So, I got the results in the mail today on my ASLPI at Gallaudet University! That was fast! I hope my acceptance letter comes that quickly....well, it could be a rejection letter too...yikes.
So, here is a description of the ASLPI and my results:
Well crap...I cannot get anything to paste from websites tonight, so Ummmm....well I'll just write a synopsis of it all. Basically, they want to know how well you sign in a conversation. There, that's it. It is a lot more complicated than that, but that is the gist.
So, on a scale from 0-5 with:
5 being a native signer, as if you were born Deaf
4 being very well trained as a signer and can handle basically any conversation, formal and informal, but not quite as well as a native signer.
3 can handle informal conversations with ease, but with some noticible hesitations and word searching. May need some rephrasing and repeating of signs, but very fluid in signing structure and grammar.
2 can handle basic work and study conversations, and may have some difficulty understanding some idiomatic signs, and require rephrasing or repeats of signs.
1 being a person not being able to handle conversations...just basic signs
0 being an ASL retard....sorry, I couldn't resist that one.
So, they rated me at Level 2. BUMMER! I thought I would be a 3. Well, I think I am a 3, but with my nerves and so much riding on this one interview, I think .....no, I Know I didn't do as well as I normally would. I was calm and collected, but got really nervous as the test started. I will take it again and see if I improve.
This alone doesn't prevent me from being accepted at Gallaudet. It just gives them an idea where I am in my ASL ability.
I can say that during the BAI (Bach of Arts-Interpretation) interview, I signed just fine, and they said they were impressed with my signing skills. I was a lot more relaxed during that interview though. This interview has a direct bearing on if I get accepted at Gallaudet or not.
So, today I was pretty depressed about it, but you know what? It's over with and there's nothing I can do about it now. I just have to be more confident in myself and practice, practice, practice!
I'll let you know if/when I get accepted!
Tootles!
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Friday, May 14, 2010
Gallaudet University May 10, 2010 Interview for Admission
I went to interview at Gallaudet University in the heart of Washington DC on May 10th. It was a fantastic experience. I was nervous, but determined to do my best. I knew I had people rooting for me, and I felt pretty good about things.
I stayed with my sister, Suzanne and her family while in DC. That was great since I didn't have to pay for a hotel! I stayed on a couple extra days to visit, which was a lot of fun.
Anyway, Suzanne drove me to Gallaudet the morning of my interviews. I could've taken the Metro to a stop nearby, but I was nervous enough already, and I think my sister knew this, so she offered to take the morning off and drive me directly to the building I needed to go to for my interviews. Yay sis!
So, I arrived and waited for my interview in the Conference center. There were many people there for various conferences....all hearing. I thought that was strange until I learned that's how Gallaudet makes a lot of money...inviting groups of all hearing status to use their conference center. It's very large and beautiful. But did I take pictures of the building and campus? No, it totally slipped my mind! Go to www.gallaudet.edu if you wanna see the campus.
Finally, the time arrived and a man came out and signed my name while looking around. I flagged him down and signed I was Matthew and we went into his office where there was a lady waiting inside. This was the selection committee...just two people. I thought that was weird. I thought there would be more.
The whole interview was in ASL. I knew that would be the case and was prepared. I warmed up my fingers and got into the Deaf mind-set before going in. The interview consisted of about 9 questions ranging from "Why do you want to come to Gallaudet?" to "Your ASL skills are pretty good, and you are hearing....if we allow you in to Gallaudet, will you act like a big shot, show off, and think you're better than everyone else?" HUH? How about that question? I literally sat back in surprise. I signed an emphatic "No...No!" and went on to explain that I'm entering as a hearing person in a Deaf world, and I need help. I'm going to rely on the Deaf people around me, both in the classroom and outside the classroom to teach me things so I can be a great interpreter. If they complain about it, I can tell them that they really should help me because I may interpret for them someday, so teach me now!
They loved that answer and that made me happy. They appeared to like all the answers I gave except one. The question was "Suppose you're the only hearing student in a classroom and the teacher is hearing. The teacher is speaking and signing at the same time (Sim-Com) and signs something incorrectly. A Deaf student pokes you and wonders if you'd interpret that wrong sign for him so he can write the correct thing in his notes. What would you do?"
