BiblioVault - Books about Swabey, Laurie

Beyond Equivalence

Reconceptualizing Interpreting Performance Assessment

Elizabeth A. Winston

Gallaudet University Press, 2023

There is a longstanding need for valid, reliable measurements of interpreting competence. Although rubrics and checklists are commonly used in both academic and employment settings, a review of available rubrics indicates that many do not focus on interpreting performance. Traditional metrics for sign language interpreting often conflate language proficiency with interpreting proficiency. Conflating fundamental aspects of language in use—vocabulary, grammar, and prosody— with fundamental aspects of interpretation—content, intent, and monitoring—compromises the valid assessment of interpreting proficiency. Beyond Equivalence: Reconceptualizing Interpreting Performance Assessment argues for a shift toward more nuanced and evidence-based conceptualizations of interpreting, communication, and meaning to improve the creation and use of rubrics for assessment in interpreter education, certification, and professional development.

This inaugural volume in the Currents series introduces a rubric and accompanying scale, which can be used to assess both simultaneous and consecutive interpreting performance in terms of both process and product, in both signed and spoken language interpreting, and in a variety of settings. Beyond Equivalence offers an appreciation of the multivarious nature of meaning in the interpreting process and presents a new paradigm for the measurement of interpreting proficiency.

[more]

In Our Hands

Educating Healthcare Interpreters

Laurie Swabey

Gallaudet University Press, 2012

Deaf Americans have identified healthcare as the most difficult setting in which to obtain a qualified interpreter. Yet, relatively little attention has been given to developing evidence-based resources and a standardized body of knowledge to educate healthcare interpreters. In Our Hands: Educating Healthcare Interpreters addresses these concerns by delineating the best practices for preparing interpreters to facilitate full access for deaf people in healthcare settings.

The first section of this volume begins with developing domains and competencies toward a teaching methodology for medical and mental health interpreters. The next chapter describes a discourse approach that relies on analyzing actual transcripts and recordings to train healthcare interpreters. Other chapters feature a model mental health interpreter training program in Alabama; using a Demand-Control Schema for experiential learning; the risk of vicarious trauma to interpreters; online educational opportunities; and interpreting for deaf health care professionals. The second section offers four perspectives on education, including healthcare literacy of the clients; the education of Deaf interpreters; the development of standards for spoken-language healthcare interpreters; and the perspectives of healthcare interpreter educators in Europe. The range and depth of In Our Hands takes significant strides in presenting educational opportunities that can enhance the critical services provided by healthcare interpreters to deaf clients.

[more]

Signed Language Interpreting Pedagogy

Insights and Innovations from the Conference of Interpreter Trainers

Laurie Swabey

Gallaudet University Press, 2022

For over forty years, the Conference of Interpreter Trainers has provided opportunities for advancing teaching and learning in interpreter education. This volume highlights fifteen seminal papers from past conference proceedings, along with newly written responses to the selected papers. Many of the new contributions are co-written by the author of the original paper and one or more emerging scholars, giving readers a historical lens on how the field of signed language interpreting pedagogy has evolved. The volume also calls attention to issues with which the field must urgently contend, such as implementing a Deaf-centric approach, multicultural interpreting curricula, the recruitment and retention of African American/Black students, and social justice.

The contributors explore other important topics in interpreter education including ethics, Deaf translation, performance evaluation, consecutive and simultaneous interpreting, discourse analysis, critical thinking, curriculum sequencing, the social construction of learning, and mentoring. Through this collaborative approach featuring more than thirty scholars, Signed Language Interpreting Pedagogy presents a wealth of theoretical and practical information for interpreter educators and their students.

[more]