Context:
- Internship: week 4
- 8th Grade Science class
- 1 deaf consumer, female, PSE; uses FM system
- 1 teacher, male
- 2 interpreters (one staff, one intern)
- Signs previously established with consumer; new vocabulary introduced; PowerPoint used; transliteration
- ~ 28 students, ~22 male & 6 female
In this class, I interpret for a student who has some hearing, but with the help of a cochlear implant and FM system can hear even better. The teacher in this classroom has a steady pace with his instruction, speaks very clearly, and is “interpreter friendly” because of his past experience with deaf students in the classroom. He repeats the information often in order to really emphasize its importance. The deaf consumer does not speak for herself. Also, she prefers that the interpreter sign more of a PSE style, and appreciates it when the interpretation keeps up with the speaker’s delivery.
Note: The camera was on autofocus, so it tried to follow my movements. I will correct this for the next work sample.
Double Note: Fridays are “jeans days.”
Goal(s):
A. Improving clarity of mouthed English
B. Opening up my signing space
Analysis:
For the purpose of this analysis, I decided to focus on two specific goals. These are A and B listed above and described below. Each week of my internship, I am required to make two (at the very least) goals to work on throughout the week. The reasons why I chose these specific goals were based on a combination of mentor feedback, self-monitoring during the interpretation process, and debriefing before and after an assignment. Making new goals every week has really helped me focus on a particular area of my work that needs improvement. Having two clear goals also helped center the focal point of this self-assessment.
Last week I was complaining of shoulder and neck pain. My mentor pointed out that I tend to sign in a very constricted space, and that perhaps we should make opening up my signing space one of my goals. I realized this coincidence, as well, and decided that fixing this bad habit of mine, sooner rather than later, would be a good idea. Also, being so new to transliterating, I have yet to master the art of signing conceptually accurate signs while mouthing the English equivalency in context. For my second goal, and for the purpose of this analysis, I focused on “mouthing” clarity.
A. Improving clarity of mouthed English
In comparison to previous work samples, which can also be found on my website under Portfolio -- >Domain 4: Interpreting Skills Competencies, there is evidence of improvement over the last four weeks of internship. The English on my mouth is much clearer, and I felt more confident in my decisions during the interpretation. There were a few instances where I could have added in more of the English, but I think full inclusion will take more time. In order to see immediate results I will practice activities that deal directly with mouthing. One such activity that I have done in the past is watching source material (in English), then copying the words, silently. This is a low-pressure activity because no actual interpreting is being done, yet allows me to practice mouthing full, complete English sentences without producing sound. I will continue to work on this goal throughout my internship, and throughout my career as an interpreter.
B. Opening up my signing space
I did not see much improvement over the course of this week’s goal of opening up my signing space. As you can see in the video, my mentor had to remind me to “loosen up” a few times. I seem to be unaware of my signing space during the interpreting process. However, the stress in my shoulders and neck has been relieved considerably since last week, and I have high hopes for more positive results in the near future. In order to improve upon this aspect of my work, I will practice another activity that does not involve any interpreting; I will focus on the signer's use of space and copy [only] that. This, as well as working on mouthing, will be at the forefront of my mind over the next few weeks.
On a side note, although some external processing occurs in this videotape, I have been told numerous times by my fellow interpreters that I generally do not show any processing. I think I was a little nervous during the videotaping, especially since it was the first time having one in the class and all the students were very intrigued. Also, after analyzing this work sample I have noticed that, even though I feel like I’m gesturing and using all these exaggerated facial expressions, only a little of it shows through. I will focus on emphasizing affect for next week’s goals
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