Evolving Practices: Understanding the Current Landscape of Interpreting Education and Deaf Community Needs

In 2015, the National Interpreter Education Center, a grant-funded project at Northeastern University, released a report titled Preparing Interpreters for Tomorrow: Report on a Study of Emerging Trends in Interpreting and Implications for Interpreter Education. In an effort to update that needs assessment to reflect current trends and with funding from a Research Development Initiative grant, Northeastern University’s ASLIE Program conducted a series of focus groups to gather perspectives from Deaf community members, working interpreters, and interpreting educators. This report presents those findings and offers recommendations to guide the future of interpreter training, professional development, and advocacy efforts.

The English version of the report below is organized into seven sections:

1. Introduction

2. Methodology

3. Key Themes

4. Participant Group Perspectives—Deaf People, Interpreters, and Educators

5. Critical Issues and Recommendations

6. Implementation Priorities, Roles, and Actions

7. Conclusion: Coordinated Action for Systemic Change

The report also includes three appendices.

ASL summaries of each of these seven sections are provided on the right.