Jamie Finley, research assistant with Natural Health and Food Products Research Group and former BCIT student and researcher, was the presenter at the March 13 Food for Thought session held at the Library Summit. His talk, entitled A Deaf Gain Perspective: An Overview of Best Practices for Deaf Students and Interpreters, offered a wide range of information. Did you know that the origin of poster sessions at academic conferences was for the benefit of deaf attendees? Or that Wladislav Zeitlin, a 1920s scientist who studied how to transmit moving pictures using electricity (research that eventually led to the first televisions), was deaf? Jamie mentioned these examples to make his point that innovation by deaf scientists to improve accessibility for the deaf often results in better accessibility for all.
Two systems for interpretation are currently used with deaf students. Communication Access Real-time Translation (CART) involves someone typing text that is read on a screen, while sign language interpreters translate ASL into speech (or vice versa). Research has shown that student achievement is the same regardless of the method used.
Jamie then discussed ASL interpretation in more depth. ASL does not have official language status in Canada and there are issues in interpretation when English is not the common language. Currently, there is a shortage of interpreters, which means they need to be booked quite far in advance. There is also the matter of the “translated deaf self.” Because it’s not possible to look at the interpreter and the speaker at the same time, there is always a trade-off between what is being said and the personality of the interpreter, which can lead to interpretation issues when the interpreter is not well known to the deaf person.
The hearing attendees at the session were able to experience the significant role an ASL interpreter plays as Jamie’s presentation was in ASL.
Food for Thought sessions are hosted by BCIT Library and the Learning and Teaching Centre throughout the academic year, and are opportunities for faculty and staff to showcase research, learning and teaching practice, student support services, and innovation at BCIT. The sessions are hosted on Teams and in-person at the Library Summit Centre (where a light lunch is provided). A calendar of upcoming sessions and recordings of previous sessions are available on the Library Food for Thought SharePoint page.
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