Need a student volunteer interpreter?

NEED A STUDENT VOLUNTEER INTERPRETER?

The faculty, staff and students of the Douglas College Program of Sign Language Interpretation value the rights of Deaf, hard-of-hearing and Deaf-Blind people to have access to communication, information and participation in all aspects of life; sign language interpreting services are an integral part of such access. While these services are ideally provided by skilled, qualified practitioners, students in the Program of Sign Language Interpretation at Douglas College may be able to do volunteer interpreting in some suitable, non-critical community settings. It is imperative however, that everyone involved understands that interpreting students are not able to provide the same quality of service as professional interpreters.

All requests are reviewed by program faculty.

Please make your request at least two weeks in advance of the event and include the following information:

  • Description of event
  • Location
  • Date and time (start and finish time)
  • Contact person’s name and email address

If you do not provide all of the above information we cannot provide student interpreters.

The best way to make a request for student interpreters is by e-mail to:  intr@douglascollege.ca 

Availability:

Students are available to provide volunteer interpreting services only when they are not in classes. A student will reply to your message within two or three days so you know we have received your request, and if available, students will attend your event in a team of two. 

Students are generally not available from mid-December to the end of February each year because second-year students are out of town on practicum and first-year students do not start volunteering until the end of February.

Suitability:

Students provide free interpreting service for the opportunity to apply skills they are learning in their college courses. Your requests for student interpreters help prepare them to become skilled professional interpreters.

Students do not provide volunteer interpreting services where professional interpreters are typically employed, including but not limited to the following settings:

  • Church Services and/or Sessions
  • Legal
  • Medical
  • Mental Health
  • Performing Arts
  • Employment related settings
  • Events for organizations that have the ability to find funding to pay a professional Registered Sign Language Interpreter
  • Educational settings 
  • Government agencies
  • Crown Corporations
  • Police interviews
  • ICBC interviews
  • Religious services
  • Strata Meetings

If you are not sure if your request is appropriate for students, please send it to us and we will let you know.

Examples of the kind of events where students may provide interpreting include:

  • Family reunions, celebrations
  • Social events
  • Co-op housing meetings
  • Community activities
  • Cub Scout meetings, activities
  • Some Deaf children's activities
  • Some children's activities that Deaf parents wish to attend

If you plan to advertise that your event is interpreted, it is important to be clear and forthright. Please state:

“ASL-English interpretation provided by Douglas College student volunteer interpreters”