ACC Faculty Teach Without Saying a Word
AUSTIN--When Austin Community College professors Nathie Marbury and Byron Bridges teach a class, neither speaks a word. Both hold their students rapt with the fluid gestures of their hands.
Marbury and Bridges, who were born deaf, have taught for several years in ACC’s Interpreter Preparation program, which trains students in American Sign Language (ASL) so they can become certified interpreters for people who are hard of hearing or have a hearing loss.
“They are eminent trainers and very popular in national training conferences all over the country,” said Deborah Drummond, manager of Travis County Services for the Deaf. “They have amazing training skills. The students at ACC are really lucky to have them.”
Many new students in the program are surprised to learn that their ASL teachers are deaf and that no one in the classroom will be interpreting sign language for them. For many students it’s their first time meeting a person who is deaf and their first introduction to the deaf culture.
“It’s complete immersion,” Marbury said. “Having someone to tell them what the signs mean would defeat the purpose.”
Bridges added, “It’s culture shock for most of them. But they learn faster in this environment because they now have to take in the information using their eyes rather than their ears.”
ACC student Jennifer Ratsch said having a teacher who is deaf was very beneficial because it aids in learning about deaf culture and adds a “richness to the class that you don’t have when a hearing person teaches ASL.”
“The most challenging aspect of learning ASL is understanding how facial expressions are used to convey the meaning of what is being signed,” Ratsch said. “As for interpreting, the hardest part is ascertaining the idea conceptually in ASL. You need to find the right sign to convey what the hearing person is trying to say.”
Drummond, whose department provides 7,000 hours of interpreting services each year for people using county services, said she has provided internships for several ACC students and has hired graduates as interpreters. Texas offers people who are blind or deaf free tuition at state colleges, so there’s a large population of people who need our services in this area, Drummond said. Graduates can pursue careers in an educational setting or as a community interpreter. To interpret in a courthouse, a person must be certified by the state as a level four or five interpreter.
“There’s a large market for interpreters with school districts and state and local government agencies because everyone must provide equal access to their services under the Americans with Disabilities Act,” Drummond said.
To further assist their students – hearing as well as deaf – with grasping the nuances of ASL, Marbury and Bridges have created dozens of videotapes. Most recently, the two teamed up to produce a series of ASL tapes focusing on signs that are particular to Texas, such as city names, landmarks and regional colloquialisms. These videotapes – ASL I, II, and III -- were produced by ACC’s video services and will supplement classroom learning.
“One difficulty is that ASL doesn’t have a written language, so it’s hard for and created video to accompany it.
“Videos are a way for them to review what they’ve learned and to practice their vocabulary,” Marbury said. “When you use a video, students can see a sign from the front and side views, as well as the signer’s facial expression.”
Initially, the ASL curriculum was part of ACC’s continuing education block-time program, where students received several semesters of training but did not earn a degree. In the mid-nineties, the Texas Coordinating Board for Higher Education approved converting the ASL program to a 71-credit hour associate of applied science degree. ACC also offers a 53-credit hour certificate and a 19-credit hour ASL studies certificate. Completion of the associate degree or one-year certificate in Interpreter Preparation gives the student the foundation for certification by the Texas Board of Evaluation of Interpreters (BEI).
Besides being linguistic scholars and renowned trainers, Bridges and Marbury are certified deaf interpreters, which means they may act as intermediaries for a hearing interpreter who isn’t able to convey complicated material such as legal terminology to a deaf person.
Interpreting for the deaf or the deaf and blind is ACC student Doug Rollins’s goal. Although he was born with a hearing loss, he didn’t learn ASL until he was 16. Now, as one of Bridges’s Interpreting III students, he’s learning the rules, grammar and proper facial expressions for certain signs.
“Sign language is actually a second language for me,” Rollins said. “I am having to unlearn everything and start again.“
Both Marbury and Bridges encourage hearing people to become familiar with ASL to increase their level of awareness about the deaf culture. They are emphatic about how helpful it is for deaf children to learn ASL at an early age so they can become integrated into the deaf culture and communicate with their peers and hearing people who know how to sign. Bridges
didn’t learn about ASL or deaf culture until he was 25.
“I became fascinated with the language,” he said. “I always tell deaf kids how important learning the language is.”
