Welcome!

EIPA Preparation How to Rock this Performance Assessment

About Me• Education:

Ed.M. in Education, Higher Education Administration, OSUB.S. ASL/English Interpretation, WOU

• Employment: Project Coordinator, Western Region Interpreter Education Center, @

Western Oregon University Adjunct Professor, ASL/English Interpreting and ASL Studies Programs,

@ WOUFormer Educational Interpreter, K-12 (worked in elementary through

post-secondary settings)

• Certifications: NIC-AdvancedEIPA Ed:K-12, 4.3 (ASL/High School)

Your Story• Name• Background

Born, raised where? How you began interpreting?How long have you been interpreting? What settings do you mostly work in?In what settings do you work?Have you taken the EIPA-Performance?Have you taken the EIPA-Written?

• What do you hope to get out of this workshop?

Goals for this Workshop

• Identify the 4 Domains of the EIPA • Review the importance of Prosody and

Fingerspelling• Examine the EIPA process • Discuss concerns and fears about the EIPA • Develop goals and a study plan

Work in Guam/Saipan

Training Interpreters to Take the EIPA Performance Assessment: Guam/Saipan

• Long term Goals: – Educational Interpreter Job Description and classification– Institutional support for professional development– Legitimacy– Validity

• Mid-term Goal: – EIPA Performance completed in June 2012

• Short term Goals: – Developed personal development plans, goals, and timelines– Attended trainings and engagement in ongoing professional development

onsite, by phone, and online– Resources onsite at University of Guam and on Saipan

Challenges• Poor access to internet to view/practice videos• Limited access to ASL or PSE-fluent native Deaf

folks• No formal interpreter training program

foundational base• No financial/job classification incentive to test• Collectivist cultural attitudes/norm• Time Zones/Support

The Outcomes

• 2 year in-depth process/trainings• Lending Libraries established• Adapted to GST (Guam Standard Time)• 9 of 15 took the EIPA and participated in all the

trainings; Average score: 3.4!• Regional support and sponsorship of

professional development from Idaho, Sacramento Valley, San Diego, Oregon and Washington RID chapters

About the EIPA Performance:

One interpreter stated, “I was surprised with my outcome. There were so many things I thought I would get so low in. Each and every score was higher than I expected.”

About the EIPA Performance:

Another interpreter said, “I didn’t think my habits showed up because I was conscious of what I was doing, but it was good that they (the raters) caught that. It’s lucky for me that they caught it. It’s something that doesn’t surface in my brain that it will affect the whole message but apparently it does. But this was pretty good. It gave me so many things to work on. Not one person would notice all those things at once. It’s a good baseline.”

You can rock this!

The EIPA

What do you know about the performance assessment?

What are your concerns/fears related to the assessment?

Do you have a date scheduled to take the EIPA performance?

Forms of the Assessment

Elementary (3 choices)• Child signer using MCE• Child signer using PSE• Child signer using ASL

Secondary (3 choices)• Teen signer using MCE• Teen signer using PSE• Teen signer using ASL

Depending on where you work…

• State, School District, ESD or Regional Program may want a minimum EIPA score on the performance– Either before you are hired or within a specified

timeframe

How You are Evaluated

• 5 = Advanced

• 4 = Advanced Intermediate

• 3 = Intermediate

• 2 = Advanced Beginner

• 1 = Beginner

• 0 = No Skill

What the EIPA is• Excellent snapshot of your work• Diagnostic feedback broken down over several

domains• If score is 4.0 or above, you can become a

“certified member of RID” but you are not “RID certified”

• Rubric is 0.0 to 5.0• Identifies areas of strength as well as areas for

professional development and improvement

Handout: Glossary for EIPA

EIPA: Domains and Skills

• DomainsRoman I. Interpreter Product: Voice to SignRoman II. Interpreter Product: Sign to VoiceRoman III. VocabularyRoman IV. Overall

EIPA Domain I – Interpreter ProductVoice to Sign

• Prosodic Information:– Stress or emphasis for important words or phrases– Affect and emotions– Register– Sentence boundaries

• Non-Manual Information:– Sentence types & clausal boundaries indicated– Production & use of non-manual markers

EIPA Domain I - Voice to Sign• Use of Signing Space:– Use of verb directionality & pronominal system– Compare/contrast, sequence, & cause/effect– Location/relationship using ASL classifier system

• Interpreter Performance:– Follows grammar of ASL or PSE– Use of English morphological markers– Clearly mouths the speaker’s English

What is prosody?