I said I'd flag the teacher down and ask him/her to please repeat what he/she just said and hope that they sign it again correctly, or I would tell the Deaf person I'd tell them later. This was "thinking on the fly", so that's what flew out of my mouth. I should've thought this through a bit more, and I did with the subsequent questions. Anyway, the head of the Interpreting Dept. interrupted me and signed "No, no, no....that's not right."(realize that the Deaf community is blunt...not rude, but blunt and this is a normal response)
He went on to explain that the Deaf person would from then on would depend on me to explain things to him/her instead of taking the initiative themselves to ask questions. I should've said I would tell the Deaf person "Ask the teacher yourself". Now, in the hearing world, that would be rude, but in the Deaf world, it would not be rude at all. So, you need to think culturally what would be appropriate. Interesting, huh?
So, that interview went well except for that question. I wasn't too worried about it.
The next interview was the ASLPI, or the ASL Performance Interview. I knew this was going to be tough. This is the set-up: You walk into a small room and there is a video camera on one wall, a tv and recording device on the adjacent wall, and two chairs..one on either side of the room. My chair is facing the camera. This is recorded so they can analyze it later for evaluating my performance.
So the lady giving the interview came in and was very nice. We chatted for a few moments, and then she pushed "record" on the camera and we began the interview. First, she asked me what I did this morning, and what I had for breakfast. Very general, basic questions...then she sped up her signing and fingerspelling as we went on and increased the difficulty of her signs and included idioms, etc. Eventually, I had to ask for clarification and repeats because I didn't catch what she said or what she fingerspelled. She complied and that's fine to do, no points "taken off" for that. They expect that at some point during the process. They want to see where you're limits are in ASL. So, she came back down to my level and we chatted a bit. I would go into detail about what she asked and what she wanted from me specifically, but it's all ASL jargon...boring. I'll just tell you it was as I expected.
I think I did well on this interview. I really don't know though. I usually am pretty down on myself after things like this, but I actually felt good about my performance. We will see. I will get the results in a couple weeks along with a letter stating whether or not I've been accepted into Gallaudet. Wish me luck!
Oh! I almost forgot. The neighborhood around the campus....scary. That's all I can say. My sister said it's come a long way from like 5 months ago, so I'm looking forward to more improvements in the area. It's strange though...the neighborhood is crappy, but once you enter the campus, it's beautiful...the grounds are imaculate, and the historic buildings are beautiful! I hope I get accepted!!! It will be such a great challege!
I stayed with my sister, Suzanne and her family while in DC. That was great since I didn't have to pay for a hotel! I stayed on a couple extra days to visit, which was a lot of fun.
Anyway, Suzanne drove me to Gallaudet the morning of my interviews. I could've taken the Metro to a stop nearby, but I was nervous enough already, and I think my sister knew this, so she offered to take the morning off and drive me directly to the building I needed to go to for my interviews. Yay sis!
So, I arrived and waited for my interview in the Conference center. There were many people there for various conferences....all hearing. I thought that was strange until I learned that's how Gallaudet makes a lot of money...inviting groups of all hearing status to use their conference center. It's very large and beautiful. But did I take pictures of the building and campus? No, it totally slipped my mind! Go to www.gallaudet.edu if you wanna see the campus.
Finally, the time arrived and a man came out and signed my name while looking around. I flagged him down and signed I was Matthew and we went into his office where there was a lady waiting inside. This was the selection committee...just two people. I thought that was weird. I thought there would be more.
The whole interview was in ASL. I knew that would be the case and was prepared. I warmed up my fingers and got into the Deaf mind-set before going in. The interview consisted of about 9 questions ranging from "Why do you want to come to Gallaudet?" to "Your ASL skills are pretty good, and you are hearing....if we allow you in to Gallaudet, will you act like a big shot, show off, and think you're better than everyone else?" HUH? How about that question? I literally sat back in surprise. I signed an emphatic "No...No!" and went on to explain that I'm entering as a hearing person in a Deaf world, and I need help. I'm going to rely on the Deaf people around me, both in the classroom and outside the classroom to teach me things so I can be a great interpreter. If they complain about it, I can tell them that they really should help me because I may interpret for them someday, so teach me now!
