Some ideas just shine brighter.

In 2016 we at The Interpreter’s Lab (and parent company Shifting Pictures Inc.) made the decision to move our courses online. I had never really been a fan of self-directed, online courses for interpreter education and training. At the time that online learning started gaining popularity, the majority of programs for interpreters working in specialized settings (community, health, legal, education, err.) did not include an actual live instructor, just student-directed content. For orientation and professional development topics, self-directed courses make sense, of course, but for genuine education and the acquisition of essential skills and knowledge, instructor-led and classroom-based programs were the only way to go – in our view. So, while we saw a lot of promise and potential benefit in virtual courses (personally, I have always been a big technophile), at the time we did not see how it could be done without losing some of our programs’ value that came as a direct result of the live interaction with between students and our expert instructors, the engagement and interface within the student cohort, and the opportune, and often unanticipated, outcomes emerging from the free form discussions of an adult-centered classroom.

However, in 2017 we discovered a platform that was simple to access, free for the students to utilize and did not demand that users be technological wizards or internet experts. Moreover, after some investigation we learned of an online, e-learning management system that once again made sense for our students – adults that came from diverse educational and occupational backgrounds. We then combined these two platforms in order to be able to deliver quality educational programs in a virtual space – without sacrificing any of the benefits of “face-to-face” instruction and student-focused, classroom method teaching. And not only did we not lose what we had in intrinsic value; the programs gained even more benefits. Online means that we can blend so much more into the learning modules – connecting students to global resources and international speakers and thought-leaders of the industry. Online also means that students get more – more content, more depth, and longer engagement with the course and the instructor. Table 1, at the end of this article, outlines how the e-learning space offers so much more to students – especially adult students that are already juggling family, work, and other commitments and that are seeking to make a career shift to interpreting – as many of our students tend to be.

We knew that moving our courses to the virtual classroom environment would bring great advantage to the operational capacity of our programs, and of course, advantage to both our instructors and students as well, but we were surprised to discover one other, very important recipient that also benefited – the environment. Since we moved our programs online, we have substantially reduced the carbon footprint of our courses in so many ways (substantial is relative as we are a small organization, so substantial to us):

• Students and instructors no longer have to drive to the course – saving on fuel and emissions (to date this has resulted in the elimination of 100 people from driving for an estimated 60,000km and a savings of 13.2 – 16.4 tonnes of emissions or CO2e*).
• The student manuals and other handouts are distributed via the online content and students are encouraged to NOT print anything unnecessarily, but to file the documents on their computers (savings of approximately .5 trees**).

Online also means more family time for our students – turning on their computer versus getting into their cars to come to class – allows for a quick “commute” back to family and friends.

The NOSA blog found 4 environmental benefits to online learning. These are:

1. Fuel cost savings
2. Reduced pollution and carbon emissions
3. Reduced drain on natural resources
4. Savings on paper and printing/copying

And a further benefit, that came to light due to a recent heavy snowfall in our area, is no snow days! This means no down-time in learning, no missed lessons, no extended course duration or cancellations and no dangerous commuting for students and teachers.

The shift to our e-learning, blended programing has not only provided all of the benefits to our students that we foresaw but has also demonstrated serendipitous rewards to our environment. While our new e-learning program model has only been in operation for just under a year, we eagerly anticipate its enduring benefits. Perhaps serendipity will manifest again, in new and wonderful ways.

[ninja_tables id=”4646″]

*Emissions calculator used: https://www.saanich.ca/EN/main/community/sustainable-saanich/green-at-home/carbon-fund-calculator.html

** Source: https://ribble-pack.co.uk/environment/much-paper-comes-one-tree

Handbook of Research on Medical Interpreting

Founder and Director of Shifting Pictures and The Interpreter’s Lab, Angela Sasso, has been recently published in the Handbook of Research on Medical Interpreting – a textbook for interpreting students. Angela’s chapter, titled In Through the Looking Glass: The Discord Between, Practice and Education, looks at the evolution of the healthcare interpreter’s role in Canada, and the necessary educational programs to prepare interpreters to work in complex settings. Here is the overview of her chapter:

