Language, Mind, Society: CLCS Public Lecture Series

Wednesday, 15 June 2016

Language, What Language? Deaf Students and Sign Language Interpreters

Speaker: Dr. Christine Monikowski, Department of American Sign Language and Interpreting Education, Rochester, New York.

Time & Venue: 6.30pm, Long Room Hub, Trinity College Dublin.

Abstract:

Many Deaf students in public schools have difficulty mastering a primary language (either English or American Sign Language); can they acquire a native language in a hearing classroom? This presentation explores the importance of native language acquisition as a foundation for proficiency in a second language, applying this to Deaf students and to interpreters, who often function as language models in the classroom. Discussion will include appropriate language models, successful language acquisition, an interpreted education, and the typical hearing classroom.

About the speaker:

Dr. Christine Monikowski is a Professor in the Department of American Sign Language and Interpreting Education at Rochester Institute of Technology/National Technical Institute for the Deaf in Rochester, New York. Dr. Monikowski holds a PhD in Educational Linguistics from the University of New Mexico. Her published works include Evolving Paradigms in Interpreter Education co-edited with Elizabeth Winston (Gallaudet University Press, 2013) and Service Learning in Interpreting Education co-authored with Rico Peterson (Oxford University Press, 2005). Her most recent volume is titled Teaching and Learning: Grounded in Research; it is a series of interviews conducted with sign language educators/researchers in the U.S., Canada, and Europe (Gallaudet University Press, forthcoming). She continues to present workshops for working interpreters and interpreter educators on a variety of topics such as: Discourse Analysis for Interpreters, Introduction to Linguistics for Interpreters, and Professional Ethics.

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