• Prosody refers to how a language stresses words and phrases, and uses intonation or facial expressions to communicate meaning and grammatical concepts. It also indicates sentence boundaries and discourse shifts.

Prosody (cont.)

• Prosody is the combination of features in language that produces the rhythm, accent, pace, and “feel” of that language; those features that make language look natural

Prosody (cont.)

• Prosody is the combination of features in language that produces the rhythm, accent, pace, and “feel” of that language; those features that make language look natural

Identifying Speaker Intention

• Prosody communicates a great deal of information about the speaker’s intention, which may particularly benefit students in the language learning process.

• How does the interpreter match the speaker’s/signer’s intent?

Prosody (cont.)

• How do you talk or sign differently when speaking to young children, teens, and friends?

• How do you indicate whether you are joking, excited, or disappointed?

• What are sentence and phrasal boundaries? How do young/teen/adult signers show these boundaries?

• How do teachers show these boundaries? Other professionals?

• How do interpreters produce equivalent sentence boundaries in their interpretations?

• How do teachers indicate that a word is new and that the student should know it? How might this be different when working with students across the age spectrum?

• How does an educational interpreter match the teacher’s emphasis of new and important words? Is this the same for students of any age?

• How do teachers know when a hearing child is developing prosodic knowledge and use of prosodic features normally? Deaf child?

• What do interpreter hesitations and hedges (e.g., “um”) convey to the listener (i.e., to the teacher)?

• How do hearing adults (e.g., teachers) know when a hearing child is developing prosodic knowledge and use of prosodic features normally? A Deaf adult with a deaf child?

• What might interpreter hesitations and hedges (e.g., “um”) convey to the “listener” (e.g., to the teacher)?

Activity 1

Teacher to a 2nd grade class:“Rain forests are one type of ecosystem. We have studied other types, such as deserts and mountains. Today we are going to talk about another type of ecosystem.”

What is the key word in this text? How do you know? How will the educational interpreter convey this information to the deaf student?

Activity 2

Teacher to students at a 7th grade level:“Rain forests are one type of ecosystem. We have studied other types, such as deserts and mountains. Today we are going to talk about another type of ecosystem.”

What is the key word in this text? How do you know? How will the educational interpreter convey this information to the deaf student?

Prosody: Combination of features

• Prosody is generally studied under the field of linguistics known as phonology. However, prosody involves many levels of language, including:

– Phonology–Morphology– Semantics– Pragmatics – Syntax– Discourse

Prosodic features in spoken language

Word noun verb

present présent presént

object

construct

implant

retest

Prosodic features in spoken language

Sentence type Pitch contour

Statement they came inQuestion they came in

Prosodic features in spoken language

• Rhythm to separate sentences and phrases; • Prominence to emphasize selected elements and

distinguish parentheticals and clause structure; • Intonation to communicate other important

information, such as discourse function of a sentence (i.e., is the sentence a question or a statement?)

Specific features in spoken language

• Pitch• Voice• Volume• Stress

• Length• Pause• Intonation• Pace

Prosody in ASL• Facial expressions to indicate– Grammatical information (e.g., yes/no questions,

rh-q, and wh-q)– Shared information between interactants

• “Intonation” shows up as changes in facial expression and body movement (the speaker’s voice ends up on the interpreter’s face)

• Involves facial expression, rhythm of signing, the size of signs, and body movement.

Prosodic features in ASL

• Head movement• Eye brows raise/lower• Eye gaze• Eye blink/eye open• Mouth• Shoulders up/down• Pace• Pause

• Body side-to-side; forward/back

• Sign articulation• Number of hands• Shifting hands• Speed of signing• Sign formation (large?

Small?)

Prosody Markers in Spoken vs. Signed Languages

• Intonation• Rhythm• Tempo• Stress• Lengthening • Volume• Pausing

• Paused movement• Eye aperture• Head movement• Body leans• Lengthening of signs• Cheek puffing• Nose wrinkling• Hand clasping

Prosodic Information (Prosody)

• Rhythm, stress, intonation of speech• Facial expressions to communicate language

stresses of words and phrases.• Combination of features that produces

accent, rhythm, pace and intentions of the speaker.

Prosody: Facial Expressions

Sentence Type Pitch Contour

Statement They came in

Question They came in

• Head Movement• Eye Brows (raise/lower)• Body Shift• Sign Formation (large/small)

Using aspects of facial features and body movements to convey the given message.

Formal: Are you ready?

Informal: Ready?