Traditional interpreter education programs were designed for conference interpreting markets. With the introduction of dialogue interpreting, some portion of the educational content was then allotted to public service interpreting and specialized settings became more prominent, programs then added courses to place more attention on specific contexts. In the last decade researchers began to view healthcare interpreting as a specialization of interpreting, and not just interpreting in a different setting. This chapter will review the evolution of the healthcare interpreter’s role in the context of alignment between education and workplace reality in Canada. The results of this review demonstrate that the work expectations of healthcare interpreters do not align with delineations of the interpreter as a language conduit nor with current educational programs and recommends a more robust and situated pedagogical schema that includes ongoing and deliberate continuing education as an interim measure to mitigate tensions between student and practitioner, theory and practice.*

The Handbook of Research on Medical Interpreting is a compendium of essential reference material discussing the educational, ethical, pedagogical, and specialized aspects of medical interpreting. Featuring research on topics such as patient care, competent healthcare, and specialized training, this book is ideally designed for hospital staff, healthcare administrators, medical specialists, professional interpreters, industry professionals, academicians, researchers, and students seeking coverage on a new, international perspective to the medical sciences.  (Taken from the publisher’s website: IGI Global – publishers)

While this is a textbook and therefore not necessarily intended for independent interpreters (the book is $276USD), individual chapters can be purchased from the publisher for $40. To find out more you can click here and be taken to IGI Global website:

Handbook of Research on Medical Interpreting

Izabel E.T. de V. Souza (Osaka University, Japan); Effrossyni (Effie) Fragkou (National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece)

ISBN13: 9781522593089|ISBN13 Softcover: 9781522593119|EISBN13: 9781522593096

https://www.igi-global.com/book/handbook-research-medical-interpreting/220086

*Sasso, A. (2020). In Through the Looking Glass: The Discord Between Practice and Education. In I. Souza, & E. Fragkou (Eds.), Handbook of Research on Medical Interpreting (pp. 397-420). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-9308-9.ch017

Just as music is the marriage of notes and pauses, communication is in the verbal and non-verbal alike.

In a recent conversation I was having with the manager of an LSP – he, the manager, being new to the industry and field – commented that “interpreting is a very lucrative business” and that he wanted to profit off of this cash-cow so he had ramped up their recruitment efforts by posting for interpreters across multiple job boards. I had to ask what his definition of an “interpreter” was, and his response was simple: An interpreter is someone who speaks two or more languages. Wow! There you have it. Well, I guess that makes my 81-year-old mother an interpreter, my 16-year-old niece an interpreter, and the wonderful man that served us dinner at the restaurant in Lisbon an interpreter as well. And along with them, all of the other approximately 56% of the world’s population that are either bilingual or multilingual. There must be few, if any other, professions where one can simply claim their competency based on the fact that they have a facility that they share with 3 billion other people. In fact, the Dunning-Kruger Effect is well evidenced in language services, because those that label themselves, or are labelled, interpreters simply based on their apparent bilingualism, without even the slightest attempt at exploring the definition of what the role entails, often fancy their competency in their language ability much higher than the reality. And that does not even speak to all of the other skills, abilities, and profound knowledge of communication, self and culture that interpreters must hold.

But I like to see the positive in the negative, so, setting aside the absurdity of this fellow’s statement, there is a lesson in this for those of us still slogging away in the mire of language services in community settings: We are not doing a good job of it at all. Not a good job of teaching others what it means to be an interpreter. Not a good job at building awareness of the importance of quality language access. Not a good job of explaining that standards matter, and that those standards are there for the consumers and the non-English (in the case of my geographic location) speaking clients. Not a good job of explaining that the slightest shift in the message, the omission of some words and the addition of others, the change in tone and register, can completely transform what the speaker said. And those alterations can have devastating impact. We have all heard anecdotal evidence over the years of what bad interpreting can do, from battlefields, to court houses, to operating rooms, incompetent interpreting has transformed, endangered and even taken, lives.

 “A study by the American College of Emergency Physicians in 2012 analyzed interpreter errors that had clinical consequences, and found that the error rate was significantly lower for professional interpreters than for ad hoc interpreters — 12 percent as opposed to 22 percent. And for professionals with more than 100 hours of training, errors dropped to 2 percent.”

