EDUCATION

Project CLIMB:

Shifting Perspectives in Interpreter Education

Project CLIMB: Cultivating Legal Interpreters from Minority Backgrounds was established to increase the quantity and quality of interpreters of color, Deaf and Coda interpreters with specialization in legal interpreting. Project CLIMB was a $2M, five-year grant (#H160D160001) awarded by the U.S. Department of Education, Rehabilitation Services Administration, to the University of Northern Colorado’s (UNC) American Sign Language-English Interpretation BA program between 2017 - 2021. UNC also contributed more than $185,000 to this project. The Project CLIMB leadership team consisted of Dr. Leilani Johnson (CO), Ms. Schawn Hardesty (WA), Ms. Kelly Decker (VT), Dr. Amy Williamson (VT), and Ms. Erica West-Oyedele (CA). The contents shared here are part of a larger comprehensive compilation of the materials produced and distributed by Project CLIMB. Individuals within deaf communities have shared experiences of misunderstandings, injustices, and lack of access related to the legal system (Castelle, 2003). Helping Educate to Advance the Rights of the Deaf (HEARD), a nonprofit organization that promotes equal access to the legal system for individuals who are deaf or have a disability, reports that discrimination and racial disparities persist at every stage of the U.S. criminal justice system, from policing to trial to sentencing. There is no, nor has there ever been, a program or process designed to strategically meet the interpreting needs of deaf individuals of color as they interface with various aspects of the legal system.

Per the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, Inc (RID) 2019 Annual Report, of the 14,452 members, 1,689 (11.6%) self-identify as Black/African American, Asian American/Pacific Islander, American Indian, or Hispanic/Latinx (RID, 2020). Such statistics exemplify the fact that there is a severe shortage of sign language interpreters of color available to meet the needs of this population, whether they be victims, witnesses, or defendants, during each stage of the criminal legal process. Further, due to the shortage of in-group interpreters, the needs of deaf individuals of color are not being adequately addressed within the civil legal system. Creating “linguistic presence” in a court of law requires the availability of competent legal interpreters (de Jongh, 2008).

A second group of underrepresented individuals (deaf or non-deaf) in the current workforce are those who were raised by at least one signing, deaf parent. Having access to a minority language (a signed language) at home that is not used in the larger community of spoken language users categorizes these individuals as heritage language users of signed language. Heritage signers who hear are also referred to as Codas and often acquire ASL with varying fluency from their parent(s) and the deaf communities with whom they are associated.

This language exposure, coupled with an intimate familiarity with various deaf communities can bring significant experience and skill to the profession of interpreting. The National Interpreter Education Center’s (NCIEC) 2014 Practitioner Survey (Cogen & Cokely, 2015) reveals that only 9% of the respondents identified themselves as having been deaf-parented. This statistic is coupled with the growing demand for Deaf interpreters. In the NIEC 2015 Trends Report, 61% of service providers reported an increase in the demand for the services of Deaf interpreters, and 81% reported difficulty in finding qualified Deaf interpreters (Cogen & Cokely, 2015). The report goes on to provide insight into why the use of inter- preters who come from deaf communities are in such demand.

According to 69% of the survey respondents, Deaf interpreters have proven to be very adept at achieving deeper levels of meaning while interpreting through their use of a broader variety of targeted communication strategies and interventions. In legal settings where the rights, freedoms, safety, and resources of deaf individuals are at risk, the availability of the ex

Although there has been a growth of Deaf interpreters in the sign language interpreting profession in recent years (Forestal, 2005), Deaf interpreters have been in practice for as long as deaf people have existed. Based on the value of reciprocity within the deaf community, they support deaf people in ensuring linguistic and social comprehension when communicating with hearing people (Forestal, 2005).

While Deaf interpreters come from various backgrounds (some may be heritage signers with deaf parents, like Codas, while others are not), they all have shared lived experiences of being deaf and dealing with marginalization from the hearing world. Beldon, Forestal, Garcia, and Peterson (2009) characterize this shared lived experience as deaf extralinguistic knowledge (DELK) that influences their interpreting work. Direct access to interpreter education programs and professional development opportunities have been limited for Deaf interpreters as programs are typically designed for hearing interpreters who learned sign language later in life.

