NCIEC Alerts
With only two years remaining in our five-year federal grants, the National Consortium of Interpreter Education Centers (NCIEC) is eager to spread the word about ongoing and upcoming learning opportunities and resources for interpreting educators, mentors, and program administrators. We hope you will participate!
Have You Taken the Interpreting Education Program Needs Assessment Survey?
As part of its on-going series of needs assessments, the NCIEC is conducting its second survey of Interpreter Education Programs. Survey findings not only help determine decisions about the use of resources for the current grant cycle, but may also help guide the next cycle of grant funding.
Program Administrators, your participation in this survey is important! If you have not received a link to the survey, or if you misplaced the link, please notify us by emailing nciec@interpretereducation.org. Questions may also be directed here.
Survey closes at midnight on October 7! We realize this is a busy time of the year, but the survey should take less than 10 minutes to complete. Thank you in advance for your participation.
Is Your Program Listed in the DiscoverInterpreting.com Database?
A database of interpreting education programs is now available on the NCIEC’s Discover Interpreting website. The premier website on interpreting as a career, DiscoverInterpreting.com draws current and prospective interpreting students. A vibrant and growing Facebook group currently has over 2,000 members.
Be sure your program is correctly listed in the database. Please visit http://discoverinterpreting.com/?find_a_program and review your program information. If information is missing or incorrect, please click on add or update program information and fill in the form provided.
Are You and Your Students in on the Discover Interpreting Facebook Group?
Membership in the Discover Interpreting Facebook Group has surpassed 2,000! An average of around 80 people ask to join every month! This is an excellent venue for you and your students to tout your program. Have a look at https://www.facebook.com/groups/91442340251/.
New Training Opportunity for Program Administrators
After three years of limited dissemination for field-testing and revision purposes, the National Interpreter Education Center has opened its three faculty development series to the field at large. We will soon be registering for an 8-week online module on the topic of Program Assessment. The course is designed for administrators of interpreter education programs (IEP) interested in the current trends and standards associated with the study and profession of interpreting, and, who are looking for ways to assess their own instructional program in order to enhance the quality of educators and training they offer at their institutions. The module will be offered October 28-December 20, 2013. Registration information will be forthcoming. For more information on this and upcoming faculty development opportunities, please contact Trudy Schafer at g.schafer@neu.edu.
Journal of Undergraduate Interpreting Education
The National Interpreter Education Center (NIEC) is pleased to announce the publication of the second issue of the Journal of Undergraduate Interpreting Education (JUIS). The JUIS showcases academic excellence among undergraduate interpreting students. The 2013 Journal features two outstanding articles. Heather Hamilton, Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania, examines gender variation in sign production among ASL users. Cenee Dawkins, Gallaudet University, utilizes a case study approach to analyze the effects of experience on decision-making. The JUIS is scheduled for release on September 30. Please visit http://www.northeastern.edu/juis.
The NIEC will offer a webinar this fall on the research and writing process for student researchers and their faculty advisors, and possible application of the JUIS in undergraduate coursework. Watch for further information or contact Trudy Schafer at g.schafer@neu.edu.
NCIEC to Expand “Train the Trainer” Opportunities
New NCIEC programs planned for implementation in 2014 and 2015 will prepare interpreter educators and mentors to teach and mentor in the specialty areas of Deaf Interpreter practice, legal interpreting, and vocational rehabilitation interpreting.
Deaf Interpreter Practice
The NCIEC’s long and painstaking process of developing, field-testing, and refining a six-module curriculum for teaching the specialized competencies required of Deaf Interpreters is winding to a close. A train-the-trainer session to be offered in spring 2014 will bring together CDI faculty of interpreting education programs and free-lance interpreting educators committed to implementing the curriculum starting in 2015.
Legal Interpreting
NCIEC needs assessments find interpreters naming legal interpreter training as a critical need. In response, the NCIEC will develop and offer training for SC:L and CDI interpreters to serve as mentors for certified interpreters seeking supervised induction into interpreting in courts and law enforcement settings. CDI and SC:L interpreters with prior experience in legal interpreting who are geographically dispersed and strategically situated will be recruited to participate in this mentor/supervisor training event. NCIEC will consider as potential inductees individuals who have completed formal training in the area of legal interpreting, but while not yet CDI or SC:L certified, are committed to legal interpreting as a specialization to be inducted into court interpreting work over a 4-6 week period under the supervision of the trained mentors. Willingness to take CDI or SC:L following the induction period would be required.
In addition, the NCIEC will develop a series of five legal interpreting training packages and train a group of 12-15 interpreter trainers to implement instruction within their region. The NCIEC will recruit CDI and SC:L interpreters with prior experience in legal interpreting who are geographically dispersed and strategically situated to participate in this train-the-trainer event Each participant will be required to implement at least two of the five training packages in their region post-training.
Vocational Rehabilitation Interpreting
Beginning with the new grant cycle in 2010, the NCIEC has worked to develop “Interpreting in the VR Setting Series,” an interactive, online in-service training series comprising five (5) modules designed to enhance the skills and knowledge sets necessary to work effectively in Vocational Rehabilitation settings. Following on the development of this series, the Consortium will develop a program to train a pool of experienced VR interpreters to implement the VR curriculum in online and/or face-to-face formats.
For More Information on Upcoming Train-the-Trainer Activities: To stay up to date on the evolution of these activities, please join our mailing lists by contacting nciec@interpretereducation.org, watch the Calendar of Events at http://www.interpretereducation.org, and Like us on Facebook.
Visit Our New Website: HealthcareInterpreting.org!
We are excited to launch our new mobile-friendly website with even more resources.
If you used the past versions of the website, you are familiar with some of the excellent ASL video resources on medical topics available there. Nearly all of the CDs and DVDs on health-related topics created by the CATIE Center may be streamed for free on your computer or tablet. Additional video resources only available online include our “What Brings You Here?” series, in which Deaf people of all ages answer that first question asked in the doctor’s office; and ASL Vlogs, in which interpreters and consumers share their perspectives on challenges and successful experiences in the healthcare setting.
We are also now offering our Body Language for IEPs online course on HealthcareInterpreting.org. The online Body Language series consists of five modules:
- Introduction to Healthcare Discourse,
- Cardio Workout,
- No More Digestive Distress,
- It’s All in the Lungs, and
- Put Some Meat on Your Bones.
Students have one year of access to all five modules, and coursework is facilitated by their instructor. Please contact us to discuss offering this program to your students.
Don’t forget that the domains and competencies for interpreting in healthcare settings, and numerous resources for infusing healthcare interpreting into the interpreter education program are also available for free on HealthcareInterpreting.org.
We have many more exciting enhancements planned for the coming year. We hope you’ll find ways to use many of these resources in your teaching and learning.
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