School psychology and limited-English-proficient (LEP) children: New competencies

The Training and Use of Interpreters in Bilingual Psycho-Educational Assessment: an Alternative in Need of Study

“…These &dquo;spontaneous&dquo; translations (Caterino, 1990;Figueroa, 1989;Nuttall, 1987;Ortiz, 1984) can result in interpreters making such errors as giving additional prompts or cues (Caterino, 1990;Figueroa et al, 1984;Holtzman and Wilkinson 1991) and/or providing insufficient or inaccurate translations. Holtzman and Wilkinson (1991) state that interpreters &dquo;are allowed to function with little supervision and with minimal or no training in test administration procedures&dquo; (p. 263).…”

“…The Need for Research Pertaining to Interpreters Although various guidelines have been formulated for the use of translators (Chamberlain & Medeiros-Landurand, 1991;Fradd & Wilen, 1990;Medina, 1982;Miller & Abudarham, 1984;Scribner, 1993;Wilen & Sweeting, 1986) and for the skills needed by school psychologists to work with interpreters (Figueroa, et al, 1984), the case remains, however, that &dquo;there is no empirically validated model for training or using an interpreter&dquo; (Figueroa, 1989, p. 19 as quoted in Kamphaus, 1993, pp. 458-459).…”

“…Figueroa, Sandoval, and Merino (1984) include the &dquo;ability to work with interpreters&dquo; as one of six competencies needed by school psychologists who serve students who are LEP (p. 138). In order for school psychologists to possess this competency, training in this area should include dynamics of the interpretation procedure, ... kinds of information loss inherent in the interpretation procedures, understanding the authority position of the examiner, the use of appropriate nonverbal communication, methods and techniques of interpretation, the importance of obtaining accurate translations, and the need to procure translation that does not include personal evaluations by the translator.…”

“…The survey also requested personal data from the school psychologists. The survey was developed after reviewing the research and best practice literature in this area (Barona & Santos de Barona, 1987;Caterino, 1990;Esquivel, 1988;Figueroa et al, 1984;Figueroa, 1990;Hamayan & Damico, 1991;Nuttall, 1987;Ortiz & Polyzoi, 1986;Rueda, Cardona, Mercer, & Carpenter, 1985;Willig, 1986;Wilen & Sweeting, 1986). One of the critical factors addressed in the literature pertained to the use and training of interpreters in assessing minority language children (See Appendix 1).…”

Contemporary Issues in the Assessment of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Learners

“…In order to work effectively with CLD students and their families, school psychologists must display cross-cultural awareness and knowledge regarding how to work with interpreters (Figueroa, Sandoval, & Merino, 1984). Cross-cultural awareness involves understanding variations in family structure and roles, socialization patterns, expectations related to exceptionality, and core beliefs of different cultural groups (Figueroa, Sandoval, & Merino).…”