Emerging Language Skills in Deaf Immigrant Students: The Interpreter's Role

For:  K-12 ASL Educational Interpreters and Pre-Certified and Teachers of the Deaf/HH

This program is offered for .2 CEUs and assumes some knowledge of the topic.

Check your specific remote site about "fees" and "meal arrangement". Local & Remote Sites Information Sheet

Workshop description:

This workshop will provide strategies for working with immigrant and refugee Deaf students who have other (foreign) Sign Language skills, or emergent language.  It will include a brief introduction to Karen culture and resources to research other immigrant cultures. Emphasis will be on the role of the classroom interpreter/communication facilitator with special attention to the wording of the services provided on the IEP.  This will be an empowering and informative session designed to give you skills to work effectively with the IEP team.

Goals:

Participants will be able to discuss and explain what interpretation is and is not and how this impacts their role in the classroom. 

Participants will learn the current state of education for Deaf people in Burma (Myanmar) and how that effects Deaf immigrants to Minnesota.

Participants will be able to identify 5 strategies for working with students with emerging second language skills.

Participants will prepare for and practice role playing a discussion at an IEP meeting about language, emerging language and appropriate use of interpretation/communication services.

Presenters:  

Susan Boinis is a freelance interpreter from St. Paul, Minnesota. She has been interpreting since 1980 and holds CI and CT certification from RID.  Susan has an M.A. in Linguistics from Gallaudet University and an undergraduate BA in French and Linguistics from Macalester College.

She interprets throughout the state and nationally. Susan presents workshops nationally and internationally on a variety of topics including Linguistics, Team Interpreting, and Interpreting with Deaf Refugees and Immigrants. She has worked in the field of Video Relay and Video Remote Interpreting since 2000.  She also enjoys gardening, cooking, knitting and travel to France.  Susan has organized and interpreted tours of Paris in ASL and English.

She was one of the authors of the MRID Modules for Educational Interpreters and a book entitled, Preparing for Assignments, for the New Mexico Mentoring project.  Susan has been awarded MRID member of the year and has served as a past president of MRID.

Anna Paulson is a licensed teacher in the areas of Deaf/Hard of Hearing and Elementary Education with a certification in Early Childhood Education.  She works for the Commission for Deaf, Deaf Blind and Hard of Hearing Minnesotans as the Coordinator of Educational Advancements and Partnerships.  Anna’s role within the commission is to coordinate the priorities and initiatives of the fifty stakeholders who participate in the Minnesota Collaborative Plan.  The purpose of the Collaborative Plan is to improve educational outcomes so that each student, upon graduation, is prepared to enter the adult workforce or continue his/her education and be a productive member of the community.   Prior to joining the commission, Anna was an Educational Specialist at the University of Minnesota; Department of Educational Psychology in the teacher preparation program for deaf/hard of hearing education as a supervisor for student teachers and a course instructor.

Sponsored by Regional Low Incidence Projects - Region 11

This training is funded with a grant from MDE using federal funding, CFDA 84.027A, Special Education - Grants to States. This event does not necessarily represent the policy of the federal Department of Education or the state Department of Education. You should not assume endorsement by the federal or state government.

Cancellation: You can cancel your own registration for an event before the cancellation deadline. (Please check the event information for specific cancellation details.) If the event has a fee, refunds are possible only if cancellation is prior to the deadline. If you do not attend and do not cancel prior to an event, you are still responsible for payment and will be billed.

Special Accommodations: Please alert BrightWorks 2-3 weeks prior to the workshop/event if you need special accommodations, including sign language interpreters. (BrightWorks requires a notice of 2 business days to cancel a sign language interpreter. If you fail to cancel, we reserve the right to bill your school/district for this expense.) Update your profile as needed. Special accommodations are not included with each registration, but are stored in your profile until you make changes.