Prosody: AccentsAmerican Sign Language (ASL) which has been altered within the region to be understood as a common sign in our Deaf community.

Examples are:• Birthday• Christmas• Date

Prosody: RhythmFluency to target audience.

Example:•Smooth interaction from one sign to another

Prosody: PaceLag time of speaker

Lexical: Simultaneous SigningChunking phrase by phrase

Sentential: Simultaneous SigningWait for completed sentences then produce output

Contextual: Consecutive SigningWait for the whole story, then produce output

Prosody: Speaker’s IntentConvey the meaning/purpose of the speaker

• Using proper facial expressions• Matching the speaker’s affect• Emphasizing signs• Render the message as faithfully as possible

Is the interpreter’s expression conveying the speaker’s intent?

GrammarASL is a language separate from English, capable of being structurally-flexible in a visual way.

Time-Noun-Object-Verb-Noun

Example:• Yesterday night movie you go?or• Movie go you yesterday night?

Grammar: Non- Manual MarkersUsed for adjectives/adverbs

Examples:• cha: My gift was really big!• oo: I’m on a diet.• th: Today, I’m lazy!• pah: I finally graduated!• ee: It’s right around the corner.

Grammar: Pluralization

Emphasizing more than one• numbers incorporated with signs• continuous motion of signs

Examples:• A row of books• The 3 of us left in the car.• The parking lot was full at Target!• We had a meeting.

Signing Space

Determining the amount of space required for each situational-setting.

Space: Setting Up NounsUsing space to determine placement of nouns.Optional body shifts.

TomApple

BillOrange

Space: Directional Verbs

Using sign movements in the direction of the noun

Examples:• Pay me back.• Give this to her.• Take the book from the shelf and return it back to me.• Drive over there.• Pick up the trash and throw it away.

Space: Platform vs. Intimate

Interpreter ProductSign to Voice

EIPA Domain II – Interpreter ProductSign to Voice

• Can read and convey signer’s:– Signs– Fingerspelling and numbers– Register– Non-manual behaviors & ASL morphology

• Word Choice:– Correct English word selection

EIPA Domain II - Sign to Voice• Vocal/Intonational Features:– Speech production: rate, rhythm, fluency, volume– Sentence and clausal boundaries indicated– Sentence types– Emphasize important words, phrases, affect,

emotions• Interpreter Performance:– Adds no extraneous words/sounds to

message

LaryngaphobiaThe irrational fear of voice interpreting

Domain II: Sign to Voice Production

• Tape yourself • Play it back • Have someone else listen to it • Review with your mentor

Effective Sign-to-Voice Interpretation

Source Language

InterpreterTarget

Language

Read signer’s message accurately

Conveyed message with appropriate vocal

and intonation features

Sign to Voice Production

• If they were hearing, what would they sound like? • Age• Audience • Gender • Geographic Region • Educational Background • Employment • Race • Experience • SES – Socio-economic Status

Comprehension and Conveyance of Source Message

Fingerspelling•Words or letters are not omitted.•Loan signs are interpreted correctly. •Partial fingerspelled word is not substituted with an inappropriate word.

Numbers•Fraction, ratios, and ages interpreted accurately.

Vocabulary•A diverse range of vocabulary.•Words are not overused.•No redundancy.•Idioms are used appropriately.•ASL lexical intrusions are avoided – intrusion: voicing the ASL form instead of changing it to ASL. EX: “Teacher helper” instead of “Teacher Aide”. •Non-standard lexical choices are not made. -- Error Ex: MOTHER FEELING “Motherly emotions”

RegisterAccording to Marty Taylor, “Interpretation [is appropriate when the work] matches the audience, the context and signer’s intent.

Frozen

• Ritualized speech forms

• May not have a set ASL version.

• Ex: National Anthem, Prayers

Formal

• Showing/claiming respect

• Confirming existing social hierarchy

• Interpretation is influenced more on setting than speaker’s personality

• “Speaking deliberately.”

• Ex: job interview, conversation with boss, and hospital visit.

Informal

• Conversing with friends or peers

• More contractions are used.

• Faster speaking rate

• More assimilations

• Shorter pauses.

Consultative

• Session with counselor

Intimate

• “Language of Lovers”

Strategies for Strong Voicing•Read •Practice proper English•Review and practice from transcripts of your own work. •Record yourself voicing.•Get constructive feedback from colleagues.•Get constructive feedback from non-interpreters.•Learn synonyms and proper register.•Read aloud•Repetition

When taking the EIPA, if you missed a Deaf student’s message…

• Don’t freak out! It happens. They are accounting for that.

