[Jill] Hello, I'm Jill. Welcome to ASL Stew.
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So today, I wanted to talk about what you should do if you have an interpreter in your classroom.
Specifically I'm looking towards professors or teachers.
Now, I work in the college educational environment.
So I'm gonna be mostly focusing on college
but some of this can apply to the general classroom like K - 12.
So, I'm just gonna give you some tips and things
and this is not in any specific order.
So, you have an interpreter in your classroom.
It's possible before the interpreter will email you to introduce themselves,
or they might show up on the first day in your classroom.
They will go ahead, introduce themselves and explain the reason that they're there.
That they're interpreting for a Deaf or Hard of Hearing student in your classroom
to make sure communication is smooth.
Now, remember the interpreter is there for everybody in the class.
Specifically they are there for the Deaf or Hard of Hearing student
but they're also there for your and the rest of the class as well,
just to make sure communication is happening.
The interpreter is part of the team, not separate.
The team includes everybody in the classroom,
you the professor, the interpreter, the Deaf or Hard of Hearing student
as well as the other hearing students as well.
Everybody's working as a team.
The interpreter is not there to take over your classroom.
Set up rules, or manage what's happening in the classroom.
Now, there's a possibility they might try and give a tip
just make things go a little bit smoother with communication.
But they're not the boss of the classroom, it's still your classroom.
So, don't be concerned if there's another person there in the front with you.
Now, recently I mentioned the interpreter will be in the front of the room, most of the time.
Sometimes they won't, but in general they will either stand or sit in the front.
That's really just going to depend on the classroom itself,
why type of class it is, as well as the Deaf or Hard of hearing student's preference.
So, you might see them either standing or sitting.
The interpreter will typically try to be close to you. Try and follow you as you move along.
Umm, that's possible, or if you tend to just stand in one place at a computer
or writing something that then projects on a screen,
then they might stand next to the screen.
The reason for this is because Deaf and Hard of Hearing students
have a visual mode of communication, so it's easier for them.
If you're on one side and the interpreter is on the other side
then they have to keep looking back and forth, back and forth.
Which is really tiring on their eyes and it's just difficult for the student in general.
Even if they were far away from the projector or the screen,
again that makes it really hard for them to look back and forth.
So, sometimes the interpreter will go ahead and move along with you, the professor.
So, don't mind that, just ignore the interpreter and go ahead and let the dance happen.
Now, I just mentioned that the interpreter is a part of the team.
So, that means it'd be helpful for you, if you could provide information for the interpreter.
Such as powerpoint slides. If you're gonna be using that
maybe you could email the interpreter beforehand
so they can study and prepare. Which is extremely helpful.
Also, if you have anything like notes or any sort of information
that you can tell the interpreter beforehand is very helpful for them.
Sometimes the interpreter is knowledgeable about the subject at hand
and sometimes they're not. So anything like that would be very helpful.
Now recently I mentioned the interpreter will move around with you and you can ignore them.
Now, sometimes the interpreter might also have to interrupt though for clarification.
Maybe it's because they've never heard that word before
and they just want to make sure they're understanding it properly….
or it could be that they couldn't hear you well… or there's multiple different reasons.
But they might ask you to repeat or say "what did you just say?". Which is a possibility.
They're gonna try their best to not repetitively interrupt you,
but I just don't want to be shocked if the interpreter says
"hey do you mind clarifying something?".
Now, remember when working with the interpreter
the best thing to do is speak clearly and at a slow pace.
You don't have to speak extremely slow, but just at a normal relaxed pace.
Make sure again, you're speaking clearly
and that you try to be as visual as possible with notes and writing different things.
That helpful for the interpreter. Now sometimes, the interpreter will have what's called lag time.
For example if you were to ask a question to the Deaf or Hard of hearing student,
you will go ahead and say your question.
Now understand the interpreter has to listen to the question, at the same time you're speaking it.
But there's gonna be a little bit of a delay for the interpreter to process that information.
So, once you stop, it may take a few seconds later, the interpreter will stop
and then the student can answer the question.
So just allow for that time to happen and let the process happen.
One more thing, now remember,
yes the interpreter has a strong relationship with the Deaf or Hard of hearing student.
But that does not mean the interpreter is responsible for the student.
Meaning, if you feel that maybe that student is struggling in your class,
you should go directly to the student. We will interpret as the interpreters.
But don't ask the interpreter "hey do you know why they're having a hard time in the class?"
No, just go directly to the student. They are in control of their education.
If they're absent or having difficulties,
they will go ahead and get in contact with you or you can get in contact with them.
We as interpreters are just communicating that information.
We're not involved in taking over the Deaf or Hard of hearing student's education.
They can handle that.
So, in conclusion if you're even in doubt, or you're not sure what to do,
or just curious, go ahead and ask the interpreter.
If it's about the interpreting process or if you're not exactly sure
how to best work with the interpreter, that's perfectly fine. Go ahead and ask us.
We're more than willing to work with you
to make sure that communication is happening smoothly in your classroom.
We want to make sure that everyone is getting the best education as possible,
and I'm sure you do too!
So, if I missed anything or you have any other questions, go ahead leave a comment!
I would love to go ahead and answer as much as I can.
Hopefully when you have an interpreter in your classroom,
you'll be ready and you'll know exactly what to do.
So, thank you so much for watching this video.
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Thank you so much. See you in the next video. Bye!
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