My concern with the use of translators outside the classroom is that they may not know how to translate the class-specific or safety-specific terms being use in the class.  A good translator will seek to understand the technical terms that will need to be translated, but you should make sure that they are given the chance to do so. Otherwise, however good the translator, safety-critical items may be missed.

Peter Zavon
Penfield, NY

PZAVON**At_Symbol_Here**Rochester.rr.com

Hello Everyone,

This can actually get super complicated and I suggest that anyone in such a situation WORK WITH YOUR DISABILITY/ACCESSIBILITY SERVICES OFFICE directly for the student.  There are many reasons why a student may not be able to read or even be good at taking notes from verbal lectures for the student if they have not had the course or meet the pre-reqs to take the course.  For a lab situation, I have had to go to this office to get a different student as a notetaker/disability assistant multiple times.  They have been really good about hiring and training a student who has already completed the class to fill the role.

I worry more about a student being enrolled in a lab and not being able to read the materials.  It has been a struggle for us to find a good way of working with students who have been accepted to our institution, have difficulty understanding English, and try not to let anyone know that they do not understand.  These students spend so much more time working with translators outside of the classroom, and may miss the “extras” within the verbal instruction such as safety reminders.  It seems to work out ok if there are several students who speak the same language in the class together.  But occasionally that does not happen.  Does anyone have suggestions for these situations?

Some very useful comments have been offered on this topic, but the basic question has not been directly addressed.  That basic question, slightly paraphrased, is - is the institution or the instructor obligated to train the aid provided for a person who can neither read nor write.

I would say that the answer to that question is a big fat “YES!!!” 

Now, the subsequent question is, can that training be adequate for a lab?  I suggest that that depends on why the student cannot read or write.  If the student is blind and therefore cannot see markings and labels on reagent bottles, simply training the aid may not be adequate for safety.  However, if the student can see but cannot read because of some cognitive condition, for example, perhaps it is possible to help the aid show the student (or to show the student directly) how to recognize standard warning symbols and phrases.  Many illiterate people, for example, were able to tell the difference between the men's and women’s restrooms, even before the icons for those facilities were adopted in the US.

Peter Zavon, CIH
Penfield, NY

PZAVON**At_Symbol_Here**Rochester.rr.com

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