Pasco schools training tomorrow's translators

By Kristin M. Kraemer, Herald staff writer

PASCO -- Sergio Jara has spent his youth interpreting for his Spanish-speaking parents during trips to the store or translating letters in the mail.

It's just something you do to help your parents, said the first-generation American.

Even though he already spoke the language, he studied Spanish in middle school and during his freshman and sophomore years at Pasco High School. He knew there were "slight differences" in the Spanish he learned at home and the proper language taught in the classroom.

"I want to perfect it," he said.

In planning his junior year curriculum, Jara's counselor recommended he take English/Spanish translation and interpretation.

The two-year elective program is offered at Pasco High and New Horizons High School in Pasco. It is geared at helping students develop interpreting skills so they can get a job in the medical, legal or social services fields.

Given his upbringing, Jara expected it to be effortless but soon found he was wrong.

"It was easy because I know both languages but that is only part of it because you have to create these skills with these languages to help you," he said.

Jara, now 17 and the student representative to the district school board, took only one year of the class because his senior schedule is too busy. But he did get a provisional certification through the state Department of Social and Health Services and is planning to retake the test next year for full authorization.

Jara still dreams of attending Eastern Washington University and working as a dental hygienist, and because of the Pasco program he may be able to work part time while at college.

"It's like the perfect job you would like to have. You get paid well and you get enough hours and plus you can still study," he said.

Pasco High has been offering the course for several years.

"Given our global economy, world direction and the diversity of our communities, knowing two languages not only allows for better communication with other people, but also opens doors to many new job opportunities," reads the class syllabus.

Lety Mendoza, herself a court-certified interpreter in Pasco Municipal Court and Franklin County District Court, is in her second year of teaching the Pasco High program. She has two classes a day and 33 students.

A presentation she prepared shows employment for interpreters and translators projected to increase 24 percent between 2006 and 2016. The growth in part is driven by "strong demand in health care settings and work related to homeland security" and "the broadening of international ties," Mendoza quotes from the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Pasco School District is one of only a few in Washington offering interpreting. Similar programs are more widely available in colleges.

"The kids can use their Spanish and take it to a higher level, be actually proud of it and learn that it's very valuable," Mendoza said.

In a recent class, Mendoza quizzed her students on slang in Spanish and English, which she said is important because it comes up in conversation. The words included: partido -- sides; merodeando -- wandering or looking around; preocupado -- worried; and nerrioso -- nervous.

One Spanish word -- cochinadas, meaning junk -- caused several students to crack open their ever-present bilingual dictionaries.

Later, the students split into four groups of three. They took turns playing the roles of a psychiatrist and a patient, reading from scripts, while the third person interpreted.

When Mendoza noticed one student having difficulty, she told her, "Just visualize, understand the message, and if you need to take notes, take notes."

Such exercises help the kids get a better grasp of the languages and terms used in specific fields. In any given class, they may talk about body organs and illnesses or the individual rights of U.S. citizens and functions of law.

Students are trained in consecutive and simultaneous interpretation.

Consecutive, in which the interpreter listens to an entire sentence or statement before repeating it, requires good memory skills while also processing the information. Simultaneous is harder as the interpreter must interpret while the speaker is talking.

Mendoza said it can be challenging, even for people raised in Spanish-speaking homes, because they need both technical vocabulary and conversational skills.

"It's a misconception sometimes that people think, 'OK, I'm bilingual so I can do it.' But they don't have the specific terms that are required in the court setting," she said. "You have to have some of that background and you need to know the vocabulary. That and also the skill to be able to listen to somebody speak and at the same time process the information and say it into the other language."

Certification for court interpreters is administered by the Administrative Office of the Courts. Washington does not have salaried court interpreters, but counties may hire interpreters on contract. A contract interpreter can make $57,000 a year, according to The National Center for State Courts.

The Department of Social and Health Services offers certifications in social services, medical and translator. Each test involves written and oral exams.

Three of Mendoza's current students already have their DSHS certifications and will take the written test next spring for court certification. If they pass, they will be eligible for the oral portion in the fall.

Some kids really want certification and to work as interpreters because of the good pay, Mendoza said, but she encourages them to pursue their educations while doing interpreting on the side.

"The kids are really engaged because this is an elective; they choose to be there," Mendoza said. "I'm very fortunate to teach those kids because they want to be there, and they work really hard."

For Jara, skills he learned in class remain even though he has been out of the program for six months. He said whenever he watches the news he finds himself interpreting the reporters -- a tip Mendoza offered the students.

Though he had problems with the simultaneous portion of the DSHS test and thus was given the one-year license, Jara said he hopes to try again to complete his certification.

"I do plan on using it once I'm 18. ... I don't know how but I'm going to start again because if you don't use it, you lose it, seriously." he said.

Jara said he thinks the school board should add a Russian interpretation class, given the Tri-Cities' changing population. It would "be really cool" for Pasco to tout the number of interpreters and translators coming out of its schools, he said.

"I would say it is tough, I'm not going to lie ... ," he said. "You do need to study and you will need a dictionary, believe me. You won't know everything. Trust me, I learned the hard way."

But the bottom line, he said, is that after all the struggles the program will pay off for each student -- and for the community.

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Sunday, Dec. 28, 2008

Pasco schools training tomorrow's translators

By Kristin M. Kraemer, Herald staff writer