Where is the next generation of interpreting educators? - Karen Malcom

Where is the next generation of interpreting educators?
by Karen Malcolm

As we mark 20 years of interpreter education at Douglas College, my thoughts can’t help but turn to the future. Our current educators have been doing this work for a long time, and are all of a similar generation. That generation will eventually retire, and I wonder, who will be waiting to take our places and continue to prepare interpreters for the field? Perhaps it may be you! I would like to offer some thoughts about the skills and credentials an educator needs, and what the work entails.

First off, teaching interpreters is incredibly rewarding work. Watching the professionals who provide quality service in the field, and knowing I was part of helping them learn the necessary knowledge, skills and attitudes, is so satisfying. Most interpreters, I believe, have strong ideas about what constitutes best practice. Being an educator allows you to act on your convictions by shaping the education of new interpreters.
Students ask great questions and I feel that I grow in understanding and improving my own work as I articulate my reasoning for my own practice. In addition, I get to work with other colleagues who are also passionate about interpreting. There is a constant sharing of new ideas, new research and new resources. Working in an educational institution provides access to the library and on-line academic resources, as well as the collegiality of teachers in other fields of study, who share their understanding of teaching and learning. It is stimulating!

Requirements for interpreter educators

Interpreting skills and community respect

We all know the field of interpreting continues to grow and develop, and the requirements for educators have continued to change accordingly. When I started teaching, the main requirement was “good” interpreting skills. The assessment of what those “good” skills were was subjective, because we didn’t have national certification yet in Canada. Educators were individuals who were well known in the Lower Mainland and/or nationally, and who had contributed to the Deaf community and interpreting community both.
That requirement still stands. Without community support for the educators in the program, it can’t succeed. We need community support in so many ways; in advisory capacities, as Deaf role models, as twins, and as practicum supervisors, to name just a few.

But assessing interpreting skills has become more objective with the implementation of the Canadian Evaluation System. I would urge every person considering becoming an educator to participate in the TOI workshops, and to ultimately obtain the COI. This is an objective demonstration of having reached a level of interpreting skill that is recognized across the country.


Academic qualifications

Academic credentials were seen as something to strive for twenty years ago, but were not required. When I first started teaching at Douglas in 1988, there was one person with a Bachelors degree among the teaching team of 5. (It wasn’t me. I ended up returning to school to complete a Bachelor’s degree, and then to continue on to get a Masters. In fact, three other current faculty all completed degrees while also teaching, or are in the process of doing so.) In our current teaching team of four, we now comprise a team with two Bachelors degrees and two Masters. So one of the considerations for those wanting to teach is continuing your academic study and securing degrees. While we don’t yet have a BA program in Interpreting, it is possible to take the diploma from Douglas and transfer into either of two Bachelor degree programs offered through Athabasca University, and we also have an unofficial transfer precedent set with the University of the Fraser Valley and the University of Calgary. Some valuable areas to consider studying include education, adult education, linguistics, sociology, anthropology and community studies. I encourage people to consider graduate studies as well, even to as high a level as a PhD. One day we will have Bachelor programs in interpreting in Canada, and we will need people with PhDs to teach in them!

There is a graduate program offered online through Northeastern University, located in Boston, which is specifically geared for teaching interpreting. Our colleague Debra Russell is one of the faculty. It prepares students to actually teach interpreting. Of course the drawbacks are the expense, since Canadians are considered to be foreign students and pay correspondingly higher fees, and the on-line format, which does not necessarily suit every student’s learning needs.

Western Oregon University, which is just south of Portland, Oregon, has a Bachelors in Interpreting, and are considering establishing a Masters in Teaching Interpreting, so that will be interesting to watch for. But of course, staying in Canada and taking a Masters in Adult Education or Sociolinguistics, or other fields, can also be very useful.

Teaching interpreting

If you have established good community ties, obtained certification, and also have academic qualifications, how do you actually learn to teach interpreting? Those who have studied adult education will have the principles of lesson planning, curriculum development, and planning and leading learning activities that work successfully for adults. Those who have studied in other areas can take the Provincial Instructors’ Diploma Program, which is offered on a part time basis at Vancouver Community College, and provides an introduction to the elements of successful instruction and assessment. Still, the actual teaching of interpreting can remain a mystery. Fortunately, the field of interpreter education is maturing, and there are more and more publications and resources to use. The Conference of Interpreter Trainers (CIT) offers monthly online newsletters, that often include teaching ideas, and hosts conferences biennially where a vast array of presenters comment on ways to prepare interpreters for a wide range of settings and challenges. Their website is www.cit-asl.org.

It is likely thought that the way new educators are being prepared will still need to be through mentorship. We need new people to start to work with existing faculty, and to be mentored through the process of teaching interpreting. Shadowing teachers in the classroom, and starting to act as an assistant, is one possible route. We haven’t done this yet at Douglas, but are considering offering this in the future. We would not be able to offer any guarantees of employment, and would also need to know that you are commencing with the steps listed above to prepare yourself as an educator, but if you are interested, or have further questions, please contact me at malcolmk@douglas.bc.ca.

Conclusion

I hope that listing these requirements does not present too daunting a picture, or discourage those who are interested. It’s important to remember that some of these steps can be occurring simultaneously. For example, you can be working as an interpreter, developing expertise so that you are ready to pass the TOI, and at the same time be a part-time university student. The flexibility of interpreting allows for combinations of work and study. And there is still time to develop your abilities too. We may be an aging faculty, but we still have some good years left, so there will not be a complete turnover of educators within the next decade. Nonetheless, these changes WILL take place, and I hope some of you will plan to become the educators of the future.