Sign Language Interpreters

Main Office: A255 Murphy Hall, (310) 825-1501 voice, (310) 206-6083 tty, (310) 825-9656 fax
Resource Room: 181 Powell Library, (310) 825-2651

Dan Levitt, Assistant Director & Coordinator - Deaf and Hard of Hearing Student Services, (310) 267-2005 voice, (310) 206-6083 tty, email: dlevitt@saonet.ucla.edu

UCLA's Office for Students with Disabilities, in its effort to assist deaf students in obtaining full access to education, provides Sign Language interpreters for class meetings, office visits, discussions, tests, labs and other activities. This effort is consistent with the requirements of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. This information has been prepared to help familiarize you with the services provided to deaf students.

Sign Language Interpreters
Interpreters are communication facilitators. They sign everything that is spoken, and at no time, will they interject their own thoughts, opinions, or explanations. Typically, the interpreter sits in the front of the classroom, off to one side, where the professor and the interpreter are both in full view by the deaf student. During films or other presentations, when the lights are turned out, the interpreter will need to move next to the screen, and the deaf student may wish to shine a flashlight on the interpreter. If positioning presents any problems, then you, the deaf student, and the interpreter can work out other alternatives.

Team Interpreting
Two interpreters are typically provided for lectures which are longer than one hour, because interpreting can be physically exhausting, and quality may be affected if one interpreter has to go too long without a break. There may be times when only one interpreter is available, and it would be very helpful if you could give the class more frequent breaks if the class is long.

Notetakers
Notetakers are provided because it is difficult for a deaf student to watch an interpreter and take notes simultaneously.

Interpreters are not Participants
The interpreters will not participate in the class nor should they be asked to perform any other duties because it would interfere with their interpreting. It would be awkward, for example, to ask the interpreter to pass out papers. The interpreter will not tutor the deaf student nor will they explain anything to him/her after class. The interpreter is there to facilitate communication between you and the student, not to summarize, supplement or substitute for you and the knowledge and expertise you possess as a professor.

Speaking to the Deaf Person Directly
It is a natural tendency, when using an interpreter for the first time, to speak to the interpreter instead of the deaf student, using phrases such as "Tell him. . ." or "Ask her. . .". Remember, the interpreter is signing exactly what you say. If you say "Tell him…," that's what the interpreter signs. The process proceeds more smoothly if you virtually ignore the interpreter, look directly at the deaf student, and speak to the deaf student in the same way that you would speak to anyone else.

Speak Normally
It is rarely necessary to slow down when speaking through an interpreter. A competent interpreter can easily keep up with normal rates of speaking. The only exception is when long passages are read aloud, since readers tend to read much faster than they speak conversationally, and the wording of written passages is often quite dense. If you (or students in the class) plan to read aloud at length or with any frequency, you may wish to make copies of the passages, and give them to the deaf student to follow.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the Office for Students with Disabilities at x51501. It is also very appropriate to ask deaf students if you have any questions; they are the best source of information about what makes a class accessible for them

If you would like this information in an alternative format, contact the Office for Students with Disabilities at (310) 825-1501 voice, (310) 206-6083 tty or (310) 825-9656 fax.

Revision 10/02/02 Sign Language Interpreters, Information for Professors.