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Article published In:
Community Interpreting, Translation, and Technology
Edited by Nike K. Pokorn and Christopher D. Mellinger
[Translation and Interpreting Studies 13:3] 2018
► pp. 442–464

“Craving to hear from you…”

An exploration of m-learning in global interpreter education

| Western Oregon University
| Western Oregon University

This study examines the feasibility of mobile technology for interpreter education. While interpreter education and its use of technology is well-established and documented in developed countries, educational opportunities for signed language interpreters in developing countries are scarce. One innovation, mobile phone technology, appears to be changing patterns of technological adoption in developed and developing countries, connecting those previously denied access by geography or income. Education through mobile applications, or m-learning, was used to provide professional development to interpreters from the U.S. and Ghana in an action research pilot study. Surveys, discussions, and reflections were analyzed to identify the types of technologies employed, challenges encountered, evidence of learning, and collegial interactions. While successful outcomes were documented, findings indicate feasibility is still dependent on several factors.

Keywords: mobile learning, signed language, interpreter education, American Sign Language, Ghanaian Sign Language
Article outline
  • Introduction
  • Purpose of the study
  • Literature review
  • A preliminary comparison of two contexts: Ghana and the United States of America
    • Access to and use of technology
    • Paths to the profession, access to interpreter education
    • Working conditions
  • Methods
    • Participants
    • Role of the researchers
    • Procedure
    • Data analysis
  • Results
    • Access to and use of technology for interpreter education
    • Levels of participation
    • Technology utilized to conduct interpreter education
    • Opportunities and challenges
    • Evidence of learning via mobile technology
    • Using mobile technology to initiate collegial relationships and build communities of practice
  • Conclusions
  • Recommendations for future research
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 9 November 2018
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/tis.00024.dar
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