Workshop Presentations

RID CEUs available!

All Day available – Excellent for hearing professionals/participants such as nurses, physicians, and interpreters

Medical Settings: Working with Deaf Patients

Working with deaf patients can present communication challenges. This seminar offers ways to make communicating more visual when providing medical care to Deaf patients. Whether you interact with a deaf patient just once, or see deaf patients regularly, this workshop will give you confidence. Becoming familiar with a few basic signs, knowing how to use visual aids with deaf patients, and learning a bit about Deaf culture will put you ahead of the curve. The healthcare environment can be scary to patients, and communication problems complicate matters. Promoting trust is key. Having a few signs at hand is immeasurably beneficial, even when a sign language interpreter is facilitating communication. This workshop is intended to enhance your ability to put a deaf patient at ease, clarify options, and manage expectations. Learn tips to enhance effective communication between deaf patients and medical care providers. Broaden your understanding of visual interpreting techniques regarding anatomical and medical interpreting. Learn more about Deaf Culture. Visual clips, visual aids, analysis, medical terminology, and outlines will be available. This training would be beneficial for professionals in medical settings.

All Day available – Excellent for Advanced Interpreters

Medical Interpreting: How can I interpret that?

This workshop presents a myriad of ways to increase clarity in medical interpreting situations. For example, the workshop offers demonstrations of how classifiers may be helpful in communicating anatomical information, medical conditions, and treatment options. Visual clips, visual aids, analysis, current medical terminology, and outlines will be available.

Medical Interpreting: Women’s Health & Wellness

This workshop covers medical interpreting with a specialized focus on topics related to females. This workshop offers a myriad of ways to make interpreting more visual. We will demonstrate how classifiers may be used most effectively to communicate specific information in medical interpreting situations. Broaden your understanding of visual interpreting techniques regarding anatomical and medical interpreting. Learn more about Deaf Culture. Visual clips, visual aids, analysis, current medical terminology, and outlines will be available. This workshop will focus on interpreting descriptions of surgery procedures, medical tools, birth, safe sex, and causes of injury, illness and conditions.

Mini-webinars available:

Medical Interpreting: Deaf Patient Perspectives

Examples of Deaf patient experiences and perspectives will be discussed. Practice exercises will provide opportunities to apply this awareness to interpreting in medical settings.

Medical Interpreting: Understanding Deaf patients’ varied backgrounds and cultures

Understanding Deaf patients’ varied backgrounds and cultures increases interpreters’ ability to provide full communication accessibility within medical settings.

Medical Interpreting: Using Expansion in ASL with Medical Terminology

Techniques of ASL expansion allow effective communication within medical settings. Demonstrations of the differences between ASL and English-influenced signing will be provided, as well as exercises in ASL expansion.

All Day available – Excellent for Interpreters, ASL Students:

“Face-Painting” with Non-Manual Signals in ASL

Non-manual signals (NMS) in American Sign Language enrich and clarify the meaning of manual signs. Come and learn thed art of painting your face with a full spectrum of NMS colors and designs. Non-Manual Signals include: 1) Non-Manual Adverbs 2) Lexical Non-Manual Behaviors 3) Non-Manual Grammatical Markers 4) Emotional States / Evaluative judgments 5) Prosodic Structure 6) Discourse Structure 7) Turn Taking 8) Backchannel Feedback 9) Grammatical “Sound” Markers, and 10) Mouth Movements. This workshop will focus on developing accurate non-manual signals and markers as used in ASL. Demonstrations of each category of facial behaviors and head movements will be shown in context. Practice exercises will be offered. By the end of this workshop, you’ll be a Storytelling artist!