They loved that answer and that made me happy. They appeared to like all the answers I gave except one. The question was "Suppose you're the only hearing student in a classroom and the teacher is hearing. The teacher is speaking and signing at the same time (Sim-Com) and signs something incorrectly. A Deaf student pokes you and wonders if you'd interpret that wrong sign for him so he can write the correct thing in his notes. What would you do?"
I said I'd flag the teacher down and ask him/her to please repeat what he/she just said and hope that they sign it again correctly, or I would tell the Deaf person I'd tell them later. This was "thinking on the fly", so that's what flew out of my mouth. I should've thought this through a bit more, and I did with the subsequent questions. Anyway, the head of the Interpreting Dept. interrupted me and signed "No, no, no....that's not right."(realize that the Deaf community is blunt...not rude, but blunt and this is a normal response)
He went on to explain that the Deaf person would from then on would depend on me to explain things to him/her instead of taking the initiative themselves to ask questions. I should've said I would tell the Deaf person "Ask the teacher yourself". Now, in the hearing world, that would be rude, but in the Deaf world, it would not be rude at all. So, you need to think culturally what would be appropriate. Interesting, huh?
So, that interview went well except for that question. I wasn't too worried about it.
The next interview was the ASLPI, or the ASL Performance Interview. I knew this was going to be tough. This is the set-up: You walk into a small room and there is a video camera on one wall, a tv and recording device on the adjacent wall, and two chairs..one on either side of the room. My chair is facing the camera. This is recorded so they can analyze it later for evaluating my performance.
So the lady giving the interview came in and was very nice. We chatted for a few moments, and then she pushed "record" on the camera and we began the interview. First, she asked me what I did this morning, and what I had for breakfast. Very general, basic questions...then she sped up her signing and fingerspelling as we went on and increased the difficulty of her signs and included idioms, etc. Eventually, I had to ask for clarification and repeats because I didn't catch what she said or what she fingerspelled. She complied and that's fine to do, no points "taken off" for that. They expect that at some point during the process. They want to see where you're limits are in ASL. So, she came back down to my level and we chatted a bit. I would go into detail about what she asked and what she wanted from me specifically, but it's all ASL jargon...boring. I'll just tell you it was as I expected.
I think I did well on this interview. I really don't know though. I usually am pretty down on myself after things like this, but I actually felt good about my performance. We will see. I will get the results in a couple weeks along with a letter stating whether or not I've been accepted into Gallaudet. Wish me luck!
Oh! I almost forgot. The neighborhood around the campus....scary. That's all I can say. My sister said it's come a long way from like 5 months ago, so I'm looking forward to more improvements in the area. It's strange though...the neighborhood is crappy, but once you enter the campus, it's beautiful...the grounds are imaculate, and the historic buildings are beautiful! I hope I get accepted!!! It will be such a great challege!
Consecutive Interpreting II Test results
Okay, so I didn't do as bad as I thought. I got a "B"!!! Yay!!! I thought I did much worse than a "B"! I should have more confidence in myself and realize "I can do this!"
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Consecutive II Interpreting Test
I don't even...EVEN want to express how I feel about my test I just took less than 20 minutes ago. Good-Golly-Miss-Molly! What the Hell am I doing trying to be an interpreter anyway? And I want to attend Gallaudet? HHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAA! Time to get my head out of the clouds and look at reality.
OMG. Everyone did so poorly I hear. You know what? Let me give you a glimpse to what I faced going into the test. Okay, so the test is set up where I'm signing and speaking to my teacher who is pretending to be Deaf, and the person who went before me is speaking as the hearing person. I am the interpreter. No one else is allowed in the room. Fine...all right.
