Welcome to the President's Corner

Interesting articles, information, tips and advice from Panoltia's President

Yasmin Wurts Metivier

President, Panoltia, Inc.

Beyond Bilingualism and Biculturalism - Interpreting in U.S. Schools

Immigrants have attended United States schools for many generations. But in the latter part of the 20^th century, and in 21^st, the unprecedented numbers of Spanish speaking immigrants entering our schools has overwhelmed our ability to help them and their parents adapt to their new schools and to the American education system.

Many of today’s interpreters were born in other countries, while others were born in the U.S. to immigrant parents or grandparents. Many started interpreting in the schools because they spoke two languages and wanted to help out; or because their children were at a particular school and someone there needed help; or perhaps, because they were the only ones around who knew how to speak Spanish and somebody asked them to interpret (or “translate” as many still say).

In today’s schools, with their ever increasing Spanish speaking population, the probability of a bilingual teaching assistant or a foreign language teacher, or any other school employee being asked to interpret is very high. But is being bilingual enough? The answer, in a word, is an emphatic no. To effectively serve our schools and our Spanish speaking students and their parents it takes more, much more!

The Role of the Interpreter

In short, the role of the interpreter is to be a bilingual, bicultural, multi-skilled bridge between the school and the student and his or her parents or guardians. Let’s look briefly at each of these qualifications.

Being Bilingual

When it comes to interpreting, being bilingual means more than simply being able to speak English and Spanish. Most of us intuitively appreciate the importance of speaking English well; however, few of us truly understand the issues when it comes to Spanish language skills. Spanish is spoken in more than twenty countries around the world, each with its own dialects, vocabulary, regionalisms and expressions. As a result, the immigrants who come to this country come from a wide variety of linguistic backgrounds. Although most formally educated native Spanish speakers from different countries will have relatively few problems understanding each other because they typically have had more exposure to linguistic differences, the less formally educated who comprise the vast majority of our immigrant population will have far more difficulty because few have ever interacted with people from other countries prior to coming to the U.S. This is important because someone from Puerto Rico or Argentina or Colombia who is asked to interpret for someone from rural Chiapas, Mexico, even though they both speak Spanish, might not have the linguistic background to be effective. And people who speak “Spanglish,” the mix of Spanish and English that is so prevalent in our bigger cities with established Latino communities, will have even more trouble understanding the immigrant and interpreting for them accurately.

To be effective the interpreter must not only be able to speak English fluently, he or she must also be able to communicate across the wide variety of linguistic variations that they will be faced with in our typical school settings.

Being Bicultural

Language is only the beginning. Just as there are many linguistic differences among people from the many Latin American countries, so are there great culture differences, particularly when it comes to education; and, it’s the interpreter’s job to bridge the culture gap. The ability to do that depends on a thorough understanding of the cultures and education systems of both the U.S. and of the native country of the student and his or her parents.

 For example, one of the biggest differences between our U.S. education system and that of most Latin American schools is in the amount of parent involvement that is expected. In much of Latin America parents are not normally involved in their children’s education, and consequently when they come here they hesitate to talk to teachers and administrators, even when they perceive a problem or when their child is having difficulty. And because several other cultural factors come into play in such a situation, they are unlikely to take any action to correct the problem. And that’s just the tip of the culture gap iceberg.

 So, what happens when the interpreter isn’t familiar with these culture differences, or with the education system in the country where the student and his or her parents lived before coming to the U.S.? Or, as is often the case with untrained immigrant interpreters, what if they are not thoroughly familiar with the American culture and education system and cannot adequately explain their norms and expectations to the student and his or her family? More often than not the result is that misunderstanding is perpetuated and neither the school nor the student and his or her family benefit. In spite of everyone’s best intentions and efforts, even simple culture issues are not fully understood or addressed by either side and the child’s education and ultimately their quality of life suffer.

Other Skills and Requirements

Besides being able to speak two languages and work across cultures, in order to be effective the interpreter must also have a variety of other skills. They have to be proficient in listening techniques, consecutive and simultaneous interpretation techniques, sight translation techniques, delivery techniques for each of these modes of interpretation, and note-taking; and, it’s critical that they thoroughly understand the ethics involved in all interpretation situations.

They also need to know the terminology specific to schools and to typical school situations, such as special education (ARDs, IEPs, and many other forms, concepts and words used in various hearings), and they need to know the terminology used in fields such as speech therapy, psychology, health, math, sciences, English language arts and even finance. Without this terminology they are simply not equipped to interpret in school settings.

And if they are called upon to interpret for high school students who are trying to get financial aid for college, or for exiting special education students who need life skills to function as independent adults, they also need to know the protocols observed in their school and their school system, and they have to be familiar with the laws and regulations that the U.S. Department of Education has specified regarding what can and cannot be done and said in a school setting. Without this knowledge inadvertent transgressions are likely.

Where do we go from here?

Many schools, particularly in large cities with diverse populations, have already realized the great benefit of using trained interpreters to interpret in everyday school settings. Our next step is to use what they have learned and apply it to our situation, and to train the people we ask to interpret in our schools. Whether we realize it or not, the responsibility we ask them to assume and the potential benefit they bring to all of us are enormous. It is only right that they be fully equipped to do the job! 

This article was co-authored by Yasmin Wurts Metivier and M. Eta Trabing.

*For more information, please see the Manual for Interpreters in School Settings.