Deaf communities have always included a wide range of demographic backgrounds; however, the interpreting profession has not traditionally recruited interpreters who accurately represent the same populations (Cogen & Cokely, 2015). It is logical that individuals from minority language groups and racial or ethnic backgrounds benefit from and prefer to have in-group interpreters (Egalite, Kisida & Winters, 2015). Yet, there are simply not enough trained legal interpreters of color, Deaf, or Coda interpreters to work with the diversity of deaf individuals who come into contact with the U.S. legal system.

Project CLIMB’s Vision

To address this gap, Project CLIMB was established as a federal grant project tasked with the aim of increasing the quantity and quality of interpreters of color, Deaf interpreters, and Codas, with specialization in legal interpreting. To do so, Project CLIMB sought to change the framing of traditional interpreter education. As exemplified in bypass by Molly Wilson (2011), once considered traditional inroads to interpreting have been bypassed. Traditional inroads centered deaf people as they were responsible for the recruitment and training of sign language interpreters.

Today, most interpreters receive training in institutes of higher education instead of being immersed within deaf communities. The dominance of white, hearing women in the profession has shaped interpreter education programs, resulting in a lack of representation of BIPOC, deaf and Coda faculty. Hence, those who do not fit the white, hearing woman demographic often do not get their needs met in those interpreter education programs (Sheneman & Robinson, 2020; West Oyedele, 2015; Williamson, 2016).

However, despite the marginalization of interpreters of color, Deaf interpreters, and Codas within educational settings, they juxtapose the vibrancy, culture, and natural varied language of the diverse deaf communities for which interpreters work. Project CLIMB sought to change the framing of traditional interpreter education. The desire for innovation was applied to curriculum design, development, and implementation of interpreter training specifically in the legal specialty. Interpreter education programs not being accessible for, nor representative of diverse groups of interpreters has disparate and ongoing impacts that further marginalize educational and professional development pursuits for interpreters of color, Deaf interpreters, and Codas (West Oyedele, 2015; Williamson, 2016).

Upon its inception, Project CLIMB aimed to build a foundation of individuals contributing to the curriculum design, development, and implementation; as the educators, subject matter experts, and interpreting practitioners who embody the same identities and lived experiences of the interpreters envisioned to engage in Project CLIMB programming. Project CLIMB recognized that people come to the interpreting profession from different points of entry, lived/situated experiences, and mindsets. All of which are valuable.

In doing something different, Project CLIMB made it a priority to honor and build on the foundation that each interpreter already has, and cultivated a strengths-based approach to meet each practitioner where they were. This was done through a curriculum centered on community-based learning through facilitated dialogue. Via dialogue, the conversation naturally entered into a process where areas for improvement were identified and interpreters could work collectively to scaffold areas of potential growth. This ongoing process of dialogic listening, learning, and growing together allowed for the environment to give each Project CLIMB participant the space to be seen as their whole authentic self.

Project CLIMB Programming

Working in legal settings requires advanced interpreting competence which includes the ability to fluently execute consecutive and simultaneous interpreting of complex texts, work effectively in teams (particularly the ability to work collaboratively with Deaf Interpreters), and adapt language use to a wide range of sign language users. Further, it requires an in-depth understanding of law enforcement and the legal system. According to needs assessments conducted by the National Consortium of Interpreter Education Centers (2007; 2010), there is a shortage of qualified interpreters to work in legal settings. Therefore, one of the goals of Project CLIMB was to promote the training and certification of interpreters in this area of specialization. Project CLIMB’s Legal Interpreter Training Program (LIT)

During its 2017-2021 grant cycle, Project CLIMB offered two cycles of its nine-month dynamic, interactive, and bilingual (American Sign Language and English) asynchronous online training curriculum for legal interpreters. The curriculum provided the legal foundation needed for ASL/ English interpreters in the legal specialty. Within communities of learning (COLs), the training included a structure and approach to talking about the work of interpreting and supporting colleagues in their professional growth.

The curriculum was broken down into 19 legal content modules that covered a wide range of topics, resulting in a comprehensive training for project participants. All program participants had three or more

years of interpreting experience working in a variety of settings, references that indicated their readiness to engage in training to work in court and other legal settings, and participated in a comprehensive orientation program, preparing them for the use of instructional tools in Canvas, the Learning Management System used for the training, and the social constructivist framework upon which Project CLIMB was established. In total, 176 individuals successfully completed the training; 79% were interpreters of color, Deaf, and/or Codas. On the Project CLIMB website is a listing of the Legal Interpreter Training (LIT) participants.

