getting to skopos in a mediated education environment: bridging research and practice debra russell,...
TRANSCRIPT
Getting to Skopos in a Mediated Education Environment: Bridging Research and Practice
Debra Russell, Ph.D.,
Certified Interpreter
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
04/19/23 Debra Russell
Beginnings: Thank You
Thank you to research participants we continue to learn about our work from their
willingness to be involved.
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What Shapes my Interest?
Background and experiences as: Interpreter (still interpret) Elementary Teacher: Direct Instruction Interpreter Educator Curiosity about learning for Deaf children in
mediated vs direct learning with the major emphasis on inclusion in Canada
Skopos - “meaning or purpose”
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Presentation Overview
Research Questions Methodology Findings Implications Next Steps
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Research Questions
Q: To what extent and in what ways does the use of interpreting services impact the academic performance and social development of Deaf students?
Q: What perceptions are held by Deaf students, their parents, teachers and administrators on the quality and impact of interpreting services on the academic and social success of Deaf students?
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Methodology
Case Studies small samples, in-depth exploration yields richer data
Videotaped Samples of mediated classroom communication
On-Line Surveys
Interviews Interpreters, Teachers, Parents of d/Deaf students,
and d/Deaf students
Participants
Surveys: Teachers – 93; Interpreters – 128; Parents – 85
Case Study Interviews: Teachers: 15; Interpreters: 20; Parents: 15;
Students: 10 Classroom samples of interpreting:
30 samples across elementary, junior high and high school
3 samples of Intervening Services with Deaf Blind Children
Provinces – NS, ON, MB, SK, AB, BC, NB, NL, QB04/19/23 Debra Russell
Focus of Interpreting Analysis
How are interpreters representing language in teaching/learning context?
Data being analyzed for linguistic functions in teaching/learning discourse Six common teaching processes chosen (Cazden, 2004) :
Scaffolding (teaching & language structure) Reconceptualizing Meta-cognitive Questions Reciprocal Teachings Feedback Sequencing
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Preliminary Findings
Surveys & Interviews: little agreement on success of inclusion Teachers: 78% - working well Administrators: 100% - believe they operate
“Inclusive” school settings Interpreters: 67% - not working well Parents/Students: 83% - not working well
Classroom Interpretation (n=33): very problematic
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Access to Language Functions
8/33 Interpreters (27%) consistently represented all 6 discourse features of
teaching environment
12/33 (40%) not able to represent all 6 discourse features
13/33 (33%) able to represent some signs, with frequent and
patterned errors inaccurate messages, dysfunctional grammar, requires
child to recover content (if they can)
Example from Case Studies:
Rural setting: 130/280 (46%) utterances successful in Grade 5 social studies class
Urban setting: 298/420 (80%) utterances successful; access to curriculum, however no access to
reciprocal teaching via debate process
Interpreters: majority less than 5 yrs experience; some less
than 2 yrs
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Summary – Access to Meaning
Experienced (5+ years) intuitively focus on the function of the discourse and to the meaning
Majority (Less experienced or those trained prior to 1990’s) chose words didn’t recognize the function or lacked strategies to show
the natural grammar and the intent operated from transmission model
Impact on students: higher level thinking processes not activated when
interpretation lacks these processes moved from active participant to “bystander” or passive
learner
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Policy & Practice Implications
Policies and practices - what can change? When is a child suited to a mediated education? Need for solid training and hiring of interpreters who
can work with children Deaf children falling farther behind with interpreters
who cannot provide full access Need to look to other aspects that can supplement a
mediated education: technology, peer interaction with other Deaf children, assessment
Changing Practices Administrators:
assessments for when mediated vs. direct education is possible
Teacher: Processes; knowledge of teaching in bilingual and bimodal
class Interpreters & assistants
Linguistic competence that matches teachers and classmates
possess interpreting strategies to reflect educational discourse and teaching processes
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For whom and under what context• Challenges:
Language development issues child coming to school with little exposure to
language/starting at a disadvantage
Schools believe that children can learn language by watching an “interpreter” Is the language model competent? Bystander or active participant in education? Classroom practices – discourse pacing/strategies Cognitive load issues not yet been studied
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Rethinking Issues
Question arising from research: How do we determine when a child can manage
the cognitive and linguistic demands of dealing with an interpreters?
BICS/CALP (Cummins, 1988) – Deaf children who don’t have BICS prior to working with an interpreter in academic settings? What are the cognitive demands for any Deaf learner
watching an incomplete language model?
Direct Instruction vs. Mediated Instruction - Comprehension and Engagement?
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References Cazden, D. 1988 Classroom discourse: the language of teaching and learning. Portsmouth, NH:
Heinemann. Davis, J. 2005. Code Choices and consequences: implications for educational interpreting. In Educational
Interpreting and interpreter education, eds. M Marschark, R. Peterson and E.A. Winston. New York; Oxford University Press.
Marschark, M, P. Sapere, C. Covertino, and R. Seewagen. 2005 Educational Interpreting: its about deaf Students. In Educational Interpreting and interpreter education, eds. M Marschark, R. Peterson and E.A. Winston. New York; Oxford University Press.
Napier, J. 2005. Linguistic features and strategies of interpreting: From research to education to practice. In Educational Interpreting and interpreter education, eds. M Marschark, R. Peterson and E.A. Winston. New York; Oxford University Press.
Nord, C. 1997. Translating as a purposeful activity; Functionalist approaches explained. Manchester, UK: St. Jerome Publishing
Reiss, K. and H.J. Vermeer 1984. Grundleging einer allgemeinen Translationstheorie, Tübingen: Niemeyer. Russell, D. (July, 2007). What do others think of our work? Perspectives on educational interpreting from
Deaf students, teachers, administrators and parents. Paper given at the World Association of Sign Language Interpreters. Paper given at the World Association of Sign Language Interpreters, Segovia, Spain.
Winston, E. (2004) Interpretability and Accessibility of Mainstream Classrooms. In In Educational Interpreting – How it can succeed. ed. E.A. Winston. Washington DC: Gallaudet University Press.
7/15/08 Debra Russell