Language Interpretation in Social Work Practice

This professional development workshop will help students and professional social workers learn and appreciate the role of language in social work practice. All social workers, monolingual and multilingual alike, perform the role of language interpreter (and/or translator) in practice. Ensuring diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) in practice calls for methods, philosophies, and tools that can allow us to build relationships across class, gender, immigration status, sexuality, language and race. Interpretation- facilitating communication across lines that might otherwise divide communities is essential to working towards our commitment to DE&I. Participants will learn methods and strategies for interpretation with special attention to the potential for power imbalances that influence the way in which communication is mediated through an interpreter.

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Program

8:30 AM: Continental Breakfast

9:00 AM - 10:30 AM: Workshop I: Translation and Interpretation in Micro and Macro Social Work Practice

10:30 AM - 12:00 PM: Workshop II: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion through Language Interpretation in Social Work Practice

12:00 PM - 2:00 PM: Working Lunch - Small group Discussions and Large Group Conclusions and Recommendations

Workshops

Translation and Interpretation in Micro and Macro Social Work Practice

This workshop will explore the translation and interpretation needs (both micro and macro) of immigrants in the US, using Latino immigrants as an example. They will provide creative ways for providing psychosocial (e.g., family therapy) and forensic services (e.g., asylum cases) to help immigrants and to build working relationships across class, gender, immigration status, sexuality, language and race.

Facilitators

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion through Language Interpretation in Social Work Practice

This workshop will provide techniques on the use of interpretation to facilitate communication for and empower single-language speakers, while addressing the issues that result from the interpretation of meaning, words and switching between languages. The purpose of this training is to enable people who may or may not be fluent in a language other than English to develop the skills and confidence to better understand their clients. 

Facilitators