Reference Letter: Columbia Regional Program, Portland, Oregon

VISUALIZE THIS: Drawing in Space With ASL Classifiers

As a native English speaker you work within a linear language, but ASL uses space and movement through classifiers to show a visual picture. When using Classifiers, are you able to clearly portray the English message into ASL? Do you know how to clearly show a car accident, a Lasik eye surgery, or a gymnast going through their routines? This workshop provides participants with an overview of using Classifiers, by focusing on what they mean, when to use them and how they are used. Participants will explore various classifiers to express a visual picture breaking away from English words to translate ideas visually. This workshop strongly focuses on ASL storytelling, ASL performing, and ideas on how to use the appropriate handshape to show a clearer picture of the context involved. This workshop will also provide hands-on experiences & skill building activities needed for appropriate classifier use applied to complex descriptions and images. Complicated & confusing pictures, eye gaze, role shifting, spatial referencing and appropriate use of classifiers in storytelling will also be presented. Emphasis is placed on developing the ability to think in pictures as a way to improve expressive and receptive communication skills.

ENGLISH EQUIVALENTS: Whoa! Train Zoom Gone. Did You See What She Signed? What did she mean by that and how can I say it in English?

This workshop encourages participants to increase flexible thinking and conceptual clarity in ASL-English interpreting. Idiomatic English expressions and technical vocabulary can be particularly challenging. This workshop provides information, demonstrations and exercises to facilitate ASL/English interpreting.

Demonstration Video Clip of English Equivalents: Old Hat

Trix’s Discoveries: Evolving from Old to New Signs

This workshop will give you hands-on practice bringing your interpreting vocabulary and skills out of the past and into the present! For example, you’ll learn ways to interpret the processes of paying for purchases in modern times, as these methods of payment have changed with new technology. Laugh along with one another while watching video clips and demonstrations of sign bloopers. Update your signing to keep up with the times!

Trix’s Discoveries: Visual Interpreting from English to ASL

Trix guides interpreters working on English-to-ASL skills. Challenges in rendering ASL from English source material develop visual thinking skills. Educational Objectives:

demonstrate application of interpreting person, content, place, time, procedures, causes, and reasoning
demonstrate increased classifier incorporation
demonstrate non-question forms of “who, what, where, when, how and why”
demonstrate rich visual imagery
collaborate in developing ASL expression of English phrases
match concepts represented by multiple-meaning words

This workshop will have several hands-on practice activities and group discussions.

Educational Interpreting: How can I improve my scores?

Boost your interpreting skills and prepare for your performance exams! Increase your EIPA score. Find out exactly what “qualified” means, according to regional certifications. This presentation will provide information about the EIPA certification process, and build your knowledge of ASL linguistics. There will be several hands-on practice experiences with ASL Markers, Personification, Classifiers, and Educational Terminology. Increase your confidence!

Voice Interpreting with Trix: “Psst…Did I say that right?”

Whoops! What did I say? Review and re-do in an atmosphere of support and good humor by joining this confidence-building workshop. Boost your professional skills while you have fun rambling through Trix’s stories. Get ready for power voice interpreting with Trix’s fun workshop!

Financial Information: How can I interpret that?

This workshop offers a myriad of ways to make interpreting financial information more visual. We will demonstrate how to effectively use classifiers to communicate information related to financial topics such as money, banking, budgets, and interest rates. Visual clips, visual aids, analysis, current medical terminology, and outlines will be available.

Power, Privilege, and Oppression Within and Around Deaf Culture

Take this opportunity to learn in depth about our Deaf culture. Topics of power, privilege, and oppression are of interest to sign language interpreters. Let’s explore these ideas in relation to Deaf Culture and interpreting communities, with real-life perspectives.

Educational Objectives:
– Participants will note and analyze differences between Hearing and Deaf cultures.
– Participants will apply terminology and concepts related to Power, Privilege and
Oppression within workshop voice interpreting exercises.
– Participants will discuss various perspectives about the role of interpreters
– Participant will be able to recognize examples that apply to one of the seven tenets.

(Trix Bruce Instructor Plan PPO Deaf Culture)

Half-Day available:

Lexical Non-Manual Markers: The “TH” signal

This workshop has a focus on the non-manual “TH” signal. Interpreters will analyze and apply this grammatical marker in various contexts. Video clips and discussion will increase interpreters’ confidence. Contexts include: character development, structures, English idioms, conjunctions, adjectives, and more.

