Professional Development: Getting over the hump!
David Bar-Tzur
Created 10 April 2000, links updated monthly with the help of LinkAlarm.
Audiotapes
Books
CDs, DVDs, and videotapes
Deaf events
Education
Mailing lists, user groups & chat rooms
Mentoring
Online teaching and learning
Organizations
Outside assessment and certification
People
Periodicals and articles
Teaching
Web sites
Workshops and conferences
Do-it-yourself1Because CEUs are a part of staying certified, don't forget that you can get CEUs for activities you do yourself or for activities that don't automatically provide CEUs. Go to Search for CMP/ACET Sponsors. This will allow you to search for a local sponsor. They can help you fill out the necessary forms. If you are unclear about the whole certification maintenance process see About the CMP.
During actual assignment
Observe others (you'll learn too), set specific goals within an assignment, watch for consumer feedback and reinforce it, videotape/audiotape for critique by self or others, and team (don't just take turns). See Massoud, L. 1993. ISBN: 1878819240. Video and booklet (outline) describes the process of evaluating and critiquing interpreting performance.
Design projects, set goals
Be specific, realistic, measurable, set time table, find peer or mentor if desired. See Clark, K. C. (2004). Great interpreters don't grow on trees: 123 steps to the top of the Sign Language interpreting field. This book was written for practicing interpreters who intend to improve their work product. Interpreters are extraordinary, and to be successful, sign language interpreters must have a skill base as varied as the world is diverse. This book provides 123 strategies that readers select and incorporate it into their daily routine. The tasks outlined require going above and beyond reading this book. Readers will be instructed to find materials and mentors, team interpret and prepare before assignments. Also see Interpreter training resources: Practice (makes perfect), Interpreter training resources: Reading - practice and Mickelson, P. G. Professional development: From the inside out.
Teach, mentor
Staff interpreters, interns, practicum students (learning happens on both sides), IEP students; tutor Deaf students in something you know well. See my pages on mentoring and on teaching. For funding, see RSA-funded interpreter training grants - Regional and national.
Translate
Take assignments that require translation: religious services, theater, poetry readings (ASL or English), plays, songs, and events with some foreign language text. See Artistic interpreting and Deaf performing arts: Music, poetry, literature, and theater.
Some suggestions for do-it-yourself activities
Cloze skills
The term "cloze" means "based on or being a test of reading comprehension, in which the test taker is asked to supply words that have been systematically deleted from the test." (The American Heritage Dictionary) The word is derived from "closure", whereby something that is somehow incomplete is brought to completion. "Cloze" was picked to identify the ability to bring linguistic closure to an incomplete sentence, and sometimes this specific meaning of closure is spelled "clozure". This skill can be helpful to an interpreter in a number of ways. Although we are generally unaware of it, we constantly use closure in our everyday listening for a variety of reason, including the fact that our mind often wanders, either to make associations with what has been said, or because of difficulties with attention. An interpreter needs to train her/himself to attend and I hope to add suggestions on how to improve listening comprehension, but let us deal with two other cases: (1) the word or phrase is not heard and (2) the word or phrase is heard, but not understood. Some of the reasons that we might not hear a word, assuming that in general the acoustics allow for comfortable hearing, are: (1) The speaker's voice dips down momentarily because of (a) an embedded clause: "Washington, who was our first president, did not want to be considered a king", (b) an aside: "Now I'd like to show you some slides. George, could you get the lights?", (c) a snide remark: Person A says, "Clinton did not have sex with that woman." Person B responds under his breath, Right!", (d) embarrassment or other strong emotion: "And then I shot her! I'm so ashamed!, (e) or noise from (a) the speaker (cough, laughter, hiccup), (b) the environment (passing airplane, hearing aid feedback, a side conversation), or (c) internal to the interpreter (inattention, self-talk, or hearing loss). By now you can see how often something like this happens and we simply compensate by using clozure. Some of the reasons a word is heard, but still not understood are: (1) the speaker has an accent (foreign or regional), (2) the word is unfamiliar jargon: "on points" from ballet (3) the word is a regional expressions: "legs up" to mean "a party", (4) the word is from a foreign language and the speaker forgot to translate it for his audience or assumes they know it: A rabbi says "Moshe rabeinu" to mean "Moses", or (5) high falutin' vocabulary: "The very apotheosis of courage." As with words that are unheard, the interpreter needs to first try and cloze on these things if possible and to prepared him/herself for specialized vocabulary. Suppose we have the following sentence and the two blanks are words that are unheard: "Now language is also like a game in a number of