Martin

Laila's email made me think: the Institute of Linguists has many centres in
the UK where they deliver the Diploma in Public Service Interpreting. It
may be worth talking to them to see which centres are nearest to you and
whether candidates for the DPSI might be interested in practising their
skills?

Regards - Philida

-----Original Message-----
From: ESOL-Research discussion forum and message board
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Laila El-metoui
Sent: 29 November 2012 16:58
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Translation Request - Help needed in research

Have you tried your local college / university they may have an interpreting
course which your project could be their assignment ? Not sure if there's
such a thing but worth exploring All the very best of luck

Laila El-Metoui
Chair NATECLA London
Sent from my iPhone

On 29 Nov 2012, at 14:52, "S.Macdonald" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Hi Martin
>
> No I'm not volunteering - sorry, not that helpful!
>
> But I think the question of arranging/ interpreting translations is a
knotty one for esol researchers and one it would be good to discuss further.
I had similar issues in my research which involved a survey, questionnaire
and interviews, had a multilingual cohort, no access to interpreters and no
funding. How do we make decisions in such situations? I'm mindful of the
pitfalls of using untrained interpreters (see Celia Roberts 'Figures in a
landscape: Some methodological issues in adult ESOL research' Linguistics
and Education Vol 17/1/6-23 2006 for discussion of pros and cons) but also
that we can't have those conversations with people not yet fluent in English
if we don't approach them in their own language. And do we think that
opinions and attitudes are best discussed in a home language/ how to account
for cultural shifts/ nuance?
>
> I really don't have an answer for this; I ended up with an English- only
project and had to work around those constraints and issues.
>
> So - good luck with it and I'll be interested in the methodological
> decisions that happen along the way as well as your findings
>
> regards
>
> Sheila Macdonald
>
>
> On 28/11/2012 15:30, Martin Nickson wrote:
>> I am a post graduate researcher investigating the relationships between
policy and ESOL learning at the classroom level. My research draws on a
number of previous projects such as Leeds HENNA project (Simpson et al
2011) which mapped ESOL in Harehills but also on Khanna et al (1998) in
respect of the survey, and is also focusing on the (variously described)
informal/peripheral/voluntary provision. As part of that research I have
developed a survey which i wish to offer to as many ESOL Learners as
possible. The survey is not a 'traditional' learner needs survey, it is more
of an opinion and attitude survey, similar in many respects to the European
and UK social attitudes surveys except that the focus is the UK's policy on
ESOL. I should add that I am aware of the limitations of surveys and
questionnaires - the idea of the survey is to begin a process of dialogue
with those willing to engage, it is not the end of a process and, as an
idea, it arose after discussions within our class.
>>
>>
>> I am based at a University and working with some Masters students on
providing translations of this survey in as many languages as possible
(bearing superdiversity in mind). However, I am unfunded in my research and
cannot pay for translation. Quite understandably, this limits the number of
students willing to participate. After a lot of thought, I have decided to
ask in this forum if anyone would be willing to translate the survey, or
supporting documentation (informed consent and information letter) from
English into another language, or perform the equally necessary task of
re-translation [NOTE : See final paragraph re:volunteering! before reacting
to this!].
>>
>>
>> As I have mentioned, I cannot offer payment to anyone who would agree to
be a translator of this survey. I can offer to share the tool once it has
been fully piloted, so this may be of interest to practitioner researchers,
or academic researchers, and therefore may be of benefit to our community
of practice. I would of course acknowledge the contribution of anyone who
wished to assist.
>>
>> I would request that anyone who may be interested email me direct on
>> [log in to unmask]
>>
>>
>> VOLUNTEERING.
>> I have given a lot of thought about posting this request because I
appreciate, and fully support, the principle that people should be paid for
work done! All I can say in defence of this request is that it is a
'one-off' and unlike current Government attempts to replace full time paid
professional teachers with unpaid volunteers, the intention behind this is
not to replace the profession of translators. I should note that the lack of
funding leading to a need to ask for voluntary translation will be, quite
legitimately, part of my discussion as a reflection of the current policy
climate. I dont expect this will send temors through the corridors of
Whitehall, but the point will be made.
>>
>> ***********************************
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interest in research into teaching and learning ESOL. ESOL-Research is
managed by James Simpson at the Centre for Language Education Research,
School of Education, University of Leeds.
>> To join or leave ESOL-Research, visit
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>
> ***********************************
> ESOL-Research is a forum for researchers and practitioners with an
interest in research into teaching and learning ESOL. ESOL-Research is
managed by James Simpson at the Centre for Language Education Research,
School of Education, University of Leeds.
> To join or leave ESOL-Research, visit
> http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/ESOL-RESEARCH.html
> A quick guide to using Jiscmail lists can be found at:
> http://jiscmail.ac.uk/help/using/quickuser.htm
> To contact the list owner, send an email to
> [log in to unmask]

***********************************
ESOL-Research is a forum for researchers and practitioners with an interest
in research into teaching and learning ESOL. ESOL-Research is managed by
James Simpson at the Centre for Language Education Research, School of
Education, University of Leeds.
To join or leave ESOL-Research, visit
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/ESOL-RESEARCH.html
A quick guide to using Jiscmail lists can be found at:
http://jiscmail.ac.uk/help/using/quickuser.htm
To contact the list owner, send an email to
[log in to unmask]

***********************************
ESOL-Research is a forum for researchers and practitioners with an interest in research into teaching and learning ESOL. ESOL-Research is managed by James Simpson at the Centre for Language Education Research, School of Education, University of Leeds.
To join or leave ESOL-Research, visit
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/ESOL-RESEARCH.html
A quick guide to using Jiscmail lists can be found at:
http://jiscmail.ac.uk/help/using/quickuser.htm
To contact the list owner, send an email to
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