Think of a situation when you are sitting in a classroom with your peers, and suddenly you realize that soon you will graduate from the interpreter education program. This is a panic moment as suddenly you will leave this college, peers, instructors, and your comfort zone. Now you are going to face the real world of interpreting. Who will counsel you when you need advice? Who will tell you about the outfit that is permitted to wear? What you need is a mentor.
The field needs a mentor. There is a scarcity of trained and qualified mentors because of a lack of training, lack of availability, and lack of feeling. Mentoring has a lot to offer if done properly. It is a growing and learning experience to foster a higher level of professionalism. Mentoring is an essential part of interpreter education, but in many cases, it is missing from interpreter education.
Filling the Gap
Sign language interpreters get trained in college and groomed to serve the deaf community. But during this program and after some initial years of working, the accessibility to mentors is limited. The lack of guidance and support makes entry into the real-world more struggling. A mentor can work with new graduates and share their experience which benefits both mentor and mentee. This increases trust, rapport, and unity among interpreters.
What should be done?
Mentoring can be available in person or by email, and live video chats can greatly improve the interpreting field and increase the interpreter’s confidence.
Productive Change and Create Awareness
Mentoring brings positive changes to the profession of interpreters. Small group mentoring prevents future students from fear of entering the profession in the real world. This diminishes the fear of being alone. During the training, a deaf mentor could be assigned to a new interpreter who can guide the student to enter the professional world. Mentors are also useful to improve a particular skill and know the style set that they have not experienced previously. Mentoring helps in a myriad of ways:
- Building rapport and trust in the community
- Expanding vocabulary and learning new signs
- Discussing ethical scenarios
- Building self-confidence
- Exploring new settings
- Knowing new technology
- Staying updated with apps and social media related to the profession
- Learning business practices
- Expanding networking/business opportunities
Knowing the Mentorship Barriers
Many people want to work with a mentor, but only a few work with them. Why is this so? Is it a lack of availability? Fear? Cost? Are no willing or skilled mentors available locally? How will these issues of not having qualified mentors be solved? One thought is that everyone has something new to offer. Students may have learned new techniques or approach that was not practiced earlier so they can share this with other people working in this field. The veteran interpreter can share experiences of their journey. More study programs, discussion groups, and workshops can be set up to share knowledge.
Tips for Mentoring
Know what you want to obtain from the mentorship? Is it skill development or something other? Pick any two work elements and focus on them.
Seek a professional and experienced professional who is respected in the community. Know whether they are free enough to watch your work via a video or live to provide feedback on the elements that you are focusing on.
There should not be the use of evaluative language in feedback like good, bad, you did/did not, should have, etc.
Mentorship aims to help in accomplishing goals. No interpreter should criticize others when working, whether in teams or mentoring. The focus should be on work and not on the interpreter.
Do not forget to give back means you should find the best and most professional way to give back to someone who offers to mentor you. Reciprocity is good.
Conclusion
Let us know what we can offer to others or share it with our colleagues. Choose to start mentoring, or you can become a mentee. Take the next step and meet, inspire, and learn from others.