NPR: In the Hospital, A Bad Translation Can Destroy A Life

Communication alone, in the same language, in the same or similar cultural context, can often be completely ineffective, now add to that interaction layers of language and culture and see how much more opaque it can all become. Interpreters are not language specialists; their work is in communication. They facilitate communication between parties that speak different languages, who have a need to communicate. The nuanced skill of hearing the message and converting it, while retaining its original intent and tone, is not one that is easily attained. It comes with a base knowledge, a competency with professional skills and techniques, and adherence to an ethical code that places high demands on critical thinking, analysis, speedy response and a lot of practice. If interpreting were only about words, then all that would be needed are bilingual dictionaries. And if interpreting competency was only about language, then there’s a world of polyglots from which we can pick our interpreters. But do we really just want our words translated or is it that we want our voice and message heard? If it’s the latter then we must utilize and promote professionals that have the competence to facilitate our communication – professional interpreters. Just as music is the marriage of notes and pauses, communication is in the verbal and non-verbal alike.

 “You can speak the words of a language, but still be totally off, because you are saying all the wrong things, in the wrong way, in the wrong order and in the wrong structure.” Hilde Fiva Buzungu on Just Another Do-Gooder: Working with interpreters – a conversation with researcher and anthropologist, Hilde Fiva Buzungu

It has always been my belief that interpreting (and translation) are often considered as non-professions by the lay audience because it’s communication itself that people don’t understand. If you don’t have an appreciation of how difficult interpersonal communication is, or how many levels of interference exist in intercultural communication, then you won’t understand that interpreting is not just about language, and not just about words. So to those of us that are still slogging away at that strata of the industry where the uninitiated still reign (I know many of my lucky colleagues living in more progressive countries have fortunately passed through this phase of language services evolution), it is up to us to improve our awareness building and education strategies and to more effectively promote the understanding of how critically important quality language services are – not just for fun or profit, but for equity, equality and community cohesion. Because while interpreting is a profession, not everyone calling themselves an interpreter is a professional.

Angela Sasso

CEO and Director – Shifting PicturesInc.

 Originally published in LinkedIn on August 7, 2019

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-interpreter-educating-change-angela-sasso/

August 7, 2019

 The Case of R v Sidhu and the Ontario Ministry of Attorney General

In 2005 a case heard on appeal at the Ontario Superior Courts (Canada), exposed a network of deceit, favoritism and unethical practices in the provision of interpreting services to the courts. Access to justice in one’s own preferred language is a Charter Right in Canada. While the situation in Ontario resulted in more stringent assessment and testing procedures for interpreters, it nonetheless acts as a cautionary tale because current practices, whether they be in courts in other parts of the land, or language service programs under the management of people similar to the fellow with which I spoke, are the today’s mirror of what was happening in the Ontario Court System – under the Ministry of Attorney General’s watch – 15 years ago. I included these excerpts because they so beautifully capture the “gist” of what is wrong. We fail to learn, we fail to grow, we will fail our citizens and community members once again.

“The trial judge concluded:

The failure of proper interpretative services in my view is clearly the major contributing factor to the state of affairs in this case. On the first day, apparently there were problems with interpretation for the applicant and on the second day, problems with the witness interpreter function.

Quite fairly, on my review of the record, a mistrial became necessary after an appropriate investigation was conducted. I find the period involved regarding the investigation and conclusion to be far from unreasonable. I find that to be an efficient utilization of resources, given the issue at hand.” (p.23 Ontario Superior Court of Justice – Summary Conviction Appeal Court accessed at 2005 Canlii 42491 _ On SC).

“[319] Ms. Wyatt believed interpretation to be some type of art-form capturing “the gist” of what was said in court while Ms. Laws was of the view that court interpretation was essentially a question of whether, “for the majority of the time”, “the essence” was captured. The supervisors demonstrated little insight into the constitutional significance of the access to justice issue at hand” (p.93 Ontario Superior Court of Justice – Summary Conviction Appeal Court accessed at 2005 Canlii 42491 _ On SC).

