The role of educational interpreters for deaf students mainstreamed in regular classes was examined through interviews with 35 educational interpreters. Among concerns were (1) defining their professional role, (2) the variety of sign systems used in schools, (3) their relationships with the students they serve, and (4) professional development.…

These communication guidelines, for mainstream teachers whose classes include deaf students, stress courtesy. Specific guidelines include (1) maintain visual lines of communication, (2) attend to the speaker (not the interpreter), (3) use pauses to let the interpreter catch up, (4) recognize speakers, and (5) foster a relaxed atmosphere. (DB)

Guidelines are offered to schools and communities for developing activities of a yearly Deaf Awareness Week. Topics covered should include general information about deafness; common myths and misunderstandings; information about sign languages; technologies available to deaf people; interpreting; and interaction among deaf and hearing students.…

A special set of skills is essential for interpreting for mainstreamed deaf preschool students. Eleven issues in clarifying the job of the preschool interpreter are discussed, such as whether hearing children should learn to sign and how to encourage communication among hearing and deaf children. (JDD)

Some deaf interpreting strategies are offered to parents of children who are deaf or hard of hearing. Parents are urged to utilize space in their interpreting, use name signs, utilize sight lines to distinguish characters in stories, use exaggerated signs to translate nursery rhymes, place themselves carefully at a public performance, and learn…

A hearing teacher for whom American Sign Language is a second language identifies nine strategies developed for reading and telling stories to deaf children. These include: ask obvious questions related to the story, portray written dialog as conversation, emphasize points by saying the same thing with different signs, and adapt the story to…

Describes a special class to train deaf students of all ages in ways to work with their interpreters in mainstream school settings. The class uses explanation, role play, and questions to clarify the roles of the teacher and the interpreter and to stress the importance of flexibility in the mainstream. (DB)

A "Signability Index" is presented for sign language interpretation of children's books. The index is based on such variables as reading rate, sentence length, quantity of text used to express thoughts, word imagery, and complexity and concreteness of passages. Suggested books for classroom reading are listed, categorized by six levels of…

Presents a checklist for evaluating program modifications for students with hearing impairments in general education settings. The checklist evaluates mode/flow of communication (including provision of appropriate interpreting services), school environment, support structure, instructional formats, mediated/scaffolded instruction, lesson planning,…

Words in English often have multiple meanings, causing concepts to be paired with incorrect signs when working with deaf students, such as the concept of "made up" meaning either "invented" or "decided." A method called "sentence chains" is recommended as a drill to learn to link concepts with their appropriate signs. (JDD)

Four hearing-impaired students were mainstreamed into an English class of normally hearing students. Classroom communication progressed from sign interpreting, to sign interpreting along with a real-time graphic display (RTGD) of words spoken by teacher or students, to RTGD alone. Student reactions to the mainstreaming experience and to the…