ways. Basically, like a _____ you usually need more than ___ person to play language. Usually you talk to somebody else. . ." Some of the clues that can be used are as follows: Clue 1: The first sentence says that "language is also like a game", so a listener can predict that the speaker will tell the ways that language is like a game. This is an example of prediction, which is a particularly useful tool because it increases listening comprehension, helps with clozure, assists in structuring the discourse, and allows for abstracting, a term developed by Lynn Finton of NTID to refer to the need to pick out the salient features because a speech act is too fast or too dense to be properly represented in the other language. Clue 2: The first sentence contains the phrase like a game. Sometimes a speaker will repeat a phrase in order to give coherence to his or her talk. This is an example of coherence. Clue 3: The indefinite article "a" precedes the blank. Only a noun phrase can follow an article - word class. This might lead to us assuming that the first blank is "game". Now for the second blank. Clue 1: How many people do you need to play a game? - content knowledge. Clue 2: What type of word is needed in the blank? We need a number because of the words "more than" - logic. Clue 3: "Person" is singular. "People" is plural. Therefore, what number is in the blank before "person"? - the linguistic concept of "number". Clue 4: The last sentence, "usually you talk to someone else", repeats the idea that you need more than one person - discourse patterns. Other things that can be used are cultural knowledge and backcloze, the latter being when we listen to more of what is said in order to make sense of a missing element that occurred previously. The web does have cloze tests on it, usually for people learning English as a second language, but if a person finds difficulty with cloze, these sites may be useful:
American Sign Language (ASL) fingerspelling. Test yourself in recognition.
Amundsen, P. (n.d.).
American Sign Language Fingerspelling Level 1.Sacramento, CA: ASL in Motion Inc. For the beginner practicing and reviewing expressive and receptive fingerspelling drills. A workbook is included.American Sign Language Fingerspelling Level 2.Sacramento, CA: ASL in Motion Inc. Ideal for the intermediate-level user. Extends on the principles of Fingerspelling 1, focusing on extended words/phrases, feelings, places, etc. A workbook is also included to aid viewing the signs/spellings.
ASL University.
Fingerspelling explanationFingerspelling quizzes.Numbers.
Augustine Su, S. and R. Furuta (April 15-17, 1998) VRML-based representations of ASL fingerspelling on the World-Wide Web.
Bar-Tzur, D. Humor and stories for interpreters: In a spell. A fingerspell, that is.
Blaha, R. and B. Carlson (n.d.) Issues regarding the assessment of vision loss in regard to Sign Language and fingerspelling for the student with Deaf-Blindness. This article offers some advice on how to modify fingerspelling for the Deafblind child.
Cagle, K. M. 1000 fingerspelled words. Signs of Development, Inc. "This multi-day presentation is the FIRST-EVER comprehensive and intensive listing of most of the fingerspelled words that Deaf people use in their day-to-day lives. It introduces you to a brief history of fingerspelling, provides principles for effective production and reception of fingerspelling and contains 45 categories of fingerspelled words within an ASL sentence. You will also see the same fingerspelled word isolated in a frame that you can view at normal pace or at 2 speeds slower than normal. There are stories accompanying several categories giving you the opportunity to see a variety of signers fingerspelling stories and a section on lexicalized fingerspelled words to assist you with developing and honing your fingerspelling skills." To order.
Cartwright, B. E. & Bahleda, S. J. RID Press, 2002. ISBN: 0-916883-34-5. Lessons on history, use, receptive, and expressive pointers, lexicalized fingerspelling, and more.
Dr. Bill Vicars' American Sign Language (ASL) Fingerspelling Tool.
Fast receptive fingerspelling practice. Several Deaf people from a variety of ethnic groups fingerspell using normal to fast speed to challenge your fingerspelling skills in reading over two thousand words. You will be amazed at the variety of styles. Captioned to check your comprehension. On-screen text to check your comprehension.
Fingerspelling practice tapes: (1) Geographic locations, (2) Proper names, (3) Fingerspelled loan signs, and (4) Miscellaneous items. Sign Media, Inc. Each tape in the series focuses on a different domain in which fingerspelling might occur. Simulated real life situations show a wide variety of fingerspelling rates, rhythms, and styles and including both male and female, right and left hand signers. Special camera angles allow you to practice reading fingerspelling from different conversational angles - to the right, the left, in front of, and to the side.
Paoletti-Schelp, J. (2001). Fingerspelling: The final frontier. [Videocassette]. Salem, OR. Sign Enhancers. In school, we initially learn how to print. As we get older, we learn cursive. Interpreters are taught how to fingerspell, equivalent to that of print. However, no one is teaching interpreters how to fingerspell the way D/deaf people do it, like cursive. Step-by-step, it teaches you how to expressively and receptively improve your fingerspelling, the Deaf way.