Non-Manual Signals: ASL Markers

This workshop has a focus on non-manual signals, which are not distinctive “hand signs” yet are essential language morphemes. Interpreters will analyze and apply these grammatical markers, which involve eye and head movements, facial movements and body postures rather than the use of “signs” as distinct lexical elements. Video clips and discussion will increase interpreters’ confidence in the use of non-manual markers (non-manual morphemes).

Interpreting Biology, Health, and Human Development Information

Interpreting in classes such as anatomy, biology, health, child development and parenting can certainly be a challenge! Developing ASL visualization within these topics, workshop demonstrations and practice exercises build interpreting skills. Scientific concepts expressed in English are clarified visually and communicated in timely and efficient ways.

ASL Role Shifting: “He Said, She Said…”

Role-Shifting is used in ASL to show different narrators. Take on the roles of different people to tell the story. It’s important for the audience to know which character is speaking. This workshop will focus on ASL storytelling techniques for:

developing story characters
using role shifting, eye gaze, and spatial referencing
identifying speakers
shifting between speakers
matching speakers’ affect, and
understanding the difference between storytelling/narration and discourse.

Participants will have hands-on practice with the material presented in the workshop, and will receive feedback on their ASL performance exercises.

English Idioms: PSST…How Do You Interpret That?

Fire up your creativity and learn how to interpret idioms in American Sign Language! This workshop will guide participants in expressing idiomatic concepts across languages. Idioms breathe life into language. Come and join us as we master idioms!

ASL Semantics: Precision of Expression in ASL

Semantics is defined as the study of meanings expressed by the elements of a language or a combination of the elements. A concept expressed in an ASL sign often cannot be conveyed by a single all-purpose English word. Likewise, English words and phrases may have variations in meaning, which require translations using different ASL signs. This workshop helps participants advance skills in translating the languages of ASL and English.

Reference Letter: Southern Oregon Education Service District

ASL Semantics II: Form Fades, Meaning Magnifies

Semantics is defined as the study of meanings expressed by the elements of a language or a combination of the elements. A concept expressed in an ASL sign often cannot be conveyed by a single all-purpose English word. Likewise, English words and phrases may have variations in meaning, which require translations using different ASL signs. This workshop helps the student advance skills in translating the languages of ASL and English. Trix will demonstrate the discovery process of transforming spoken to visual language and vice versa, with a strong focus on seeking meaning out of form.

ASL Extreme Makeovers: The Art of Personification

Learn how to “change yourself” into someone or something else. In literature, the technique of “personification” gives an inanimate object, a plant, or animal characteristics that make it seem “human.” The object shows emotions and takes on human-like behaviors. You can use this technique in American Sign Language to “become” a flower, a butterfly, or even a book! Trix will demonstrate how to personify characters and shift roles within your story. You’ll learn how to “become” a baseball, basketball, beach ball, bowling ball, football, marble, ping pong ball, racquetball, soccer ball, water polo ball, and more!

Educational Objectives:
After the workshop, the learner should be able to
* Describe an object’s appearance and action
* Demonstrate creativity in “becoming” an object/character
* Demonstrate the ability to break down storytelling with places, objects, and persons.

Demonstration Video Clip of Personification: Bobber

Visible Words: The Art of Storytelling With Classifiers

Let’s create strong visual imagery with ASL classifiers! Maybe you’ve wondered: Are there any new classifiers? Which classifiers best express certain ideas? How can we use classifiers more effectively? ASL classifiers are simply handshapes used to convey action and ideas in concise and visually articulate ways. Let’s polish our storytelling by improving visual imagery with classifiers. This workshop will offer hands-on practice in using classifier handshapes with creativity and precision. Move away from thinking in English and stringing signs together. Let classifiers tell the story.

A Classifier is Born!

