The Sign language Interpreter training for 6 hearing teachers of Dong Nai University, Viet Nam was held for 2 weeks from August 1st to 15th. This activity was supported by P-CEN project and was conducted by Mr. Kevin William and Mrs. Kathleen Holcombe from NTID. This is the first official training for Sign language interpreters in Viet Nam. The training lasted for two weeks and it covered many areas such as:
There are many sign language interpreters who just do this work because they can sign; no one can evaluate their work. Receiving this training will help the interpreters perform their jobs better. Through this training we, Vietnamese sign language Interpreters, learned a lot of knowledge, experiences and we also gained some awareness about how we do our work. Before the training , we often think that when we interpret, it means we help and interpret for deaf people but now we recognize that we not only interpret for deaf people but also for hearing people as well. Interpretation is not only translate from one language to another language but it also means that an interpreter has to be a part of two cultures: deaf culture and hearing cultures. An interpreter has to make his/ her work transparent, establish a relationship and a trust with both sides that he/she work for: deaf people and hearing people. Without these components the interpreter cannot be successful or properly facilitate communication.