Fingerspelling versus oral language. A bibliographic search for this topic.
Fingerspelling versus Sign Language. A bibliographic search for this topic.
Gallaudet University. (1995). Fingerspelled word recognition for Sign Language interpreters. Washington, D.C. This videotape provides interpreters with carefully constructed opportunities to develop templates for fingerspelled words so the interpreter will be able to access the fingerspelled word faster, essential to successful interpreting.
Groode, J. L. Fingerspelling: Expressive and receptive fluency (VT), or (DVD). Dawn Signs Press. This comprehensive videotape makes the essential elements of fingerspelling available to ASL students. Based on her highly successful and popular workshops, Joyce Linden Groode presents a variety of strategies for building and improving skills for producing and processing fingerspelled words. The program presents models of appropriate handshapes and suggestions for expressive and receptive practice techniques. It provides excellent support for those who experience frustration in learning to fingerspell clearly or accurately. Seven sections cover: Overview of a natural approach to fingerspelling; Introduction to an approach to fingerspelled words as whole units; Development of clear expressive skills; Opportunity to practice fingerspelling and to increase speed; Practice with both anticipated vocabulary and specific patterns of English; Background information about loan signs; Creative use of fingerspelling
Guillory, L. M. (June 1966). Claitors Publishing Division. ISBN: 087511055X This has lists of words that you can use to VT yourself or others for receptive practice.
Letter recognition. Ten Deaf people fingerspell very slowly to give you almost one hour of practice reading a variety of fingerspelling styles. On-screen captions give you a comprehension check.
Palatine, Inc. Interactive Sign Language fingerspelling and numbers. This computer program allows you to master fingerspelling at your own speed and pace. You can create custom vocabularies, such as medical and legal terms, as well as common word ending and letter groups. When the word is shown in the signing window, you can choose the correct English word. This program also generates the numbers from 1-100.
Patrie, C. J. Fingerspelled names & introductions: A template building approach. Dawn Signs Press. 90 minutes. A powerful learning tool to improve recognition of fingerspelled words. Deaf people introduce themselves in an unrehearsed setting, followed by an enhanced presentation, allowing any sign language student to increase comprehension and improve self-confidence. Fingerspelled words are presented in a four-step template building process: Regular speed - Deaf persons introduce themselves through signs and fingerspelling; Slow motion - Fingerspelled word is shown in slow motion; English translation - Fingerspelled word is presented in printed English; Regular speed - Entire introduction, including the fingerspelled words, is presented at regular speed again.
Read any text as if it were fingerspelled. A computer method to read text as if it were being finger spelled: All one needs is a Windows word-processor (or something equivalent) and a sign-language font.
Receptive number practice with Dr. Sign. Mike Tuccelli, instructor. All kinds of numbers! Fractions, decimals, phone numbers, social security numbers, addresses, etc. 60 minutes.
Signing Online.
Fingerspelling.Numbers.
Stomach this! The digestive system in English and ASL. Our second technical interpreting resource presents parallel lectures on the digestive system, with vocabulary and two levels of instruction (secondary and post-secondary). English lectures are presented by Paul Buttenhoff. ASL lectures are presented by Cara Barnett. [Webmaster's note: Ms Barnett is an exceedingly clear fingerspeller and this CD provides plenty of practice in receptive fingerspelling and classifiers.]
Teach ASL fingerspelling resource center. Under construction as of 7 September 2004. At present it contains a list of lexicalized fingerspellings.
To the heart of the matter: The cardiovascular system in ASL and English. Created by the RSA Region V Project, this CD features lectures on the cardiovascular system by Paul Buttenhoff and Kendall Kail. Paul is an assistant professor at the College of St. Catherine who primarily teaches Anatomy and Physiology. He delivers the lectures in English. Kendall is a student at the University of Minnesota in Kinesiology. He gives parallel lectures in ASL. Both languages have lectures that are considered a warm-up (a shorter text which is at a high school level) and a technical lecture, which covers more information and is more consistent with an undergraduate setting. In addition, to prepare for working with the texts, there is a list of vocabulary and diagrams for consideration. Moreover, Patty McCutcheon, a certified interpreter, provides model interpretations of both technical lectures. [Wemaster's nore: Mr Kail is an excellent ASL language model and the tapes is good prectice for fingerspelling and use of classifiers.]
Willig, P. (2002) Fingerspelling. This website offers QuickTime movies of different models fingerspelling frequently appearing patterns in English such as -ook (book, cook, look, etc.) for receptive practice. It also includes topical fingerspelled lists: birds, cars, snake, fruits, months, states, countries, and cities.
