EIPA - Educational Interpreter Performance Assessment ASL to English Interpretation Questions and Answers

Question 1

An interpreter is voicing for a high school Deaf student who uses conceptually accurate ASL.
The student signs: 'YESTERDAY ME GO-TO STORE, BUY APPLES, BANANAS, ORANGES.' A grammatically correct English interpretation would be:

Accepted Answer

"Yesterday, I went to the store and bought apples, bananas, and oranges."

Answer

"Yesterday me go to the store. I buy apples, bananas, oranges."

Answer

"I went to the store yesterday. I bought apples, bananas, and also oranges."

Answer

"Yesterday I went to the store to buy some apples and bananas and oranges."

Question 2

When voicing for a student, the interpreter encounters a sign they do not recognize. The student is explaining a key concept in their science presentation. Which of the following is the most professionally appropriate immediate action?

Accepted Answer

Voice 'The student used a sign I don't understand for a key term' to the audience.

Answer

Guess the meaning based on context to avoid interrupting the student's presentation.

Answer

Stop the student and ask for clarification of the sign.

Answer

Omit the unknown concept and voice the rest of the student's message.

Question 3

Which of the following describes a significant challenge when interpreting from ASL to spoken English, but is less of a challenge when interpreting from spoken English to ASL?

Accepted Answer

The need to voice a student's message that may contain linguistic errors or be developmentally immature.

Answer

The need to process information presented in a visual-spatial modality.

Answer

The need to manage the different grammatical structures between the two languages.

Answer

The need to find conceptually accurate signs for specialized academic vocabulary.

Question 4

A Deaf elementary student signs with a strong topic-comment structure and frequent use of classifiers. When voicing for this student, the interpreter's English output should prioritize:

Accepted Answer

Reconstructing the message into grammatically correct English sentences that convey the full meaning.

Answer

Maintaining the student's exact word order to reflect their signing style.

Answer

Using simple English vocabulary to match the student's age level.

Answer

Explaining the function of each classifier to the hearing audience as it is used.

Question 5

An educational interpreter is voicing for a student during a class discussion. The student signs a message, but their non-manual markers (facial expressions and body language) clearly contradict the signs being produced. The interpreter should:

Accepted Answer

Attempt to integrate the emotional tone and intent from the non-manual markers into the English interpretation.

Answer

Voice only the words produced by the signs to remain neutral.

Answer

Choose to voice either the signs or the non-manual markers, but not both.

Answer

Ignore the non-manual markers as they are not part of the formal message.

Question 6

When is it most appropriate for an educational interpreter to switch from a more conceptually-based ASL-to-English interpretation to a more literal transliteration in their voicing?

Accepted Answer

When the student is signing in English word order (e.g., using PSE) and mouthing English words.

Answer

When the student is a beginning signer and uses a lot of home signs.

Answer

When the student is telling a story that involves a lot of descriptive classifiers.

Answer

When the teacher asks the interpreter to simplify the student's language for the class.