Context:
- Internship: week 10
- 7th grade Language Arts class
- 1 deaf consumer, female, PSE; uses FM system
- 1 teacher, female
- 2 interpreters (one staff, one intern)
- transliteration; storytelling
- ~ 26 students, ~13 male & ~13 female
In this class, I interpret for a student who has some hearing, and with the help of a cochlear implant and FM system can hear even better. The teacher in this classroom has an extremely steady pace with her instruction, speaks very clearly, and is “interpreter friendly” because of her past experience with deaf students in the classroom. She frequently checks in with the interpreters to make sure that we are "all caught up," and is more than willing to repeat any information we might have missed. The deaf consumer speaks 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.
Goal(s):
A. Use of space - use clear role shifting and make the interpretation very visual.
B. Affect - using correct NMS and making the story vivid enough on my face for the student to enjoy the story equally with the other hearing students.
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 interpreting 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.
For the past weeks I have been working on several goals, including meaning transfer, ASL to English work, and building stamina. In this sample, considering the consumers I was interpreting for and other demands of the interpreting situation, I feel confident in the message as far as meaning transfer; however, for this work sample I thought it would be appropriate to focus on two specific goals that I have been working on from day one of internship – use of space and affect. I thought it fitting for the type of sample this is (interpreting a story). My self-analysis is described under A and B below:
A. Use of Space
In the past, I have struggled with setting up characters and remembering where they were, as well as making the content as visual as possible. One hang up has always been classifiers, which I was consciously aware of during this interpretation. For the most part I would claim that my use of NMS and space was appropriate and clear. There was one specific instance where I switched my two characters during a role shift, then forgot who was where. At that point I would say the role shifting was not clear at all. However, overall I noticed a drastic improvement in my use of space.
B. Affect
In assessing my first work sample, I realized that no matter how animated I felt my face looked during my interpretation the affect was never really there. This disappointed me because I used to pride myself on being a very animated person, so I made up my mind right then to go back to my old ways. In my second work sample I am proud to say that I have improved, but there is still much work to be done. In the beginning of this clip I could have most definitely conveyed the teacher’s affect more clearly, but when the storytelling began I would say that I was right on.
Continual Development:
I plan to continue my development (skills, professionalism, etc.) by practicing those specific skills that need improvement at home, by getting involved in the deaf community in the area, by getting some hands-up time out in the field, and by attending workshops.
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