Research methods: Sign language interpreting and translation as profession and performance

This module has two parts:

Part A: Developing the Profession

The aim of this module is to provide students with a critically engaged outlook towards research and policy texts which have the professional structure and the performance of sign language interpreting and translation as their topic. Students will develop an understanding of relevant social and linguistic research methodology and be given tools with which to make informed assessments concerning the validity of research findings through analyses of published texts from relevant fields of practice and scholarship. This module will guide students towards developing small-scale, pilot research projects in areas relating to (a) the profession of sign language interpreting and translation and (b) the performance of practitioners in the field, including the analysis of language output. One of these projects will be undertaken (at an appropriate – i.e. small-scale, pilot – level) and evaluated. Projects developed here may serve as the starting point for the MA theses to be written in semester 5.

Part B: Developing Reflective Practice III

The aim of this strand, Developing Reflective Practice, is for students to improve and deepen their self-reflection skills. By increasing self-reflection, students will also improve their self-awareness and the ability to regulate their behavior in interpreting practice. This strand is centred on the need for practitioners to maintain professional integrity in their work decisions that are in line with broader theories from the field of professional ethics. The aim for this particular course is to improve the teaching and application of the skills developed in this course with practitioners in students’ home countries. Students will be expected to engage their colleagues in one of more of the theories or approaches used throughout this strand.

• Europäischer Master in Gebärdendolmetschen