American Sign Language Pedagogy at Kent State

Did you see the title on this page?  I hear that a lot from new applicants to the program. 

1.  Some applicants and students tell me "I want to interpret" because they believe that either teaching ASL or interpreting in ASL are the only two things that can be done with ASL skills. 

That's not true.

Graduates of ASL programs have also gone into advocacy, legal studies/legal work, health care, psychology/mental health, anthropology, linguistics, library science and school psychology.  They can go into media, government, nonprofit administration, rehabilitation, and drama.  Some go directly into work; some go into graduate school. 

WHAT YOU DO AFTER GRADUATION DEPENDS A LOT ON WHAT YOU DO WHILE YOU ARE STUDYING IN THE PROGRAM. 

I canNOT stress that enough.

Picking strong minors, or double majors, and using your community service projects and individual investigation opportunities well can make a BIG difference in how attractive you look to future employers or graduate school admission offices.    In the competitive atmosphere of today's graduate school applications and job market, "just" graduating isn't always enough.  For more information about the variety of things ASL majors do, please see the page titled "Working World" (http://thorykksu.webs.com/workingworld.htm).  For more information about preparing now to improve your chances after graduation, see http://thorykksu.webs.com/recommendationletters.htm .

So if you are thinking that teaching or terping are the only options for ASL majors....you need to do some more thinking, smile. 

2.  If, however, you are considering interpreting because you really like the idea of the job, then you need some more information.

IF YOU WANT TO INTERPRET IN THE SCHOOLS (K-12), the Ohio Department of Education needs to license you, just like a teacher gets licensed.  Why?  Lots of times you'll be the person with the most direct contact to the D/deaf/HH student.  This is especially true for mainstreamed students.  In addition to being a model of language for the student, you'll be the conduit (smile - how would you sign that?) for information; the direct link to learning and information.  Because of this, you need to be able to not only convey concepts and information accurately...you also need to know about education, so that you can convey the information within the context of presenting it in a useable way for a child who is learning.  You need to know about scaffolding for example, so that, when you're expanding a concept that a teacher has presented, you know enough about education not to provide all of the information that a university graduate knows.  A third grader would be just overwhelmed if you didn't know how to scaffold, instead of just expand.  Because of this, to be licensed to interpret in the schools, you need to complete a sequence of study for educational interpreters, which includes coursework in basic educational concepts, working with parents and families, and understanding some parts of educational law.

IF YOU WANT TO INTERPRET IN THE COMMUNITY, many students work for an agency after graduation, to gain some experience.  After gaining adequate experience, they may then sit for the NIC (National Interpreter Certification).  There are two parts to the NIC - a written section and a performance and interview section.

-Information about the requirements for NIC is available at http://www.rid.org/UserFiles/File/pdfs/Certification_Documents/NewEducationalRequirementsFAQ_090819.pdf

-Information about RID can be found at http://rid.org/

-Information about the NIC and testing can be found at http://rid.org/education/testing/index.cfm

ALL tests should undergo regular review and revision, to make sure that they are valid and reliable.  RID and NAD are currently reviewing the NIC.  To read more about this, see http://rid.org/UserFiles/File/pdfs/News/RID_Launch_NIC_Review.pdf

Currently,

"In 2008, persons who are hearing that wish to take the NIC Interview and Performance Test must have a minimum of an associate’s degree. In 2012, the minimum requirement will be a bachelor’s degree for persons who are hearing. Also in 2012, persons who are deaf that wish to take the NIC Interview and Performance Test must have a minimum of an associate’s degree. In 2016, the minimum requirement will be a bachelor’s degree for persons who are deaf. "

          -http://www.savrid.org/downloads/NAD-RIDNICTestsQuestionsandAnsw.pdf

(and the same info is available in Signals Winter 2008, from Ohio:

-Information about the Ohio Chapter of Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (OCRID) can be found at: http://ocrid.org/index.html

-The ISLR (Interpreting & Sign Language Resources, sponsored by the Ohio School for the Deaf Outreach) publishes Signals, a newsletter for interpreters: http://www.ohioschoolforthedeaf.org/islr_newsletters.aspx

-Information from the National Consortium can be found at: http://www.nciec.org/resource/index.html

3.  TESTING, AND HAVING  DOCUMENTED SKILLS, ARE IMPORTANT ETHICAL RESPONSIBILITIES FOR PEOPLE GOING INTO ASL, IN ANY CAREER OR ACADEMIC AREA.  That's why the ASL program at KSU requires Intermediate Plus or above on the Sign Language Proficiency Interview - it shows that someone (other than your teachers) agrees that you have developed useable language fluency (advanced level is required before student teaching, if you are planning on being licensed to teach ASL).

If you are "free lancing" on your own, you need to think hard and long.  That's always a difficult decision.  If you are a student, you should NOT be doing anything resembling interpreting (or teaching or tutoring!) unsupervised unless you already have a SLPI or ASLPI showing Intermediate Plus or above skills. 

Students ...debate this with me frequently, saying "Well I figured SOMETHING is better than NOTHING and I wanted to HELP" or "Well, my friend ASKED me to." 

If you are transmitting the wrong information, "something" can be much WORSE than nothing....and can open you up to liability issues, since not all states protect you with Good Samaritan legislation.  It can cause problems, even if your friend asked you to interpret.  It can also reflect poorly on your program.

You need to have the professional maturity and self-awareness to be able to say "No, this task is beyond my skills at this time."  If you really care about the Deaf community, you need to clearly and objectively critique your skills and credentials and decide if NOT helping might be a more appropriate way to help!  In the Deaf community it IS usual for everyone to help make sure communication is happening for everyone else.  But if your skill level isn't high enough, you won't be helping communication happen - you'll be preventing it.  Keep an image of your instructors in your mind - if you would be embarrassed to interpret or teach for US....then you shouldn't be doing it for someone who might be more ....shy about telling you "No thank you."

To read more about ethics, see the RID site: http://rid.org/ethics/index.cfm