“[330] For years, Judges and lawyers have justifiably assumed that competent, accredited interpreters were placed in Brampton’s criminal courtrooms. Ms. Masrour scheduled unaccredited interpreters into courtrooms before they became accredited. Ms. Masrour and Mr. Brum have routinely scheduled unaccredited interpreters in the criminal courts who have failed the accreditation test one or more times. Ms. Masrour’s testimony as to why these individuals were scheduled and should be uncritically accepted as competent interpreters was entirely unconvincing. By having failed an accreditation test, an interpreter would be presumptively incompetent. Failing the Ontario test, would seem to provide a guarantee of incompetence. It was not for the Coordinator or her staff to conclusively determine the competence of interpreters unaccredited by the Ministry without disclosure to the court and the parties that such individuals were being used in the courts” (P. 95 – Ontario

Superior Court of Justice – Summary Conviction Appeal Court accessed at 2005 Canlii 42491 _ On SC).

Interpreting is a highly specialized profession that requires strong language and communication skills – in addition to important protocols and abilities. This lively, intensive short-course program covers core skills and competencies required of interpreters and is a pre-requisite for all of our other courses. Start your interpreting career here.

Interpreting in Healthcare Settings can be an emotionally, but rewarding, context for interpreters. This course, is a second level program that provides fundamental skills to allow interpreters to work in healthcare settings confidently.

Why do we teach what we teach? Who decides what courses and skills interpreters must have? It all starts with professional standards.

This year, Canada will host the most important ISO* language standards event, the ISO TC 37 International Meetings. From June 23 to June 28, in Ottawa, the Standards Council of Canada (SCC) and AILIA (the Canadian Language Industry Association) and co-host, the University of Ottawa, will welcome language experts from over 60 countries. Canada has participated in the international terminology standardization activities of ISO/TC 37 (Translation, Interpreting and related technology) since 1975.

In 2010, I joined the International Standards Organization (ISO) Committee on Translation, interpreting and related technology as an expert member. For those of you who are unfamiliar with ISO, let me just tell you that ISO has published almost 23,000 standards covering almost every industry, from technology, to food safety, to agriculture and healthcare – AND interpreting and translation. ISO standards have been developed for Legal Interpreting, Community Interpreting, and General Guidelines for Interpreting. And there are more in development.

Standards are a critical component of any profession. Standards provide guidelines about the work, the working conditions, the educational content, continued professional development, AND a base for certification exams. Without standards, there would be no profession. Standards are the glue that hold all of the parts together. 

As a member of the ISO TC 37/SC5 Translation, interpreting and related technology Committee, I have actively participated in the national and international meetings that have produced our industry-related standards. It has been, and continues to be, an honour to work alongside dedicated colleagues from across Canada and the globe. And I am excited to be a member of the committee that is welcoming all of the global experts to Canada to continue our work.

The commitment that I make as an ISO expert is a privilege that not only enriches me as a professional but also allows me to create interpreter education programs that are informed by the best thinking in our field, the best practices and the best content. I, along with our other talented instructors at The Interpreter’s Lab, care about the education we provide our students. We want to not only educate; we want to inspire. As one of the fastest growing professions, globally, interpreting has a world of wonders to offer you. Join us and let us spark a new passion in you.

*ISO TC37 serves all fields and applications, where human-to-human and human-to-machine communication are involved and refers in particular to the language industry products, such as language technology tools and content resources, and language services. The standards this committee produces are fundamental for language resource management, knowledge management, and content management.

Available for purchase from ISO:

1. ISO 20228 : Interpreting services — Legal interpreting — Requirements  
2. ISO 18841:2018 Interpreting services — General requirements and recommendations
3. ISO 13611:2014 Interpreting — Guidelines for community interpreting
4. ISO/CD 21998 Medical/healthcare interpreting [Under development]
5. ISO/DIS 20539 Translation, interpreting and related technology — Vocabulary [Under development]
6. ISO 20228 Interpreting services — Legal interpreting — Requirements [In publishing process]
7. ISO/NP 23155 Interpreting services — Conference interpreting — Requirements and recommendations [Under development]

This course is an intensive introduction to working in court and legal settings and includes an introduction to the Canadian court system. It will provide students with a strong foundation of knowledge and skills to get them working in diverse settings such as courtrooms, tribunals, police and RCMP settings – as well as Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) and Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) offices.

Mental health settings can be one of the most complex of all the interpreting contexts. Combining health, culture, communication, the interpreter must navigate sensitive communication processes. This nationally recognized, intensive educational program provides a unique training opportunity offered only in through The Interpreter’s Lab.

A look at local and international events from 2018 – with a view into 2019.

