Workshop Title:
“Uncovering Bias in Interpreter Assessment: From Ideology to Practice”
Workshop Description:
This interactive workshop draws on findings from The Things They Left Unsaid: Language Ideologies and the Assessment of Signed Language Interpreters to examine how interpreter educators evaluate student performance. Participants will engage in hands-on activities designed to surface their own assessment practices and examine how those practices influence scoring decisions. The workshop introduces the concept of language ideology, indexicality, and equivalence to explore how language choices signal social meanings such as competence, professionalism, and identity, and how these ideologies impact evaluation. Together, participants will analyze commonly used assessment tools, identifying what is prioritized and what may be overlooked, particularly in relation to culture and linguistic variation. In the final segment, attendees will work collaboratively to revise or redesign assessment tools and feedback practices. Participants are encouraged to bring their own rubrics or evaluation materials to the workshop for reflection and revision. This session offers practical strategies for developing more intentional, reflective, and equitable approaches to interpreter assessment.
Educational Objectives:
1) Participants will identify how language ideologies influence interpreter assessment practices, including how beliefs about “appropriate” and “professional” language shape evaluation decisions through a hands-on assessment activity.
2) Participants will analyze interpreter assessment tools using the concepts of language ideologies and indexicality to determine what is prioritized, marginalized, or omitted, particularly in relation to cultural and linguistic variation, as demonstrated in relevant literature through a dyadic lecture.
3) Participants will apply strategies to revise or design assessment criteria and feedback practices that more intentionally account for cultural meaning, linguistic diversity, and the absence of a single objective standard of equivalence through small group activities.
Bio:
Heather A. Turell, NIC, EIPA holds a Ph.D. in Interpretation and Translation from Gallaudet University, where she also earned her master’s degree in Interpretation Research. Heather has mentored interpreters for more than a decade and a half and has served as an interpreter educator since 2017. She has taught as an adjunct instructor at Frederick Community College and Gallaudet University. Her research focuses on language ideologies, interpreter assessment, interpreting pedagogy, interpreter demographics, and culturally responsive, trauma-informed approaches to both pedagogy and interpreting practice. Her work also explores interpreter cognition and learning.
RID CEUs Offered: .3