I am a little late in writing this post...It seems that this past few weeks has just gone by so quickly. It's funny what a few nights of being up all night with your sick baby will do to your whole schedule! :) He's better now (smile) and now I am back on track with my Signs of Development Mentor Program and my NIC Study group.
Okay...back to the meeting I had with Pat, it was so funny because the whole idea of this mentor/mentee group is to really have the mentee do some soul searching and find the answers for themselves with the guidance of these wonderful mentors who have so much experience. When Pat and I sat down I really felt like I was at a loss for words...it would have been so much easier for Pat to go ahead and tell me, "Sarah...I think these are the things you have to do to be a successful interpreter. Just go here, do this, and you will be on track." That I guess is what everyone wants--to be told what to do but to be quite honest with you, after our meeting I really felt like I had some big AHA moments. I really dug inside and understood what I need to work on and research, and not only that but realized that some of the things I needed were right in front of me, I just didn't think about looking there. After our meeting I really pulled out some very important and key things to work on over the next few months. Pat did a great job of asking the right questions and really focusing on what exactly I was trying to say. It's hard because you want to learn everything and just do all you need but these things below REALLY focused in on exactly the key things I wanted to do and helped me to focus my priorities on improving these 4 things instead of having such a vague goal of improving my interpreting.
Here they are:
1) I find myself rushing through my finger spelling-I will tape one of my interpreting assignments and evaluate and review what might be my triggers to rushing or becoming sloppy. I will also show this tape to Pat and start to come up with a strategy to improve my skills by understanding and changing my behaviors.
2) I feel that with so many NEW topics in the different interpreting situations that are presented daily I sometimes don't have that "tool belt" that many experienced interpreters have to be able to just pull out a meaning for a word in sign language right away. To feel more confident and knowledgeable about the subject and the terminology used related to the situation (if I can) I will research the topic and possibly get a copy or borrow a textbook that is used int the course. Also getting a syllabus and a lesson plan can help to prepare me to understand the message and convey it with more ease.
3) Understanding ASL language-all the rules and grammar related to the language. I will talk to some of my friends who have just graduated from an ITP program and ask them some of the things I am unclear about. I also will continue to attend workshops and read books related to the field. This will also expand my range of comprehension of "why do they do that?" of Sign Language.
4) One of my long term goals is to become a legal interpreter. I have a lot of work to do now and experience to get under my belt before I even want to start but I would love to shadow to just get a feel for what it involves. I also need to look over VIEWS magazine to find out how long an interpreter has to wait before becoming a legal interpreter.
Okay...back to the meeting I had with Pat, it was so funny because the whole idea of this mentor/mentee group is to really have the mentee do some soul searching and find the answers for themselves with the guidance of these wonderful mentors who have so much experience. When Pat and I sat down I really felt like I was at a loss for words...it would have been so much easier for Pat to go ahead and tell me, "Sarah...I think these are the things you have to do to be a successful interpreter. Just go here, do this, and you will be on track." That I guess is what everyone wants--to be told what to do but to be quite honest with you, after our meeting I really felt like I had some big AHA moments. I really dug inside and understood what I need to work on and research, and not only that but realized that some of the things I needed were right in front of me, I just didn't think about looking there. After our meeting I really pulled out some very important and key things to work on over the next few months. Pat did a great job of asking the right questions and really focusing on what exactly I was trying to say. It's hard because you want to learn everything and just do all you need but these things below REALLY focused in on exactly the key things I wanted to do and helped me to focus my priorities on improving these 4 things instead of having such a vague goal of improving my interpreting.
Here they are:
1) I find myself rushing through my finger spelling-I will tape one of my interpreting assignments and evaluate and review what might be my triggers to rushing or becoming sloppy. I will also show this tape to Pat and start to come up with a strategy to improve my skills by understanding and changing my behaviors.
2) I feel that with so many NEW topics in the different interpreting situations that are presented daily I sometimes don't have that "tool belt" that many experienced interpreters have to be able to just pull out a meaning for a word in sign language right away. To feel more confident and knowledgeable about the subject and the terminology used related to the situation (if I can) I will research the topic and possibly get a copy or borrow a textbook that is used int the course. Also getting a syllabus and a lesson plan can help to prepare me to understand the message and convey it with more ease.
3) Understanding ASL language-all the rules and grammar related to the language. I will talk to some of my friends who have just graduated from an ITP program and ask them some of the things I am unclear about. I also will continue to attend workshops and read books related to the field. This will also expand my range of comprehension of "why do they do that?" of Sign Language.
4) One of my long term goals is to become a legal interpreter. I have a lot of work to do now and experience to get under my belt before I even want to start but I would love to shadow to just get a feel for what it involves. I also need to look over VIEWS magazine to find out how long an interpreter has to wait before becoming a legal interpreter.
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