This study aimed at exploring the Demands for Sign Language Interpreters (SLI) at University of Education, Winneba. This study employed an Explanatory Sequential Mixed Methods Design to answer the research questions. The researcher first conducted quantitative research, analyzed the results and then built on the results to explain them in more detail with qualitative responses. Out of a target population of 14 respondents, eight (8) were purposively sampled for this study due to the practical skills they had acquired in Sign language, including assistance given to the deaf at the University. Core issues include environmental, interpersonal, paralinguistic, and intrapersonal demands. The two main instruments used to gather data were a 24-item questionnaire with a four-point Likert scale and interview guide. Descriptive statistics involving simple percentages, mean, standard deviations and thematic approach were computed and used for the analysis. The findings indicated that Sign Language Interpreters (SLI) expressed strong concerns about the obstructions they encountered during an interpreting assignment, such as the speaker's accent, power dynamics and authority, the use of technical vocabulary and interpreting for long hours without rest. Therefore, it is recommended that there is a need to encourage SLI to go for further studies in the area of interpreting. Besides, the University can employ and retain experienced Sign Language Interpreters to work as interpreters for deaf students.
Published in | American Journal of Education and Information Technology (Volume 7, Issue 2) |
DOI | 10.11648/j.ajeit.20230702.17 |
Page(s) | 104-116 |
Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Sign Language, Interpreter, Demands, Environmental, Interpersonal, Paralinguistic Intrapersonal
[1] | Akyeampong, K. (2009). Revisiting free compulsory universal basic education (FCUBE) in Ghana. Comparative Education, 45 (2), 175-195. |
[2] | Atkinson, D. P., & Crezee, I. (2014, July). Improving psychological skill in trainee interpreters. Conference of Interpreter Trainers (CIT). |
[3] | Barnett, S., McKee, M., Smith, S. R., & Pearson, T. A. (2011). Peer reviewed: Deaf sign language users, health inequities, and public health: Opportunity for social justice. Preventing chronic disease, 8 (2). |
[4] | Bontempo, K., Napier, J., Hayes, L., & Brashear, V. (2014). Does personality matter? |
[5] | Brandt, S. (2011). From policy to practice in higher education: The experiences of disabled students in Norway. International Journal of Disability, Development and Education, 58 (2), 107-120. |
[6] | Brookfield, S. D. (2017). Becoming a critically reflective teacher. John Wiley & Sons. |
[7] | Burgoon, J. K., Guerrero, L. K., & Floyd, K. (2016). Nonverbal communication. Routledge. |
[8] | Hadziabdic, E., & Hjelm, K. (2013). Working with interpreters: practical advice for use of an interpreter in healthcare. International Journal of Evidence-Based Healthcare, 11 (1), 69-76. |
[9] | Foster, S. B., & Walter, G. G. (2018). Deaf students in postsecondary education. Routledge. |
[10] | Fellinger, J., Holzinger, D., & Pollard, R. (2012). Mental health of deaf people. The Lancet, 379 (9820), 1037-1044. |
[11] | Jackson, D. (2006). An investigation of Sign Language interpreting in Devon. Report available at: http://www.google.com. Downloaded 24th march, 2019. |
[12] | Lederberg, A. R., Schick, B., & Spencer, P. E. (2013). Language and literacy development of deaf and hard-of-hearing children: successes and challenges. Developmental psychology, 49 (1), 15. |
[13] | McQuail, D., & Windahl, S. (2015). Communication models for the study of mass communications. Routledge. |
[14] | Luckner, J. L., Slike, S. B., & Johnson, H. (2012). Helping students who are deaf or hard of hearing succeed. Teaching Exceptional Children, 44 (4), 58-67. |
[15] | Heyerick, I., & Vermeerbergen, M. (2012). Sign language interpreting in educational settings in Flanders, Belgium. Interpreting with the Deaf community: Mental health, education and interpreting. |
[16] | Shariff, R. A. (2015). Leaders who are DeafBlind: A phenomenological study of educational experiences. Gallaudet University. |
[17] | Dammeyer, J. (2011). Mental and behavioral disorders among people with congenital deaf blindness. Research in developmental disabilities, 32 (2), 571-575. |
[18] | Stinson, M., Kluwin, T., & Marschark, M. (2011). Educational consequences of alternative school placements. The Oxford handbook of deaf studies, language, and education, 1, 47-62. |
[19] | Hersh, M. (2013). Deafblind people, communication, independence, and isolation. Journal of deaf studies and deaf education, 18 (4), 446-463. |
[20] | Omugur, J. P. (2007). Sign Language Interpretation Services for Children with Hearing Impairment in Inclusive Secondary High Schools in Uganda. Department of Special Needs Education, Faculty of Education, University of Oslo, Norway. Unpublished Master Thesis. |