Project CLIMB’s Facilitator/Mentor Training Program

Project CLIMB’s Facilitator/Mentor training (henceforth referred to as the Mentor training program) was developed as a train-the-trainer educational program to support Project CLIMB facilitators in their work with Project CLIMB’s Communities of Learning. The online discussion facilitator was “...charged with the responsibility of keeping discussions on track, contributing special knowledge and insights, weaving together various discussion threads and course components, and maintaining group harmony” (Rohfeld & Hiemstra, 1995 p.91).

Participants in the Mentor training learned how to engage and guide participants through their learning process using adult learning principles and other pedagogical frameworks to support learners.

The Mentor training program was also offered to a select group of individuals who completed the Project CLIMB LIT program and were recognized as being mentors within their local communities. This group, referred to as Facilitators-in-Training, simultaneously went through the Mentor training while assisting seasoned lead COL facilitators for the 2nd LIT cohort.

Additionally, the Mentor training program was offered to a third and fourth cohort of learners, for a total of 4 cohorts. In total, 75 individuals completed the Mentor training. Of this total, 83% were interpreters of color, Deaf, and/or Codas. On the Project CLIMB website is a listing of its trained mentors.

Project CLIMB’s Practicum Experiences

In an effort to provide an induction experience in the specialty area of legal interpreting for Project CLIMB LIT participants, two opportunities were developed: Bridge to Practice, hosted in fall 2020, and the Mock Legal Interpreting Experiences in fall 2021.

Bridge to Practice was originally envisioned as a face-to-face induction in which participants would engage in live, one-on-one mentoring with an experienced legal interpreter. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, courtrooms became inaccessible and the induction was re-envisioned as an online practicum program. As the program pivoted, the goal of Bridge to Practice came to focus on the meaning of interpreting. Not on language, the product of an interpretation, but on the cognitive process of interpreting.

This focus allowed participants to build skills based on the same understanding of what the process of creating an interpretation requires. Afterwhich these same concepts could be applied in legal contexts in order to analyze texts for meaning and unpack the interpreting process in order to analyze one’s own biases and what interpreters bring to the work.

The Mock Legal Interpreting Experiences were designed to provide supervised, low-risk mock legal interpreting and observation opportunities. In doing so, it supplemented the LIT by focusing on current trends in the interpreting profession due to the greater demand for remote court and legal work. The experiences provided a number of realistic scenarios with actual judges, attorneys, and actors to increase participant confidence in applying the skills, knowledge, and attributes associated with working in court and legal settings.

Of the 39 participants who completed Bridge to Practice, 84% were interpreters of color, Deaf, and/ or Codas. Forty participants completed the Mock Legal Experiences, of which 83% were interpreters of color, Deaf, and/or Codas. Eighteen participants engaged in both practicum experiences, for a total of 61 individual practitioners who furthered their legal interpreting studies with Project CLIMB.

Using Project CLIMB’s Curriculum and Resources

Project CLIMB’s course content was delivered via asynchronous modules within the Canvas Learning Management System. Each module included a syllabus, course slides, and ASL lectures of the module content. In addition to the ASL lectures, a great deal of media and other instructional resources were developed as stimulus material to engage participants in their learning.

Those wishing to access the curricular resources provided should understand that foundational to the curriculum was the approach used to engage learners. A social constructivist framework was the underlying element to the entire curriculum which allowed for participants to maximize learning. Participants engaged with each other in ASL through asynchronous discussion boards and regular, structured, synchronous course meetings. Each participant was encouraged to bring real-life background and experience into the community of learning to allow for rich and relevant discourse around the work. Individuals accessing the curricular resources below are discouraged from simply downloading the content and reviewing the materials but are encouraged to find or establish a community of learners to gain the most benefit.

This curriculum guide will direct you through module by module with content-specific guidance, syllabi, ASL lectures, and slide decks. You will also find links to other Project CLIMB resources that include content from the Mock Legal Experiences, an annotated bibliography, ASL Legal dictionary, mock interpreting scenarios, and other media that were developed by Project CLIMB.

