Shifting Gears - Trudy, Roger & Debbie sharing ASL texts

ASL Texts for Consecutive Interpreting Practice

Video Formats

This text is provided in a variety formats to allow you to work with it in different ways.

Complete text in slow motion: The video is shown at 80% of its original speed
Chunked in slow motion: The slow motion video is segmented into main ideas for practice with consecutive interpreting.
English Outline: An outline is provided for support of comprehension.
Complete text full speed: The video is shown at its original speed.
Chunked at full speed: The full-speed video is segmented into main ideas for practice with consecutive interpreting.

See “Ideas for Working with Videos” for suggestions on how to use these different formats.

Is Deafness a Disability?

Debbie Peterson shares her reflection on the challenging question of whether being Deaf is a disability or not?

The text is offered in two formats: slow motion (80% speed) and full speed. Each text is also segmented into sections with larger ideas so that you can practice consecutive interpreting.

Complete Text – Slow Motion

Segmented Text: Slow Motion

The following version of the text is produced at 80% and separated into 5 sections for practice with consecutive interpreting.

To move to the next section, either click on the next number below the video or click on the arrow on the right side of the video screen after it is completed. (Ignore the suggestions that come from YouTube.)

Work with Complete Text Again (Slow Motion)

Now that you have gone through this process and worked with the sections edited for consecutive practice, try interpreting the complete text again. If you wish, you can also review the English outline of the text to support your comprehension before moving to the full speed text.

The complete video is at the top of this page. Click here to return there.

English Outline

English Outline for Is Deafness a Disability?

If you prefer a PDF version of the outlines with line numbers, download English outlines for Shifting Gears.

Deafness a Disability?
o Story from when I was younger
§ Working at The Bicultural Center
o MJ (Bienvenu) asked challenging question
§ Am I disabled?
§ Obviously not was my initial reaction
• Am culturally Deaf
o MJ probed further
§ Asked if I was thankful for
• TTYs
• Captioning
• The ADA
§ I said I was
§ She said this meant I was supported by being disabled
o Her question really made me think about my identity
§ See myself as culturally deaf
§ But benefit from and desire many things put in place to support people with disabilities
§ A good question to think about
? On the bus – Example 1
o Live in Seattle
o Ride the bus to work
§ Traffic is too difficult to deal with
§ This experience is from one
morning on the bus
o When I get on the bus, people don’t know
I’m Deaf
§ Just go sit and look out the
window
§ No one reacts to me
o One morning, a blind woman got on bus
§ Using cane
§ Handicapped seating
• All the people immediately offered the seat to this woman
• Woman expressed her gratitude verbally
o “Thank you so much, so much.”
o I realized this woman was labeled by others as disabled
§ People worked to accommodate her needs
• Offering her the seat
§ Clearly identified by others as disabled
? On the bus – Example 2
o Another time
o Bus stopped for person in wheelchair
§ Lift raised chair up
§ Driver assisted person getting securely seated
o Person with the wheelchair clearly identified as disabled by others
Pondering my own identity
o Not identified as disabled
o Both blind woman and person in wheelchair
§ Have visible disability
§ Speak English
o When I raise my hands to sign, people label me as disabled
§ Not before
§ But my “disability” is invisible
o Blind person has no “blind culture”
§ Follows the America way
§ Speaks English
o Person in wheelchair
§ Uses voice to speak
§ The American way
§ Has no culture
o As deaf person, I have a distinctive culture
o I reflected on all these differences
? Answering the Question
o Pondering those experiences in light of MJ’s question
§ Am I disabled?
o Others in my examples I see as disabled
§ But not myself
§ See Deafness as a culture
o But interesting question to contemplate
§ On the bus
§ Thinking of differences between me and the other two people seen as disabled
o Question spurred me on to think much more deeply about this issue

Step 1: Complete Text – Full Speed

Segmented Text: Full Speed

The following version of the text is shown at the original speed and separated into 5 sections for practice with consecutive interpreting.