professional development, among others.  After securing external funding from the Midwest Center on Postsecondary Outreach, I conducted a mixed methods study (multiple regression and interviews) in order to find the answers. The results allowed me to create a predictive profile of high- and low-risk burnout for sign language interpreters. 

 

Then in 2008, another colleague (Leah Subak) and I initiated a qualitative study involving peer coaching and sign language interpreters.  Peer coaching is a valuable skill, and like the name implies, it occurs when fellow colleagues mentor each other and provide evaluative feedback.  The concept was borrowed from the teaching profession and applied to interpreters.  Leah and I collected and analyzed data and shared our results with sign language interpreters who worked for Kent State University.    

 

In 2011, I became increasingly interested with students who took my classes and their perception of their command of English.  Many students felt they possessed great skill, but after reading their papers or listening to them speak, I realized they had little to no concept of English grammatical rules.  In order for students to be effective interpreters, they must have a great command of their first language.  Research has shown that L1 (first language) competence predicts L2 success (working in a second language).  After obtaining IRB approval, I studied the performance of incoming students based upon L1 results and the prediction of L2 performance. After assessing students’ perceptions of their ability in English via interview questions, I gave students an English proficiency test. I was able to meet with them, discuss their results, and give them some cautions for how they could expect to perform within American Sign Language.   

 

Current topic of interest

An important grammatical element of American Sign Language word order is that helping verbs (am, is, are, was, were) are not generally interpreted.  Helping verbs are English-based, mostly convey tense, and do not transfer to a visual-gestural language.  When students delete the helping verbs, it is usually not a problem, but I have noticed an exception.  The exception occurs when a helping verb is used with a past participle and a transitive verb.  For instance, “I was bitten by the horse” comes out looking like “I bit the horse.”  When this happens, the sentence changes “voice.”  Voice in English helps the listener know who did what to whom?  When students miss this distinction, they inaccurately interpret a passive sentence to be in the active voice.  For instance, instead of accurately interpreting, “The man was “arrested,” students will often sign, “The man arrested someone.”  Unfortunately, this is not only a ‘student’ problem.  Working interpreters with a struggling command of English will also make these basic errors.  

 

Future Research

Duckworth, Peterson, Matthews, and Kelly (2007) contend that grit is “perseverance and passion for long-term goals.  [It] entails working strenuously toward challenges, maintaining effort and interest over years despite failure, adversity, and plateaus in progress” (p. 1087-1088).  The concept is fascinating to me in relation to sign language interpreters and their determination to remain in the profession and improve over time, as opposed to getting out of the field.  It is a topic that I will be researching within the coming year. 

 

I am obviously passionate about sign language interpreters' facility with English and American Sign Language.  I am able to have an impact on my profession since I am a teacher in an interpreter education program and deal with the students.  My research interests are varied.  Although my dissertation was predominantly a quantitative study, I was able to ask questions and conduct a few short interviews.  I would not be opposed to further developing my researching skills whether that be on the qualitative or quantitive side.  I am a big supporter of mixed methods research because I think it elicits the best of both worlds.