in requiring all practicum hours to be unpaid.