Amidst the fanfare surrounding CODA’s Oscar win, Tarrant County College’s Sign Language Interpreting administrators have begun working on training more sign language interpreters.
The movie CODA — an acronym for Children Of Deaf Adults — highlights the everyday challenges that deaf and hard-of-hearing families face.
According to CBS 11 News, Tarrant County College officials, who are hoping for more interest in sign language interpretation, said the number of experts in the field is very low in Texas.
Officials are hoping the buzz around CODA will help generate more interest in the field.
“I would say it’s causing classes to increase. A lot of students in the classes saw the ‘CODA’ story and that it won,” said Cheryl Sohns, ASL Professor at TCC. “That’s going to increase the number of people that might be interested in coming into the profession.”
TCC, which estimates that there is only one interpreter for every 600 deaf or hard of hearing individuals in Texas, is just one of four accredited colleges in the country offering a professional interpreter degree in 2 years.
Sohns added that interpreters are not only helpers but also language facilitators.
“It’s important that they are properly trained,” Sohns added.
Echoing Sohns’ sentiment, Randal King, another professor in the program, maintains that interpreters are needed in all kinds of settings.
“For example, in the hospital. It’s so important to have an interpreter there, or for a doctor’s appointment, you know?” King said. “If they can’t find an interpreter, the doctor’s appointment has to be rescheduled.”
King and Sohns stated that a career in sign language is very much in demand and equally rewarding.