So, I waltz into the room and my classmate who just took the test is crying. That's right, crying. She is blubbering that they're really "tears of joy". Yeah, I think not, missie. Here I am so nervous I can't think straight, and I come in here with the last person taking the test crying before me like a little girl? You gotta be kidding. I looked at my teacher and said, "The test is that easy, huh?" She laughed and said it would be challenging. Also, she stated that knowing my numbers play a big part in the success in this test. um....did we go over numbers recently, like this whole quarter? NO MA'AM! Of course I should know them, and I do, but to incorporate so many into one test? AhhhhhH! I don't blame my teacher though, she gave a test that was very fair. It was just plain hard!
So, as I sat down ready to interpret, the sniffling girl gained her composure enough to read to me as the hearing person and the test began. First up was the Deaf person(my teacher). She signed her first thoughts, and I looked at her like a deer looking into headlights. "Duh...huh?" The whole thing is recorded onto my flip camera, so I can show you that look if you like. I felt like running away, yelling at my other classmates in the hall to run for their lives. But, I just asked her to sign it again, and we were underway.
Then came the dates and all kinds of numbers. Yeah, I asked for those to be repeated as well.
So, for those of you who don't know, my teacher is what they call a CODA. It stands for Child Of a Deaf Adult. So, my teacher has Deaf parents, so she signs very, very fast. She slows down for us in class, but for this test, it wasn't slowed AT ALL!! Ack! I was dumbfounded.
So, needless to say, I think I will fail this first of three tests. Oh, by the way, this class has only three tests that go toward the final grade. No homework, quizzes, no nothin....just the three test, so each test carrys a lot of weight going into the final grade.
Now, I'm going to draw my curtains, slide into bed, and hide under the covers until this all blows over. :)
Oh, and about Gallaudet: I'm now scared out of my mind and think I'm a fool to think I can get in there.
I know, I sound like I'm a panic-stricken loony. Well, so what if I am right now. I need a cigarette.......
OMG. Everyone did so poorly I hear. You know what? Let me give you a glimpse to what I faced going into the test. Okay, so the test is set up where I'm signing and speaking to my teacher who is pretending to be Deaf, and the person who went before me is speaking as the hearing person. I am the interpreter. No one else is allowed in the room. Fine...all right.
So, I waltz into the room and my classmate who just took the test is crying. That's right, crying. She is blubbering that they're really "tears of joy". Yeah, I think not, missie. Here I am so nervous I can't think straight, and I come in here with the last person taking the test crying before me like a little girl? You gotta be kidding. I looked at my teacher and said, "The test is that easy, huh?" She laughed and said it would be challenging. Also, she stated that knowing my numbers play a big part in the success in this test. um....did we go over numbers recently, like this whole quarter? NO MA'AM! Of course I should know them, and I do, but to incorporate so many into one test? AhhhhhH! I don't blame my teacher though, she gave a test that was very fair. It was just plain hard!
So, as I sat down ready to interpret, the sniffling girl gained her composure enough to read to me as the hearing person and the test began. First up was the Deaf person(my teacher). She signed her first thoughts, and I looked at her like a deer looking into headlights. "Duh...huh?" The whole thing is recorded onto my flip camera, so I can show you that look if you like. I felt like running away, yelling at my other classmates in the hall to run for their lives. But, I just asked her to sign it again, and we were underway.
Then came the dates and all kinds of numbers. Yeah, I asked for those to be repeated as well.
So, for those of you who don't know, my teacher is what they call a CODA. It stands for Child Of a Deaf Adult. So, my teacher has Deaf parents, so she signs very, very fast. She slows down for us in class, but for this test, it wasn't slowed AT ALL!! Ack! I was dumbfounded.
So, needless to say, I think I will fail this first of three tests. Oh, by the way, this class has only three tests that go toward the final grade. No homework, quizzes, no nothin....just the three test, so each test carrys a lot of weight going into the final grade.
Now, I'm going to draw my curtains, slide into bed, and hide under the covers until this all blows over. :)
Oh, and about Gallaudet: I'm now scared out of my mind and think I'm a fool to think I can get in there.
I know, I sound like I'm a panic-stricken loony. Well, so what if I am right now. I need a cigarette.......
