The Last-Minute Interpreting Request
Ritu, a Class IX student at a Guwahati higher secondary school, is Deaf and uses Indian Sign Language (ISL) at home and with friends. Her parents are hearing, do not sign, and have always communicated with her through lip-reading and written notes. The school's annual parent–teacher meeting is in 20 minutes. The qualified ISL interpreter booked for the day has cancelled because of a family emergency. The principal asks you - a Class XII student who has completed the school's Sign Language skill course and knows Ritu from the signing club - to interpret a 30-minute meeting with three teachers. The teachers will discuss Ritu's falling marks in mathematics and a possible detention. Ritu has not been told who will interpret. You have no interpreting training beyond the course, and you are not sure whether you can stay for the whole meeting because your own practical exam starts at 3 p.m.
1. Should you accept the request exactly as it stands? Identify the main risks and state what you would say to the principal.
Read the worked answer
Do not accept it exactly as it stands. The risks are concrete:
- Competence: a skill-course certificate is not interpreter training. A meeting about failing marks and detention is high-stakes; a mistranslation could affect Ritu's education.
- Role conflict: you know Ritu socially and are a student, not a neutral professional. You may soften or edit what teachers say without noticing.
- Ritu's rights: she has not been told who will interpret. She should be asked whether she agrees, not have a decision made about her.
- Time pressure: you have 20 minutes and a 3 p.m. exam. A partial interpretation is worse than a rescheduled meeting.
- Institutional risk: accepting quietly lets the school treat a student as a free substitute and hides the real failure to provide access.
What to say: explain that you can help only as a temporary communication facilitator, not as a qualified interpreter; ask the principal to contact the interpreter agency or another qualified adult; ask Ritu first; and propose shortening or rescheduling the meeting. If no alternative exists, agree only with the safeguards in the next task.
2. If you do interpret, what specific steps would you take before and during the meeting to protect accuracy and Ritu's rights?
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Before the meeting, speak to Ritu alone. Explain that you are not a qualified interpreter, that she can stop the meeting at any point, and ask how she wants her parents involved. Agree on seating so she can see the teachers, you and any written notes. Tell the teachers to speak in short chunks of two or three sentences, to pause, and not to address you as 'tell her'. Confirm your 3 p.m. limit so the meeting is planned around it.
During the meeting:
- Interpret in the first person: say 'I think…', not 'she says…'.
- Interpret everything, including side comments and tone, rather than summarising.
- Do not answer questions on Ritu's behalf; direct them to her.
- If you miss something, ask for repetition instead of guessing.
- Check understanding by asking Ritu directly, not by asking the teachers.
- Keep confidential what is discussed.
Afterwards, write a short factual note of what was agreed and give it to Ritu, so the outcome does not depend only on memory.
3. What should the school change so that this situation does not repeat?
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The school should treat interpreting as a planned accessibility cost, not an emergency favour. Practical changes:
- Budget and contract a qualified ISL interpreter for all formal parent–teacher meetings, assemblies with spoken content, and disciplinary meetings, with a backup contact.
- Book early and give at least two weeks' notice for scheduled events; keep a standing arrangement for Deaf students' families.
- Never use students as substitute interpreters. A student who has completed the skill course can be a peer supporter, not the official channel.
- Send the agenda and key documents in advance so the interpreter can prepare terminology.
- Ask the Deaf student about communication preferences, including whether parents want a separate session with a Deaf awareness briefing.
- Train staff to speak to the Deaf person, pause, and avoid phrases such as 'tell her'.
The test is whether the school would have provided access if no student happened to be available. If the answer is no, the policy is the problem, not the timetable.