Some people believe in limiting language creativity, but world-wide and throughout history, languages have emerged and evolved through communication and storytelling. When a unique predicate classifier is created within a story, and ASL users adopt it naturally, a new classifier is born. Come to this workshop to see the process in action.

Close-Up Views: Classifiers Under the Microscope

World-wide, throughout history, languages have emerged and evolved through communication and storytelling. When a unique predicate classifier is created within a story, and ASL users adopt it naturally, a new classifier is born. Come to this workshop to see the process in action.

Trix’s ASL Toolkit for Number Incorporation

This workshop will focus on various ASL number systems. Trix’s workshop presentation and your interaction with other participants will give you plenty of opportunities to improve your receptive and expressive sign skills. Trix’s ASL Toolkit for Number Incorporation workshop will help you sign numbers related to sports and games, eye doctor appointments, mathematics classes, and award conferences, as well as countless other number-related situations. Come and learn a number of ways to sign numbers!

ASL Handshapes: Whoops! Really? Did I sign that?

The Handshape is probably the most apparent parameter of ASL. Linguists have identified a large number of discrete ASL handshapes. Trix will demonstrate the proper application of palm orientation, location, and movement for various handshapes. Practice exercises will enhance skills.

Trix’s Discoveries! Understanding ASL Dialects, Regional Accents and Variations

Crisscrossing America, Trix spots and carefully documents sign variations from local Deaf residents. Now, she’s ready to share her discoveries with interpreters. Workshop participants will see video clips of code-switching forms, regional accents, and sign variations emerging from those with different ages, backgrounds, occupations, social levels, and communication preferences. Treat yourself to an inside look at signing across the country.

Terminology in Voice Interpreting

In interpreting work, choosing appropriate terminology is key. To assure that professional standards are maintained during meetings, conversations, and appointments, interpreters should match the speaker or signer’s register and tone, and be alert to the cultural nuances within both Deaf and hearing communities. Let’s work to develop a list of appropriate words and phrases that will fit various situations, and list words that are inappropriate for various situations.

ASL SEMANTICS: Precision of Expression Series Focus Words: HAVE, FALL, TAKE , RUN – or pick a WORD of your choice

Using focus words to illustrate multiple contexts, this workshop gives participants practice in translating the languages of ASL and English. A word in English may have many different meanings in various contexts. Each context will draw on different ASL signs to clarify concepts.

Excellent for ASL Students:

Trix Upon A Time: An ASL Storytelling Handbook

Create your own visual storytelling! Brainstorm the steps needed to put a story together. List all the details of the play that affect the body’s senses (vision, sound, smell, taste, and touch). Imagine yourself as a member of the audience (both deaf & hearing). What do they really want to see? Exercises will help participants practice using body language, gesture, and signs in ASL storytelling. Participants will practice:

Role shifting
Eye gaze to indicate referents
Characterization
Classifiers in context
Building a story in ASL

Creative ASL Cookbook: Recipes for ASL Performances

Come stir up something visually delicious! Learn how to put ASL ingredients together to serve a banquet for the eyes. Let’s cook up a story in ASL, using some new ideas to give ASL storytelling more flavor and appeal. This workshop will focus on ASL storytelling techniques for:1) Developing story characters 2) Using role shift, eye gaze, and spatial referencing 3) Employing classifiers more effectively 4) Applying grammar, expression, and appropriate signing speed 5)Performing the construction of 3-D structural images 6) Utilizing ASL grammar to indicate “sounds” AND 7) Comparing ASL storytelling and ASL discourse. Participants will have hands-on practice with the material presented in the workshop, and will receive feedback on their ASL performance exercises.

The Whats, Whys, & Hows of the Classifiers in ASL

As an English speaker you work within a linear language, but ASL uses space and movement through classifiers to show a visual picture. When using Classifiers, are you able to clearly show the English message with ASL? This workshop provides participants with an overview of classifiers, by focusing on what they mean, when to use them and how they are used. This workshop will also provide hands-on experiences & skill building activities needed for appropriate classifier use applied to complex descriptions and images.

Presentations