Language Assistance Services → Interpreter Usage
The Proper Use of an Interpreter
Interpreters are hired and paid for one job only: to take the message of a speaker who uses a particular language and transmit that message to a listener in another particular language. Interpreters are expected always to conduct themselves professionally and ethically.
An interpreter's responsibility is limited to:
Calling the parent two or three days before the meeting to remind the parent of the date, time, and place of the meeting.
Interpreters are not trained or qualified as school social workers, pupil personnel workers (PPW), or parent community coordinators (PCC), so they are not responsible for tracking parents down when telephone numbers are innacurate or for convincing parents to come to meetings. If school personnel need help communicating with parents the importance of coming to a meeting, they can use the Language Line to make the call. If a home visit is necessary, school personnel may wish to submit a separate request to get an interpreter to accompany them on such a home visit.
Please do not ask interpreters to make contacts for schools unrelated to specific, assigned requests. Any contacts made in relationship to a specific assigned request should be documented (date, time starting, time ending, elapsed time) and included when reporting time.
Arriving at least ten minutes before the parents are due to arrive for the meeting.
It is helpful to all concerned to orient the interpreter to the purpose of the meeting and the expected content for the meeting. If this can be done a few days before the meeting, the interpreter can be better prepared for any special vocabulary that may come up during the meeting. The time spent in such orientations should be included in the total time reported for the meeting so that the interpreter is paid for this preparation time.
Interpreting the content of the meeting to assure that parents participate meaningfully in the meeting.
Federal law is clear with regard to the IEP process in particular; parents must be full participants in meetings about their children. Interpreters must interpret everything that is said, to the best of their ability. Interpreters should not summarize, and participants, parents or school personnel, should not tell an interpreter not to interpret anything that is said.
Interpreting only that which school personnel or parents actually say.
Interpreters must not interject their own opinions or judgements into the discussion. They should ask participants to give them an opportunity to interpret short quantities of information, if they are unable to keep up with simultaneous interpretation. They should ask for clarification of anything they are not sure they understand correctly. It is best if they preface their questions for clarification so that meeting participants do not think they are challenging what has been said or entering the discussion.
Redirecting any questions a meeting participant asks them personally back to the meeting participants.
Parents sometimes ask interpreters for explanations or their opinions. Under such circumstances, the interpreter should explain to the parent BRIEFLY that they are only the interpreter and redirect the question to the school personnel. By the same token, school personnel sometimes ask interpreters for clarification about specific questions. Those questions should usually be redirected to the parent.
Serving as a "Cultural Broker."
Interpreters should help bridge cultural gaps. When interpreters do this, they should make sure all parties understand why they are entering into a lengthy explanation and make the same explanation in both languages. This is the one circumstance unders which an interpreter should interject content into a meeting.
Reviewing the process with the school personnel.
Interpreters and school personnel should review what worked well and what did not work well in the interpretation process during the meeting. They should not discuss the case and follow-up. Those issues are the province of the certificated school personnel.
Helping schools locate parents when they are late for or miss a meeting.
If a parent fails to arrive on time for a meeting, since interpreters are paid a minimum of one hour per meeting, they should work with the school to determine if the parents are coming, but were delayed. If parents indicate that they will be unable to attend the meeting, the interpreter and requestor should sign the request form, indicating that the interpreter is to be paid for one hour's work. If the parents cannot be located, it is up to the requestor how long the interpreter is to continue trying to get hold of the parents, up to one hour. When the requestor has determined that adequate effort has been made to locate the parent, the requestor and the interpreter should sign the request form, indicating that the interprett is to be paid for one hour's work. If the parents arrive late for the meeting, the interpreter's time is to be calculated beginning form the scheduled start time, not the actual start time.
Providing services in accordance with the request.
Interpreters should not discuss the content of any meeting with anyone outside of the meeting, including meeting participants. The interpreters are not qualified to answer parent's questions. If parents approach an interpreter with questions after the meeting, the interpreter should instruct the parent to redirect the question to the school personnel. If this occurs immediately after the meeting, the interpreter and parent may elect to see if they can reengage with the school personnel at that time. If it is possible, the time reported should include the additional time to the end of the reengagement. If it is not possible, the school should make other arrangements, such as another meeting for which another interpreter request is made or use of the Language Line, to address the interpretation needs of the parent.
If a meeting is canceled, the requestor should immediately inform the language services assistant handling the request AND the interpreter by telephone and by e-mail.
MCPS will pay an interpreter for one hour of services if MCPS staff fail to inform the interpreter of a meeting cancelation with less than 24 hours notice. Requesting units will be charged a penalty equivalent to the cost of two hours of services if they fail to inform the LASU of a meeting cancelation with at least 24 hours notice, except in cases of last minute cancelations by parents or documented illness of essential meeting participants.
Interpreters may not engage with parents independently of school personnel. They may not make informational phone calls or sit in on meetings when parents are unable to attend so as to explain the procedings to parents later. They may only interpret in real time the oral message of school staff to parents. They are not qualified to provide the message on their own terms.
Interpreters may be able to let school or office personnel know of their general availability for meetings, but LASU language services assistants are continuously responding to requests and may have tentatively scheduled the same interpreterfor a request that has already been submitted. The LASU cannot honor requests made outside of official channels. The school or office would be responsible for paying interpreters scheduled directly, since they would have contracted directly with the interpreter.
Interpretation Resources
Pro-Ed markets two resources on the collaboration between professional staff and language service providers, originally published by Thinking Publications. The first book was written primarily for speech-language pathologists and audiologists utlizing interpreters; the second is a handbook written primarily for interpreters working with speech-language pathologists and audiologists. Both are relevant in an educational setting. There are currently no more extensive or complete resources available for an educational setting.
Collaborating with Interpreters and Translators:
A Guide for Communication Disorders Professionals
Henriette W. Langdon, EdD
Li-Rong Lillgy Cheng, PhD
Eau Claire, WI: Thinking Publications, 2002
Interpreters and Translators in Communication Disorders:
A Practitioner's Handbook
Henriette W. Langdon, EdD
Eau Claire, WI: Thinking Publications, 2002