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Date for ASLPI and BAI at Gallaudet pushed back...sigh
I was to have my interviews at Gallaudet University in Washington DC on April 26th, but now the date has changed to May 10th. Supposedly, someone booked the time before my advisor could get it in the system. Oh well...I'll wait patiently.
Monday, April 19, 2010
I got the email I've been waiting for!
Hey! Well, I got an email from Gallaudet University which stated that I've been extended an invitation to go to the ASL Proficiency Interview and the Bach. of Interpretation Interview. Not every applicant gets this far! Ahhh! I'm excited and scared at the same time! I need to try to find a way to practice or something. But how to practice? God, I dunno. I'm too excited right now to care. :)
Here is the explanation of the ASLPI from Gallaudet's website:
"The American Sign Language Proficiency Interview (ASLPI) is a holistic language evaluation used to determine global ASL proficiency. The basic precept in this type of evaluation is to find out through a face-to-face interview what an individual can do with the target language at a given point in time. Language proficiency evaluation was originally developed by the Foreign Service Institute (FSI) of the US Department of State and has been used by the government for decades. Adaptations to the language proficiency evaluation were made with respect to ASL and the ASLPI was born. The ASLPI is currently utilized by agencies, schools, universities, programs and employers....the ASLPI is a video recorded evaluation which will determine the applicant's overall ASL proficiency. Ratings are awarded on a scale from 0-5."
The BAI Interview is a panel of instructors and other personnel who ask questions and so forth to make a selection amongst the hearing applicants to decide who is accepted and who isn't. Gulp!
They emailed me a list of dates and times for the interviews, and I picked April 26th from 1-4:30pm to have both the ASLPI and the BAI Interview. Wish me luck!
Here is the explanation of the ASLPI from Gallaudet's website:
"The American Sign Language Proficiency Interview (ASLPI) is a holistic language evaluation used to determine global ASL proficiency. The basic precept in this type of evaluation is to find out through a face-to-face interview what an individual can do with the target language at a given point in time. Language proficiency evaluation was originally developed by the Foreign Service Institute (FSI) of the US Department of State and has been used by the government for decades. Adaptations to the language proficiency evaluation were made with respect to ASL and the ASLPI was born. The ASLPI is currently utilized by agencies, schools, universities, programs and employers....the ASLPI is a video recorded evaluation which will determine the applicant's overall ASL proficiency. Ratings are awarded on a scale from 0-5."
The BAI Interview is a panel of instructors and other personnel who ask questions and so forth to make a selection amongst the hearing applicants to decide who is accepted and who isn't. Gulp!
They emailed me a list of dates and times for the interviews, and I picked April 26th from 1-4:30pm to have both the ASLPI and the BAI Interview. Wish me luck!
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Update on Gallaudet University Application
I've mailed out all the paperwork a week and a couple days ago, and haven't heard anything from Gally(Gallaudet). I suspect it takes some time to make the rounds to the right people before being processed.
Now, I'm waiting to hear from them regarding when the ASLPI(American Sign Language Proficiency Interview) and my general interview with the Interpreting staff will be scheduled. I hope it's in April, but May is fine too! :)
My advisor there, Melba, has told me that she was very impressed with my application packet, and there will be no problem issuing invitations to those interviews. So, I need to just sit back and relax.
I also need to concentrate on my studies at my current college. If I don't get in Gally, then I stay at CSCC. So, I need to continue to do my best there.
Otherwise, I'm just doing my thang. Nothing new to report here.
Now, I'm waiting to hear from them regarding when the ASLPI(American Sign Language Proficiency Interview) and my general interview with the Interpreting staff will be scheduled. I hope it's in April, but May is fine too! :)
My advisor there, Melba, has told me that she was very impressed with my application packet, and there will be no problem issuing invitations to those interviews. So, I need to just sit back and relax.
I also need to concentrate on my studies at my current college. If I don't get in Gally, then I stay at CSCC. So, I need to continue to do my best there.
Otherwise, I'm just doing my thang. Nothing new to report here.
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