Archives: language

Respectful and ethical work with interpreters

PHSA has a Language Policy that outlines the appropriate use of language services to reduce or eliminate language barriers to optimize the delivery of safe and equitable care. A few key and interesting points from this document:
  1. Staff are to make “all reasonable efforts” to obtain the services of a Qualified Interpreter.
  2. For Indigenous languages, an Indigenous Patient Liaison or Elder may assist with consent in lieu of a Qualified Interpreter.
  3. The need for interpreter, language required, and any refusal of interpreter must be documented in the patient record, in addition to any other language resources used (e.g., family members).
  4. “Interpretation” refers to the spoken/sign format and “translation” refers to the written format. For documents of two pages or less, the document can be “sight translated” by a Qualified Interpreter. PLS has a paid service available to translate written documents.
  5. Machine translation should only be used for non-medical conversation due to the risk of breach of confidentiality or miscommunication, where no other resources are available.
Practical tips
  1. Most of the time, sitting in a triangle is the best format to be able to communicate via interpreter, but the interpreter may have specific suggestions in your particular setting. With an ASL interpreter, the interpreter will typically stand next to you so that the patient can look back and forth between you and the interpreter easily. There are also lighting considerations with ASL interpretation.
  2. Speak directly to the patient or family member, facing them and not the interpreter. Use words like “you” and “you’re” and avoid saying things like “ask the patient.”
  3. Speak at your normal pace and volume. Speak using 1-2 sentences at a time but avoid breaking up a thought. Avoid asking more than one question at a time.
  4. Clarify unique vocabulary. Avoid jargon, slang, idioms, and acronyms. Be thoughtful with the use of humor – what you may intend as humor may not be the same in the patient’s first language.
  5. Keep in mind that sometimes there is not a direct equivalent term in another language. The interpreter may request an explanation or require more time to convey an unfamiliar concept.
Provincial Language Services has educational Resources and Education. Some highlights:
  1. Making Sense of Language: The Communication Conundrum (video with focus on intercultural communication)

The science of literacy – Recommended reading

CDBC/BCAAN Research Bite: Originally emailed February 9, 2024

Book recommendation: Language at the Speed of Sight. The author, Mark Seidenberg, is a major advocate for translating the science of reading into education. He explains things such as the science behind the “Cambridge hoax” where we can easily read words with mixed up letters. Try some of his reading demos. Listen to Seidenberg talk about the science of reading in a video on his website. A couple of important points:

  1. Language development is essential for reading development.
  2. Explicit instruction is necessary to scaffold reading, but implicit learning plays an important role, and implicit learning speeds up the process of learning to read.
  3. Phonemic awareness develops in conjunction with learning about print; it is a result of being a skilled reader, not a precursor. He details this here,  also available in a recording.
  4.  To show the impact of reading on phonological awareness, he points to research which shows that when asked to say “sword” without the “s” good readers often say “word.” He makes the point that phonological awareness training should be paired with print/letters.

For more high quality information on the science of reading, check out – Reading Rockets: “A national public media literacy initiative offering information and resources on how young kids learn to read, why so many struggle, and how caring adults can help.”