Social construction of American Sign Language-English interpreters

were interviewed and asked to discuss their experiences as educators. Within a qualitative research paradigm, their comments were grouped into a number of categories tied to the social construction of American Sign Language— English interpreters, such as learners ’ age and education and the characteristics of good citizens within the Deaf com-munity. According to the participants, younger students were adept at language acquisition, whereas older learners more readily understood the purpose of lessons. Children of deaf adults were seen as more culturally aware. The partic-ipants ’ beliefs echoed the theories of P. Freire (1970/1970) that educators consider the reality of each student and their praxis and were responsible for facilitating student self-awareness. Important characteristics in the social construc-tion of students included independence, an appropriat