Posted: 10/03/2001 1:22 pm
AUSTIN--When Austin Community College professors Nathie Marbury and Byron Bridges teach a class, neither speaks a word. Both hold their students rapt with the fluid gestures of their hands.
Marbury and Bridges, who were born deaf, have taught for several years in ACC’s Interpreter Preparation program, which trains students in American Sign Language (ASL) so they can become certified interpreters for people who are hard of hearing or have a hearing loss.
“They are eminent trainers and very popular in national training conferences all over the country,” said Deborah Drummond, manager of Travis County Services for the Deaf. “They have amazing training skills. The students at ACC are really lucky to have them.”
Many new students in the program are surprised to learn that their ASL teachers are deaf and that no one in the classroom will be interpreting sign language for them. For many students it’s their first time meeting a person who is deaf and their first introduction to the deaf culture.
“It’s complete immersion,” Marbury said. “Having someone to tell them what the signs mean would defeat the purpose.”
Bridges added, “It’s culture shock for most of them. But they learn faster in this environment because they now have to take in the information using their eyes rather than their ears.”
ACC student Jennifer Ratsch said having a teacher who is deaf was very beneficial because it aids in learning about deaf culture and adds a “richness to the class that you don’t have when a hearing person teaches ASL.”
“The most challenging aspect of learning ASL is understanding how facial expressions are used to convey the meaning of what is being signed,” Ratsch said. “As for interpreting, the hardest part is ascertaining the idea conceptually in ASL. You need to find the right sign to convey what the hearing person is trying to say.”
Drummond, whose department provides 7,000 hours of interpreting services each year for people using county services, said she has provided internships for several ACC students and has hired graduates as interpreters. Texas offers people who are blind or deaf free tuition at state colleges, so there’s a large population of people who need our services in this area, Drummond said. Graduates can pursue careers in an educational setting or as a community interpreter. To interpret in a courthouse, a person must be certified by the state as a level four or five interpreter.
“There’s a large market for interpreters with school districts and state and local government agencies because everyone must provide equal access to their services under the Americans with Disabilities Act,” Drummond said.
To further assist their students – hearing as well as deaf – with grasping the nuances of ASL, Marbury and Bridges have created dozens of videotapes. Most recently, the two teamed up to produce a series of ASL tapes focusing on signs that are particular to Texas, such as city names, landmarks and regional colloquialisms. These videotapes – ASL I, II, and III -- were produced by ACC’s video services and will supplement classroom learning.
“One difficulty is that ASL doesn’t have a written language, so it’s hard for and created video to accompany it.
“Videos are a way for them to review what they’ve learned and to practice their vocabulary,” Marbury said. “When you use a video, students can see a sign from the front and side views, as well as the signer’s facial expression.”
Initially, the ASL curriculum was part of ACC’s continuing education block-time program, where students received several semesters of training but did not earn a degree. In the mid-nineties, the Texas Coordinating Board for Higher Education approved converting the ASL program to a 71-credit hour associate of applied science degree. ACC also offers a 53-credit hour certificate and a 19-credit hour ASL studies certificate. Completion of the associate degree or one-year certificate in Interpreter Preparation gives the student the foundation for certification by the Texas Board of Evaluation of Interpreters (BEI).
Besides being linguistic scholars and renowned trainers, Bridges and Marbury are certified deaf interpreters, which means they may act as intermediaries for a hearing interpreter who isn’t able to convey complicated material such as legal terminology to a deaf person.
Interpreting for the deaf or the deaf and blind is ACC student Doug Rollins’s goal. Although he was born with a hearing loss, he didn’t learn ASL until he was 16. Now, as one of Bridges’s Interpreting III students, he’s learning the rules, grammar and proper facial expressions for certain signs.
“Sign language is actually a second language for me,” Rollins said. “I am having to unlearn everything and start again.“
Both Marbury and Bridges encourage hearing people to become familiar with ASL to increase their level of awareness about the deaf culture. They are emphatic about how helpful it is for deaf children to learn ASL at an early age so they can become integrated into the deaf culture and communicate with their peers and hearing people who know how to sign. Bridges
didn’t learn about ASL or deaf culture until he was 25.
“I became fascinated with the language,” he said. “I always tell deaf kids how important learning the language is.”
Posted: 10/03/2001 1:22 pm