EIPA - Educational Interpreter Performance Assessment Student Language Development Questions and Answers

Question 1

An educational interpreter is working with a 7-year-old deaf student who primarily uses ASL.
The student consistently produces signs in an English word order (e.g., 'CAT BLACK' instead of 'BLACK CAT').
Which of the following is the MOST appropriate initial consideration for the interpreter?

Accepted Answer

The student is likely influenced by exposure to English in the classroom and is in a natural phase of bilingual language development.

Answer

This indicates a significant language delay that should be immediately reported to the speech-language pathologist.

Answer

The interpreter should actively correct the student's sign order to model appropriate ASL grammar.

Answer

This pattern suggests the student is not a true ASL user and should be switched to a manually coded English system.

Question 2

During a middle school science class, a deaf student who is an emerging signer seems confused. The teacher explains a complex concept using abstract vocabulary. The interpreter's primary responsibility to facilitate language development in this moment is to:

Accepted Answer

Interpret the concept using signs the student knows, incorporating visual aids, examples, or expansions to ensure comprehension.

Answer

Sign the concept verbatim as the teacher presented it, regardless of the student's understanding.

Answer

Stop the class and ask the teacher to re-explain the concept using simpler terms.

Answer

Inform the student that they will get a tutor to explain the concept later.

Question 3

Which of the following is a key difference in language development between a deaf child learning ASL from deaf parents and a hearing child learning a spoken language?

Accepted Answer

The deaf child often acquires their first signs and reaches early language milestones at a slightly earlier age.

Answer

The deaf child will typically have a much smaller expressive vocabulary in the first two years.

Answer

The hearing child is capable of producing two-word sentences at an earlier age.

Answer

The deaf child's receptive language skills will lag significantly behind their expressive skills.

Question 4

An interpreter reviews a high school student's Individualized Education Program (IEP), which notes a goal of improving the use of complex sentence structures in their written English. The student often writes sentences that follow a strict Subject-Verb-Object (SVO) order, even when incorrect. How can the interpreter best support this specific language goal during classroom instruction?

Accepted Answer

By consciously modeling and highlighting complex ASL structures, such as topicalization and use of relative clauses, that correspond to the complex English sentences used by the teacher.

Answer

By focusing only on the student's ASL and leaving English grammar to the teacher of the deaf.

Answer

By providing the student with a list of complex sentences to memorize each week.

Answer

By correcting the student's written work for them before they submit it.

Question 5

A first-grade student is in the early stages of language acquisition. According to the EIPA knowledge standards, why is it particularly critical to have a highly skilled interpreter for this student compared to a high school student with more established language?

Accepted Answer

Younger students are still developing their primary language and are less able to repair or fill in gaps from an interpreter's errors.

Answer

Younger students are less likely to complain about a poor interpretation.

Answer

High school curriculum is inherently less complex than elementary curriculum.

Answer

Older students have more opportunities for direct communication with teachers.

Question 6

Which of the following describes a student's use of a classifier in ASL?

Accepted Answer

Using a specific handshape to represent a noun and show its location, movement, or appearance.

Answer

Fingerspelling the name of a person before pointing to a location.

Answer

Signing the word 'NO' while shaking one's head to negate a sentence.

Answer

Raising eyebrows when asking a yes/no question.