Listening skills
Interpreters need to listen in a unique way. When people who are not interpreting listen, they decide when to attend and when to either (1) think more deeply about what was said and therefore miss part of the speaker's message or (2) simply space out or think about unrelated topics. An interpreter must constantly attend to the message at hand, even if the Deaf or Hearing consumers are in la-la land. This unique skill can be learned, and all working interpreters are better listeners than they were before they began to study their field. One way to monitor your improvement is to simply purchase audiotapes on various topics, listen to them for a prescribed amount of time (5-10 minutes), and then write down everything you remember. Then go back and play the tape again and see what you forgot or skewed (got wrong). Here are some sites that may help you in your endeavors.
Audiotapes for listening practice.
Helgesen, M. (July/August 1998).Learning to listen.
Indispensible listening skills.
Interactive listening activities.
Listening.
Listening and reading comprehension.
Listening and reading comprehension bibliography.
Listening comprehension with Real Audio 2 + +.
Listening skills.
Randall's ESL cyberlistening lab.
For stimulus material in spoken English, try StoryCorps. It doesn't have listening tests, but you could partner with someone that took notes as you listened and then could ask you questions about what you had heard.
TOEFL - Listening comprehensions.
Vocabulary building
Although vocabulary is not the "end all, be all" of a skilled interpreter, it is helpful in a number of ways: (1) It will help with
Things that can help are: (1) preparation for an assignment (what are the terms used?) for this you can read the text or watch signed videotext and discuss with the speaker/signer what terms may come up, (2) ASL and English vocabulary-building books and videotapes, (3) use of ASL/English dictionaries or encyclopedias to understand specific words or concepts, and (4) exposing oneself to English and ASL texts (written or recorded) to understand specialized vocabulary. I will list both ASL and English vocabulary resources because you will need to recognize one and be able to produce the other, whichever way one is interpreting.
A basic dictionary of ASL terms. Textual and animated.
About.com. Sign Language glossary. A comprehensive sign language glossary based on all the online sign language dictionaries.
American Sign Langauge Video Dictionary and Inflection Guide. Includes 2,700 individual signs, and 2,000 of them in one or more of 650 sentences. All signing is by Deaf native signers in sharp QuickTime movies. A "Similar Signs" feature shows signs that look alike grouped together for comparison, and 1, 000 signs are shown in categories by meaning (countries, animals, etc.). The CD works on Windows and Mac computers.
American Sign Language vocabulary CD-ROM. This PC/Macintosh compatible CD-ROM contains approximately 1,850 signs from American Sign Language that are linked with 3,500 English synonyms. Capabilities include being able to search by word or phrase�a useful reference for practicing or reviewing ASL skills. Developed by the American Sign Language and Interpreter Education department at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID).
ASL browser. Textual and animated (requires QuickTime).
ASL dictionary of religious words. Requires Quicktime or Real Player.
ASL principles - Idioms, English idioms. It is often difficult to interpret English idioms into American Sign Language. Emmett Jones and George Joslin explain not only the sign but the meaning behind the signs of these difficult idioms as well. An Idiom is an expression or a phrase in the language that is used to express a thought that is contrary to the usual patterns of the language and usually has a different literal meaning. The most important thing is to know what the word or expression in English is trying to say and then express this in American Sign Language.
ASLPro.com. Main dictionary (Over 4000 Signs), religious dictionary (Over 1200 interdenominational signs), conversational dictionary (Over 2000 common phrases). [Webmaster's note: By far the most interesting of the dictionaries. Browse it and learn!]
Bar-Tzur, D.
Technical & specialized vocabulary ASL dictionary.Over 15,000 entries. This dictionary offers a way to deal with a wide spectrum of topic areas that interpreters are faced with everyday. Rather than offer these in alphabetical order, like most dictionaries, hypermedia allows interpreters to learn vocabulary in the order they are needed, according to what challenges their assignments give them. Few people would think of a dictionary as a professional development vehicle, but by selecting assignments, learning through the classroom and doing selective homework, the interpreter can build understanding and vocabulary simultaneously.Indigenous signs: Cities.Indigenous signs: Countries.Signs for technical/specialized vocabulary.Technical vocabulary lists by topic.
Butte Publications. Multiple meanings, idioms & figurative language.
Cislunar Aerospace, Inc. Sign Language Dictionary.
Avatar illustrations. Small, but has some very interesting entries. Principally aeronautics and some science.