Please note that these resources are being made available to you as they were presented during the grant cycle. The materials and content presented can be downloaded or reproduced and adapted for educational purposes so long as credit is given to UNC-Project CLIMB. Example: UNC-Project CLIMB. (2021). Name of Resource. URL (if applicable). As you download these resources take caution that you will need to edit materials to fit the unique needs of your program. Be careful to replace UNC-Project CLIMB specific information with that of your agency/institution and update any dates referenced. We hope you find these resources beneficial to your professional growth.

Conclusion: Shifting Perspectives

Project CLIMB aimed to integrate counter-narratives into the collective consciousness of the interpreting field. While Project CLIMB was short in duration (2017-2021), it moved the needle. In transformative ways, Project CLIMB created meaningful and relevant curricula and learning experiences built by and for in-group members who have experienced interpreting through the same racial, ethnic, linguistic, and cultural lens. The intentionality behind the program content creation, implementation and delivery directly impacted each of the 179 participants – those from underrepresented communities and those from majority communities who will work alongside them. All are now change agents in this profession.

Project CLIMB has increased the number and improved the quality of trained facilitators/mentors and interpreters working in legal settings which brings a greater diverse representation to the current field of interpreting. Instilling a social justice framework in each of these facilitators/mentors and legally trained interpreters will ripple into future iterations of interpreter training in specialized settings.

Beldon, J., Forestal, E., Garcia, L. M. & Peterson, D. (2009, August). NCIEC deaf interpreting initiative. Paper presented at the RID Deaf Caucus, Philadelphia, PA. Retrieved from http://www.diinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/RID2009_ DI_FINAL0802.pdf

Castelle, G. (2003). Misunderstanding, wrongful convictions, and deaf people. In C. Lucas (Ed.), Language and the law in deaf communities, (p. 168-176). Washington, DC: Gallaudet University Press.

Cogen, C. & Cokely, D. (2015). Preparing interpreters for tomorrow: Report on a study of

emerging trends in interpreting and implications for interpreter education. National Interpreter Education Center. Retrieved from http://www.interpretereducation.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/NIEC_Trends_Report_2_2016.pdf

Cokley, D., & Winston, E. (2008, July). Interpreter Education Needs Assessment. Retrieved from National Interpreter Education Center: http://www.interpretereducation.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/IEP_Report.pdf

Cokley, D., & Winston, E. (2010). Interpreter education programs needs assessment trends. Retrieved from National Interpreter Education Center: http://www.interpretereducation.org/wp-content/ uploads/2011/06/IEPTrendsReport-FINAL.pdf

de Jongh, E.M. (2008). Court interpreting: Linguistic presence v. linguistic absence. The Florida Bar Journal, 82(7), 20-30.

Egalite, A. J., Kisida, B., & Winters, M. A. (2015). Representation in the classroom: The effect of own-race teachers on student achievement. Economics of Education Review, 45, 44-52.

Forestal, E. (2005). The emerging professionals: Deaf interpreters, their views and experiences on training. In M. Marschark, R. Peterson, & E. Winston (Eds.), Sign language interpreting and interpreter education (p. 208-234). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf. (2020). RID FY19 2019 annual report: On the road to success. Retrieved from https://rid.org/2019-annual-report/ Rohfeld, R. W. (1995). Moderating discussions in the electronic classroom. In Z.L., Computer mediated communication and the online classroom (pp. Vol. 3: Distance learning, p. 91-104). Creskill, NJ: Hampton Press.

Sheneman, N. & Robinson, O.E. (2020). Treasuring our roots: Centering deaf situated knowledges in the signed language interpreting profession In C. McDermid, S. Ehrlich, & A. Gentry (Eds.), Honouring the past, treasuring the present, shaping the future:

Conferencing proceedings of the 2019 WASLI Conference, (p. 96-115). Geneva, Switzer land: WASLI.

West Oyedele, E. (2015). Persistence of African-American/Black signed language interpreters in the United States: The importance of culture and capital. (Master’s thesis). Monmouth, OR: Western Oregon University. Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.wou.edu/theses/19/

Williamson, A. (2016). Lost in the shuffle: Deaf-parented interpreters and their path to interpreting careers. International Journal of Interpreter Education 8(1), 4-22.

Wilson, M. [Molly Wilson]. (2011, July 13). bypass [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www. youtube.com/watch?v=rIym3UK9nw0.

The contents of this article were developed under a grant (#H160D16001) from the Department of Education, Rehabilitation Services Administration. The contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement from the Federal Government (Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1221e-3 and 3474).

Project CLIMB Supplementary Information

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