• Calmly state, “The interpreter missed this student’s statement. The interpreter would have asked for clarification.”

• Move on.

Voicing for the SexesMen vs. Women

Voice and volume Wordy, more description

Fewer words More detail

Little emotion Emotional

Direct, to the point Euphemisms, careful

Less apologetic Apologetic

Examples from profession Examples from experience

Strong language Uses “seems, tends, etc”

Consultative Polite

Interjections Fewer interjections

Slang/Jargon Less slang/jargon

Ok with silence Tries to fill void

Non-manual Movements (NMMs)Headshake be sure it is included in voice.

Domain III: Vocabulary

EIPA Domain III - Vocabulary

• Signs:– Amount of sign vocabulary

– Signs made correctly

– Fluency (rhythm and rate)

– Vocabulary consistent with the sign language or system chosen for testing

– Key vocabulary represented

EIPA Domain III - Vocabulary

• Fingerspelling:– Production of fingerspelling

– Spelled correctly

– Appropriate use of fingerspelling

– Production of numbers • clarity, fluency, rate

Sign Vocabulary

As interpreters, we come across situations where we are limited with vocabulary

• Fingerspelling• Resources• Workshops

ROLE PLAY: LIFE CYCLE OF A BUTTERFLY

Egg

Caterpillar

Chrysalis

Butterfly

How many terms were easy to convey?

How many terms were fingerspelled?

Fluency (Rhythm & Rate)

• When signing a lesson, think of your target audience. How do you decide on the fluency and/or pace? Your audience is the variable in pacing fluency.

Vocabulary Expansion Tips

• Use sign language dictionaries• Watch fingerspelling videos• Practice word/sign choices– Butterfly– Chrysalis– Egg– Caterpillar

Key Vocabulary Represented

• Just as we demonstrated in the Life Cycle, we point to our Key Vocabulary while spelling slowly because it will help the student remember the vocabulary

• Point to stress the vocabulary terms

Fingerspelling Production Tips1. Don't bounce or punch 2. Don't look at your hand 3. Maintain the same palm orientation. Keep

the orientation facing outward as much as possible. There are some letters that require a different palm orientation, but keep the change minimal (G, H, J, P, Q).

4. Use the same hand

Fingerspelling Production Tips (cont)

5. Don't mouth your letters; you can mouth the words if introducing a new term

6. Don't move your hand horizontally7. Don't fingerspell out of the assigned

"fingerspelling space".8. Don't block your faceDiscussion: As with any language "rule" there are

always exceptions to the rules under certain circumstances.

Fingerspelling

• Examine the EIPA philosophy regarding the use of fingerspelling

• Role of fingerspelling in literacy development• Discuss classroom discourse to determine the

proper incorporation of fingerspelling• Explore techniques for effective delivery of

fingerspelled items• Practice application of these strategies

Considerations

• Students utilizing interpreters in mainstream settings:– May be language delayed in both sign language

and English– Are learning in a bilingual environment and

expected to become proficient bilinguals– Are “learning to read” so that they can “read to

learn”

EIPA & Fingerspelling

• The EIPA specifically measures fingerspelling use in three critical areas:

• Production• Accuracy• Appropriate use of fingerspelling– Key vocabulary– Unique English terms

Fingerspelling & Literacy Development

• Some students that use sign language may use fingerspelling to assist with recall of words, they use the letters to ‘rehearse’ words

• Some students use fingerspelled handshapes to make a connection to print terms

• Students may choose to only fingerspell terms that are new to their vocabulary (Ross)

Fingerspelling & Literacy Development

• Teachers that are Deaf fingerspell more frequently than teachers that are hearing (Padden & Ramsey, 2001)

• Fingerspelling may assist students that are Deaf in decoding print texts

Fingerspelling Production

• Focuses specifically on clarity, fluency, and rate of production– Clarity – Letters are clearly and fully articulated– Fluency – Words are spelled as a unit and not

independent letters– Rate – Rate of production is influenced by on the

age of the student and the importance of the term

Fingerspelling Production

• Fingerspelled items should be the clearest when a word first appears, when representing new concepts, or for emphasis

• Be sure to phonetically chunk fingerspelled items; not a letter by letter production

• Fingerspelled loan signs are acceptable for commonly known terms (the student’s comprehension abilities)