COMETS - Technical Signs. Many professionals have contacted us over the years in search of a field-specific or "technical" sign for a term used in mathematics or science. This web-based Science/Mathematics Sign Lexicon identifies published sources (books, CDs) where a sign may be found for a term. If an X appears next to the term, this means we have not yet identified a published source that includes a sign.
Deaf Missions. Animated dictionary of religious signs. Clear animation with many entries.
DictionaryOfSign.com. American Sign Language. Many entries. Some useful vocabulary not often seen in other dictionaries of this type.
Digital Video Dictionary, Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center. In 2000, a class of 3rd, 4th and 5th graders at the Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center found a way that was successful for them. The class took a bilingual approach to literacy by creating their own digital video dictionary. The digital video dictionary helped them to build their vocabulary and improve their reading and writing skills. The Digital Video Dictionary is an electronic collection of pictures, English words, signs, fingerspelling, ASL sentences and English sentences.
Everyday ASL's channel (You Tube).
gnarlydork. (2007, May 2). ASL signs. Most are "slangs" (best word I can say at this moment) which you won't find in your typical ASL textbooks. Those signs are my most common words used among my HS friends and myself. ANSWERS for you to CHEAT. Try and rew the video before you go ahead and read this first. You need to practice your comprehension first-- how else will you fully grasp a language if you don't TRY? All of them are written in ASL-- so do YOUR RESEARCH and figure out what is the English equivalent. "Sick me" "Yeah" nose "Drool" "Hot-neck" "Snot-throw" "Gullible" "Think Me Nothing?" "Puh-PLease" "Scoff" "Finish Immature" "Scam"
HandSpeak is a paid site, but has many interesting features. Short movie files show many interesting sign entries, not only of ASL but Gestuno and some foreign signs.
Learning Hypersign 4.0 CD164. From the makers of American Sign Language Learning System, Learning Hypersign 4.0 contains over 2,000 signs and instructions on American Sign Language in both the English and Spanish languages. Features include full motion video, age-level specific vocabulary, everyday phrases, ASL conventions, customer word lists and a host of games and activities.
Lifeprint.com: ASL University. ASL - American Sign Language. A living language evolves to meet the ever changing needs of the people who use it. Lexicography, (the making of dictionaries), is like painting sunsets. By the time the paint dries the subject has changed. American Sign Language is constantly adapting to the needs of Deaf people, our families, and our associates. As time goes on, this dictionary will become more sophisticated and include advanced features. For now, it serves its purpose of providing a quick and easy reference for my students. --Dr. Bill Vicars
Needs Outreach. American Sign Language library. Auto mechanics, biology, countries, geography, government, mathematics, physics, and US history.
Schneider, E. E. American Sign Language (ASL) and Signed English (SE) dictionary. Line drawings of signs on group together on pages. Somewhat difficult to read and bested by others represented here.
Sign Language word reference guide lists words found in sign language dictionary resources online, along with links to the dictionaries that have the sign. Each dictionary presents signs differently - some have video, others have graphic illustrations or animated graphics.
SignWriting online dictionaries.
Valley Bible Church. ASL dictionary of religious words.
About.com: Advanced vocabulary.
Bar-Tzur, D. Resources for technical/specialized interpreting. Click on a topic and see if there are any glossaries to help exoand your vocabulary within a specific discipline.
FreeRice.com. For each word you get right, we donate 10 grains of rice to the United Nations World Food Program.
General reference resources (dictionaries and encyclopedias).
Interpreter training resources. The Link method of memory. "The text that follows is an excerpt and edited version of a chapter taken from How to develop a super powered memory by Harry Lorayne. A. Thomas and Co. Preston, 1958. This method of enhancing one's ability to memorize items in sequence can be applied to both consecutive interpreting and vocabulary learning."
Magnuson, W. English Idioms, Sayings and Slang.
Introduces 3,000 words. Quizzes to test progress. Great preparation for standardized test.
Join the listserv "Phrase Origin" by sending a message to subscribe to: .
Miriam Webster's Word of the day.
Patrie, C. J. Effective interpreting series: English skills development - The study set. 256-page workbook, 74-minute video. ISBN: 0-915035-83-9. The teacher's set. 296-page teacher's guide, 74-minute video. 0-915035-82-0. - What element can no effective interpreter live without? Answer: Strong English skills. Only when you have strengthened your use and understanding of English can you transfer messages effectively to ASL. So says leading interpreter educator Carol Patrie, who promises that you will gain assurance and increase linguistic capacity once you boost your English skills with the aid of English skills development.
Pride UnLimited. Idioms & axioms currently used in America (Meanings and origins).
Take our word for it! The weekly word origin webzine.
Vocabulary training exercises.
Vocab vitamins.
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