Teaching Interpreters With the Case Method
Margie English, MBA, CDI
Case studies are a teaching method proven by prestigious universities and professions within the United States. Case studies record and teach fundamental principles to address challenges within a profession. Within the field of interpretation, case studies could be used in the instruction and assessment of student interpreters to identify and standardize procedures, ethics, and social norms.
Case studies take a phenomenon and examine its associated context within the real-life situation itself. Paul Lawrence, an organizational behavior researcher quoted by Garvin (2003) once said: “A good case is the vehicle by which a chunk of reality is brought into the classroom to be worked over by the class and the instructor.”
Through case studies, students are able to consider the implications of their decisions by examining true stories from within their profession. Garvin (2003) and Herreid (2011) identify Socratic dialogue as the traditional approach to teaching case studies. Using this approach, the instructor presents a situation and
follow-up questions with the objective of facilitating discussion and/or teaching theories and morals. While analyzing cases, students support their positions by making and defending arguments tested by the professor or other students.
Today, there are other ways to facilitate student learning with the case method. During class, Herreid (2011) places the instructor in the role of a storyteller as they share relevant facts about a case for discussion. Instructors can share great discoveries in the field, and/or impersonate notable figures within their profession. Then the class discusses the given information with probing questions from the teacher or the students. Herreid suggests the telling of these stories in different formats: a full-class discussion, small groups, or individual question-answer sessions in front of class. The discussion could take the form of a debate, trial, public hearing, or a series of presentations. Herreid (2011) attributes success in using case studies to smaller class sizes, storyline of cases, use of technology, and greater engagement by those from underserved populations. These methods could be performed separately or in combinations to encourage greater critical thinking.
Technology is an effective way to encourage students to work together on cases to solve problems using the information provided by the instructor, sometimes progressively over several classes. Herreid suggests individual cases, computer simulations, and clicker cases as other instructor-led approaches that can be used both in and/or outside the classroom. Herreid argues that although clicker cases are effective for large groups, they are especially valuable for eliciting input from those with minority backgrounds. Using technology that shares results with the class without attaching names invites students to choose their positions and consider decisions made by their peers. Technology provides instructors with greater flexibility in discussing cases.
Existing Perspectives on Teaching and Learning Interpreting
Researchers have established the importance of considering authentic situations for the application of theory to the interpreting field. With Interpreting Studies as an emergent academic field, there is no standardized curriculum for the development and instruction of interpreters. The following is a quick overview of ideas presented by scholars of Interpreting Studies on the instruction of interpreters, exposing a gap that can be filled using case studies.
Dean (2019) addresses the challenge of interpreters discussing their work together. When using metaphorical language to quickly convey ideas, interpreters assume that their perspective of the interpreting work becomes a shared understanding. In reality, interpreters’ perspectives often differ from each other, and this impacts the standardization of interpreting work. Dean emphasizes the need for interpreters to move toward more literal language in discussing their work for a shared understanding. To advance interpreting work, interpreter education programs need to consider ways to address this challenge within their programs.
Rudvin and Tomassini (2011) acknowledge that simulated dialogues, or role plays, are often used in place of more desirable, actual interpreted situations. To them, using this approach is adequate even though authentic situations are preferred. Simulated dialogues are often applied in the classroom as role plays or live assessments in which actors create mock interpreting situations. During these exercises, students are engaged as interpreters, and then afterward as peer evaluators. Bringing the case method into the classroom would engage students in role plays based on actual interpreted situations. As they perform the role plays, the instructor could lead the students into a deeper analysis by perhaps contrasting decisions that were actually made with the decisions made by the students in the classroom. The perspectives of the consumers, interpreters, and the system could be considered, and best practices named.
Miner (2017), a proponent of situated learning, encourages the application of theory to practice in an actual interpreting experience in the community with advance consent and support from consumers. Miner cites the benefits of situated learning as giving student interpreters real-world experience and the necessary context to reflect on their work. Some risks have been associated with this approach even with conscious effort and support from consumers to mitigate them. Instructors have little or no influence over the development of their students when they are out in the field. This brings us back to the dilemma presented by Dean (2019) that interpreters often discuss their work without being explicit. An alternative approach could be the use of the case method approach to teaching, which would provide student interpreters the opportunity to consider real-life scenarios in a safe environment with the benefit of reflecting on the work and considering alternatives before choosing an approach.
Each scholar expresses a need for interaction among interpreters in a real-world context while learning the nuances of their work. It is the goal of academic programs to prepare their students for professional practice. As student interpreters become professionals, case studies provide instructors with a common understanding of the fundamental standards of their work. This understanding requires insight into the perspectives of consumers and interpreters through authentic experiences of their contemporaries or predecessors. Developing consistent standards for the instruction of student interpreters can be aided by the use of different approaches with case studies as tools for teaching, learning, and assessing interpreting work.
Possibilities for Further Application of Case Studies to Interpreting Studies
Great potential exists for the application of the case method as a pedagogical tool within Interpreting Studies. The case method has long been adapted to suit professions in the training of their practitioners. The same can be done for student interpreters in the interpreting field. Teaching interpreting fundamentals to student interpreters through authentic stories from the human experience encourages learning by deliberately entering the lived experiences of professionals and consumers and considering their multifaceted perspectives and outcomes. The utilization of case studies has the potential to help emerging practitioners learn, discuss, assess, standardize, and transform the important work that takes place prior to, during, and after live interpretation. Interaction between student interpreters allows for an examination of the procedural, ethical, and social norms involved in their work. The layers of challenges and real experiences examined by case studies ensure that desirable standards and skills are properly taught, and that knowledge transfer takes place. Writing cases would involve extensive research and work, and this work is much needed. The teaching and learning territory within Interpreting Studies is fertile for the further application of case studies.
References
Gallaudet University (Producer). (2019). Paying Undue Allegiance to Sociology? Deconstructing descriptive devices for ethical guidance [archived video]. Department of Interpretation and Translation Colloquium Lecture Series. Available from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hke4mlKJfT4&feature=youtu.be
Dean, R. K. (2015). Sign language interpreters’ ethical discourse and moral reasoning patterns. (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from https://www.ros.hw.ac.uk/bitstream/handle/10399/3074/DeanR_1015_sml.pdf?s
Garvin, D. A. (2003, September-October). “Making the case: Professional education for the world of practice.” Harvard Magazine, 106(1). Retrieved April 4, 2019 from http://harvardmagazine.com/2003/09/making-the-case-html.
Herreid, C. F. (2011). Case study teaching. In W. Buskist & J. E. Groccia (Eds.), New Directions for Teaching and Learning Series: Vol. 128. Evidence-based teaching (pp. 31-40). doi: 10.1002/tl.466
Miner, A. (2017). Collaboration in Learning: Situating Student Learning in Real World Contexts. Proceedings of the Conference of Interpreter Trainers, 2016. Retrieved from https://www.cit-asl.org/new/collaboration-in-learning-situating-student-learning-in-real-world-contexts/
Miner, A. (2019, April). Situated Learning. Slides presented to the Interpreting Pedagogy I class of Gallaudet University, Washington DC.
Rudvin, M., & Tomassini, E. (2011). Interpreting in the community and workplace: A practical teaching guide. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Margie English, MBA, CDI, interprets primarily in educational and legal settings, with 100+ hours of legal interpreting training. She provides ASL and Easy Reading English translations, and consults on strategic program development. She is studying for her doctorate in Interpretation and Translation at Gallaudet University. Among her research interests are interpreting pedagogy, organizational leadership, self-advocacy, and Deaf interpreting.