There are many perspectives from which to examine the world of interpreting in 2018 – local, national and international. This blog posts examines the events of 2018 from a local perspective, from the perspective of Canada, but even more locally, British Columbia.

4 Key Trends 2018 – 2019
1. Standards and Certification
2. Consumer Knowledge and Education
3. Technology Rising
4. Knowledge Sharing

Standards and Certification – Ongoing commitment to standards

In addition to the 2014 ISO standards, a new, more general, standard for interpreting was published in 2018. And currently in draft is the ISO Health Care Interpreting Standard. This increased attention to the field through these standards means increased profile and professionalization.

• • ISO 13611: 2014 – General Guidelines for Community Interpreting
  • ISO 1884: 2018– Interpreting services – General requirements and recommendations
  • HSO Standard on Communication in Health Care (Canada)

Coming in 2019/2020

• ISO standards on interpreting in Health Care Interpreting
• ISO standards on interpreting – Legal Interpreting

Analysis

Interpreters must keep their professional skills updated and be advocates for the profession. Be aware of certification requirements and be ready to get certified. But also, be knowledgeable about what certification means and ensure that it is a legitimate process.

Consumer Knowledge and Education

In interpreting services the professionals and organizations (doctors, social workers, ministries, etc.) that use the services of interpreters are called end-users or consumers. In 2018 there was a marked interest in consumers’ interest to better understand interpreting services and how to more effectively work with interpreters.

Analysis

Increased awareness of the interpreter’s role and how to work with interpreters means that professionals will know what to expect from interpreters and that they will be more aware of standards of practice and the role boundaries. This is great for interpreters that are already working at peak performance, but means that interpreters lacking in some skill areas will need to improve their abilities.

Technology (in small bytes)
Community Interpreting (in Canada) is still on the margins of the technology waves, but it is coming. What we have observed in 2018 is:

• More remote (telephone) interpreting
• More distance education opportunities
• More wireless technologies – potentially reducing numbers of interpreters required
• Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Analysis:

In order to succeed interpreters are going to have to get comfortable with technology not only as a tool for working but also a tool for learning. More educational and professional development opportunities are being delivered online – The Interpreter’s Lab, for example, is taking advantage of technology and moving some programs and courses online.

But technology also means that interpreters are going to have to improve their enunciation, articulation and overall speaking skills. Take a look at our Speech Improvement and Accent Reduction packages for more information on how to improve your speaking.

Knowledge Sharing

In 2018 more organizations added more information online to provide interpreters with more resources for self-guided and ongoing learning. These community “toolboxes”, of a sort, are of great benefit to interpreters, so take advantage of these resources.

Analysis: Get Connected and Learn More

1. The Interpreter’s Lab updates and news (www.interpreterslab.org)
2. Critical Link International (www.criticallink.org)
3. AIIC (www.aiic.net)
4. EU Speech Repository (https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/sr/)
5. Online Training Resources (https://orcit.eu)

The Year in Review 2018 at The Interpreter’s Lab

When we look back we are so happy that we were able to provide so much information and professional development to our wonderful students and clients.

Live onLine Series: Guest speakers, special live forums and industry insight.

1. February 2018 – Dr. Tanya Elez: Vicarious Trauma and Interpreter Self Care

2. March 2018 – Tammy Johnston, The Financial Guides: How to Financially Manage a Freelance Business ​

3. April 2018 – Young Joe, Bilinguals International: Rocking Advocacy: Tools for the Profession and the Professional

4. May 2018 – Open Forum: The Fundamentals of Interpreting

5. June/July 2018 – Special Live Forum – Moral and Ethical Decision Making in Complex Care Settings

6. September 2018 – Marie-Claude, Change Your Accent: Accent Reduction Strategies for Professional Interpreters

7. October 2018 – Crystal Johnson, MSc, RSLP, Speech Language Pathologist, Providence Health: Strategies for Interpreters working with Speech Language Therapists – and other complex care settings

8. November 2018 – What to look out for in 2019

Remember that The Interpreter’s Lab is more than just courses. Here’s how we can help:

• Workshops for Intensive training
• Speech Improvement and Accent Reduction
• E-Book coming out soon “How to Survive and Thrive as a Community Interpreter”
• Language and Interpreting Assessments

Happy Holidays