[21] | Gran L., & Kellett B. C. J. (2000). Signed-Language Interpretation and Training: Theoretical and Practical Aspects. Proceedings of the International Conference “Meeting of Sign and Voice” Trieste, December 12-13, 1997, Trieste, Edizioni Università di Trieste. |
[22] | Fobi, D., & Oppong, A. M. (2015). Approaches to Learning among Deaf Students at theUniversity of Education, Winneba. International Journal of Applied Research and Studies, 6 (9), 1-13. |
[23] | Smith, M. B. (2010). More than meets the eye: Revealing the complexities of K-12 interpreting. University of California, San Diego: Doctoral Thesis. |
[24] |
Verwey-Jonker, L. (2003). Quality in the picture, assessment of the quality of the daily tv-news signlanguageinterpretation. |
[25] | Napier, J. (2011). “It's not what they say but the way they say it”. A content analysis of interpreter and consumer perceptions towards signed language interpreting in Australia. Nov. 2000). Amsterdam: John Benjamins. 121 – 130. |
[26] | Oppong, A. M., Fobi, D., & Fobi, J. (2016). Deaf students’ perceptions about quality ofsign language interpreting services. International Journal of Educational Leadership, 7 (1), 63-72. |
[27] | Mason, I. (2017). 14 Models and Methods in Dialogue Interpreting Research. Intercultural Fault lines: Research Models in Translation Studies: v. 1: Textual and Cognitive Aspects, 215. |
[28] | Storey, B. C., & Jamieson, J. R. (2004). Sign Language vocabulary development, practice and use among educational interpreters. Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 9 (I), 153-67. |
[29] | Jones, B. E. (2004). Competencies of K-12 educational interpreters: What we need versus what we have. In E. A. Winston (Ed.), Educational interpreting: How it can succeed, 132-167. Washington, DC: Gallaudet University Press. |
[30] | Hlavac, J. (2013). A cross-national overview of translator and interpreter certification procedures. Translation & Interpreting, 5 (1), 32-65. |
[31] | Dean, R. K., & Pollard, R. Q. (2001). Application of demand-control theory to sign language: Journal of Interpretation interpreting: Implications for stress and interpreter training. Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 6 (1), 1-1 doi: 10.1093/deafed/6.1.1. |
[32] | Karasek, R. A. (1979). Job demands, job decision latitude, and mental strain: Implications for job redesign. Administrative Science Quarterly. 24, 285-307. |
[33] | Dean, R. K., & Pollard, R. Q. (2013). The Demand Control Schema: Interpreting as a Practice Profession. North Charleston: Create Space Independent Publishing Platform. |
[34] | Donovan, C. (2011). Ethics in the teaching of conference interpreting. The Interpreter and Translator Trainer, 5 (1), 109-128. |
[35] | Mindess, A. (2014). Reading between the signs: Intercultural communication for sign language interpreters. Nicholas Brealey. |
[36] | Lapteva, O. (2011). Speaker Perception and Recognition: An Integrative Framework for Computational Speech Processing. Kassel University Press GmbH. |
[37] | Chernov, S. (2016). At the dawn of simultaneous interpreting in the USSR. New Insights in the History of Interpreting, 122, 135. |
[38] | Camayd-Freixas, E. (2011). Cognitive theory of simultaneous interpreting and training. In Proceedings of the 52nd Conference of the American Translators Association. |
[39] | Fairclough, N. (2013). Critical discourse analysis: The critical study of language. Routledge. |
[40] | Marschark, M., Shaver, D. M., Nagle, K. M., & Newman, L. A. (2015). Predicting the academic achievement of deaf and hard-of-hearing students from individual, household, communication, and educational factors. Exceptional children, 81 (3), 350-369. |
[41] | Creswell, J. W., & Clark, V. L. P. (2017). Designing and conducting mixed methods research. Sage publications. |
[42] | Creswell, J. W. (2014). A concise introduction to mixed methods research. Sage Publications. |
[43] | Denscombe, M. (2014). The good research guide: for small-scale social research projects. McGraw-Hill Education (UK). |
[44] | Gentles, S. J., Charles, C., Ploeg, J., & McKibbon, K. (2015). Sampling in qualitative research: Insights from an overview of the methods literature. The Qualitative Report, 20 (11), 1772-1789. |
[45] | Diedenhofen, B., & Musch, J. (2016). cocron: A Web Interface and R Package for the Statistical Comparison of Cronbach's Alpha Coefficients. International Journal of Internet Science, 11 (1). |
[46] | Flashcards, K. T. (2013). Ethics and Values. Fundamentals of Nursing-E-Book, 286. |
[47] | Grayson, G. (2003). Taking with your hand, listening with your eyes: A complete photographic guide to American Sign Language. Square One Publishers, Inc. |
[48] | Valdés, G. (2014). Expanding definitions of giftedness: The case of young interpreters from immigrant communities. Routledge. |
APA Style
Afua Ntoaduro, Grace Yeboah, Patience Langee, Abraham Yeboah, Rosemary Acquaye, et al. (2023). Demands Faced by Sign Language Interpreters at University of Education, Winneba. American Journal of Education and Information Technology, 7(2), 104-116. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajeit.20230702.17