• 90% effectiveness equates to a score of 4

Accuracy of Fingerspelling

• The EIPA asserts that in educational settings the delivery of fingerspelled items ‘must’ be accurate– Fingerspelled loan signs are acceptable when

appropriate– Students must be able to link the English in the air

to English in print, therefore they need to see accurate productions

• ASL, PSE and MCE systems use fingerspelling to represent specific English terms – Educational interpreters tend to under use

fingerspelling– Interpreters sometimes use a general sign, when a

specific English word fingerspelled would be more appropriate

Appropriate Use of Fingerspelling

Appropriate Use of Fingerspelling

• Fingerspelling can be overused when an interpreter lacks sufficient sign vocabulary knowledge

• Interpreters may assume that an initialized sign gives the student exposure to the English term and that the student can make the transition from the sign to print

Representing Key Vocabulary & Rare English Lexicon

• Key vocabulary items are those terms that are relevant to a specific lesson/topic and terms that will appear in print

• Requires message analysis to determine what information is critical

• Some key concepts should be represented via fingerspelling and with sign to support the student’s English language development

Representing Key Vocabulary & Rare English Lexicon

• Unique English lexicon are terms that the student may have had limited exposure to

• Classmate’s names• Classifiers must be paired with the noun label,

either by fingerspelling, or use of a noun sign

Fingerspelling Impact for Educational Interpreters

• English is the language of the classroom; for students utilizing interpreters, they need to see English “in the air” to be able to make the link to print

• By third grade, the amount of visuals in textbooks decreases, and students are expected to use print to become independent learners…

“Learning to read” turns into “reading to learn”

Fingerspelling Impact for Educational Interpreters

• Fingerspell frequently for reinforcement• Fingerspell clearly and in a pedagogic manner

versus a chatty ‘conversational’ manner• Sign language borrows from English by

incorporating fingerspelling

Domain IV: Overall

EIPA Domain IV – Overall Factors

• Message Processing:– Appropriate eye contact and movement– Developed a sense of the whole message Voice to

Sign & Sign to Voice– Demonstrated process decalage (lag time)

appropriately Voice to Sign & Sign to Voice• Environment:– Indicates who is speaking

• Message Clarity:– Follows principles of discourse mapping

Principles of Skill Development• Process it– Script Analysis– Discourse Mapping– Ten-Step Process– Listen/Watch a message• Predict• Visualize• Process for meaning• Determine features to use

Principles of Skill Development

• Execute it– Practice, focusing on one skill area at a time• Both live and mock interpreting• Consecutive, then simultaneous interpreting

• Assess Improvement of it– Film "before" and "after" samples– Take an assessment test

Processing

• Determine the theme and goal of the speaker• Visualize what you hear• Process for meaning • Recognize the opportunity to utilize ASL features• Keep up with the speaker; don’t be afraid you will miss

something or get behind• Connect to the needs of the consumer• Be aware when/if errors have occurred

Strategies

Do you know how to: – move from detail to unit level– process more efficiently– paraphrase when facing speed issues– repair errors– consistently be in control of the interpretation.– recognize the “demands” in the situation– utilize “controls” for the “demands” they face

Practice and Preparation for the EIPA• Look at other’s EIPA assessments in detail (if they are

willing to share it) • Skill development for educational interpreters should

include:– Video examples of classroom interactions in order to gain

expertise with representing aspects of the teacher’s talk that is intended to scaffold a young language learner.

– Video examples of English speaking children to gain expertise with representing prosodic features in naturally developing child language.

• Work with a mentor or study group.• Practice videos• Prep materials

Where to Find Resources• WRIEC Lending Library, www.wou.edu/wriec • NPR, YouTube, TED Talks, etc.• VLOGS (NAD, joeybaer.com, youtube.com,

deafread.com/vlogs)• Conferencerecording.com• Audiotapes.com• Search for streaming video & audio• Described & Captioned Media Program– www.dcmp.org

• Vendors – books, video, etc.• Itunes lectures• www.ncrtm.org

Develop Your Professional Development Plan

Take a moment and share one goal and sub-objectives/steps you will

take to work on that goal

Review of Your Goals…

Did you get what you wanted out of this workshop?

How could it be improved?

Is there anything else that you would like to share about your experience(s) with the EIPA?

Please fill out the evaluation!

I wish you all MAINLAND CONFIDENCE!

You CAN rock this!

Thank you for coming!

Contact Information

CM HallWestern Region Interpreter Education Center

Western Oregon University503-838-8731 (w)503-888-7172 (c)hallcm@wou.edu