Missing the Plot: Preparing Trainee Interpreter for the Use of Informal Idiomatic Language in the Health Setting

Research focused on interpreters and interpreting has great potential to inform and improve interpreter training. In this webinar, Professor Ineke Crezee will describe a research project aimed at better understanding communication patterns in healthcare interactions, specifically with regard to the use of informal idiomatic language as part of the establishment of patient-provider rapport. She will report on the research findings and discuss the implications and import for interpreter training. She will then describe approaches and strategies for integrating research findings into interpreter training activities, with specific examples drawing on the research study presented at the beginning of the webinar. 

Learning Objectives:

At the end of this webinar, participants will be able to

• Describe recent research findings related to informal language and establishment of rapport in medical interactions
• Discuss the relevance of research findings related to use of informal idiomatic language, establishment of rapport, and pragmatic intent to interpreter training and professional practice
• Describe strategies that may be implemented in training environments in order to increase trainee interpreters’ ability to successfully navigate challenges related to informal idiomatic language  

Additional Articles:

• Thrown in the deep end.pdf
• Crezee_Grant_Missing the Plot_In_IJIE-Vol5_1.pdf
• Crezee and Grant 2020 An Achilles heel-Idiomatic-Langauge-12-1.pdf

Thank you to the guest presenter for providing these additional resources!

About the Presenter:

Ineke H. M. Crezee, PhD, ONZM, MA (Tr), MA, BA, RN, NAATI Cert Tr, Cert Health Int 

Ineke H. M. Crezee is a health professional, linguist, interpreter, translator and interpreter/translator educator, known for her publications on healthcare interpreter education. A former Fulbright New Zealand Scholar (Public Health), she was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (approved by HM Queen Elizabeth) in 2020 for services to translator and interpreter education. She conducted her Fulbright research on Patient Navigators at Seattle Children’s Hospital’s Center for Diversity and Health Equity. Ineke published on her findings with her friend and colleague Cindy Roat.