ACS Style
Afua Ntoaduro; Grace Yeboah; Patience Langee; Abraham Yeboah; Rosemary Acquaye, et al. Demands Faced by Sign Language Interpreters at University of Education, Winneba. Am. J. Educ. Inf. Technol. 2023, 7(2), 104-116. doi: 10.11648/j.ajeit.20230702.17
AMA Style
Afua Ntoaduro, Grace Yeboah, Patience Langee, Abraham Yeboah, Rosemary Acquaye, et al. Demands Faced by Sign Language Interpreters at University of Education, Winneba. Am J Educ Inf Technol. 2023;7(2):104-116. doi: 10.11648/j.ajeit.20230702.17
@article{10.11648/j.ajeit.20230702.17, author = {Afua Ntoaduro and Grace Yeboah and Patience Langee and Abraham Yeboah and Rosemary Acquaye and Prosper Anthony Mensah and Abraham Gyamfi}, title = {Demands Faced by Sign Language Interpreters at University of Education, Winneba}, journal = {American Journal of Education and Information Technology}, volume = {7}, number = {2}, pages = {104-116}, doi = {10.11648/j.ajeit.20230702.17}, url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajeit.20230702.17}, eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajeit.20230702.17}, abstract = {This study aimed at exploring the Demands for Sign Language Interpreters (SLI) at University of Education, Winneba. This study employed an Explanatory Sequential Mixed Methods Design to answer the research questions. The researcher first conducted quantitative research, analyzed the results and then built on the results to explain them in more detail with qualitative responses. Out of a target population of 14 respondents, eight (8) were purposively sampled for this study due to the practical skills they had acquired in Sign language, including assistance given to the deaf at the University. Core issues include environmental, interpersonal, paralinguistic, and intrapersonal demands. The two main instruments used to gather data were a 24-item questionnaire with a four-point Likert scale and interview guide. Descriptive statistics involving simple percentages, mean, standard deviations and thematic approach were computed and used for the analysis. The findings indicated that Sign Language Interpreters (SLI) expressed strong concerns about the obstructions they encountered during an interpreting assignment, such as the speaker's accent, power dynamics and authority, the use of technical vocabulary and interpreting for long hours without rest. Therefore, it is recommended that there is a need to encourage SLI to go for further studies in the area of interpreting. Besides, the University can employ and retain experienced Sign Language Interpreters to work as interpreters for deaf students. }, year = {2023} }
TY - JOUR T1 - Demands Faced by Sign Language Interpreters at University of Education, Winneba AU - Afua Ntoaduro AU - Grace Yeboah AU - Patience Langee AU - Abraham Yeboah AU - Rosemary Acquaye AU - Prosper Anthony Mensah AU - Abraham Gyamfi Y1 - 2023/10/28 PY - 2023 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajeit.20230702.17 DO - 10.11648/j.ajeit.20230702.17 T2 - American Journal of Education and Information Technology JF - American Journal of Education and Information Technology JO - American Journal of Education and Information Technology SP - 104 EP - 116 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2994-712X UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajeit.20230702.17 AB - This study aimed at exploring the Demands for Sign Language Interpreters (SLI) at University of Education, Winneba. This study employed an Explanatory Sequential Mixed Methods Design to answer the research questions. The researcher first conducted quantitative research, analyzed the results and then built on the results to explain them in more detail with qualitative responses. Out of a target population of 14 respondents, eight (8) were purposively sampled for this study due to the practical skills they had acquired in Sign language, including assistance given to the deaf at the University. Core issues include environmental, interpersonal, paralinguistic, and intrapersonal demands. The two main instruments used to gather data were a 24-item questionnaire with a four-point Likert scale and interview guide. Descriptive statistics involving simple percentages, mean, standard deviations and thematic approach were computed and used for the analysis. The findings indicated that Sign Language Interpreters (SLI) expressed strong concerns about the obstructions they encountered during an interpreting assignment, such as the speaker's accent, power dynamics and authority, the use of technical vocabulary and interpreting for long hours without rest. Therefore, it is recommended that there is a need to encourage SLI to go for further studies in the area of interpreting. Besides, the University can employ and retain experienced Sign Language Interpreters to work as interpreters for deaf students. VL - 7 IS - 2 ER -