This is a dissertation on language proficiency testing as applied to
hearing people, sign language interpreters, in the beginning of their
professional lives. Due to the diversity of instruments, proceedings and
conceptions of what has to be assessed in sign language interpreters (SLI),
an investigation on language proficiency testing and the distinction
between translation proficiency and professional certification is needed,
as well as when is the most adequate moment to apply different kind of
testing in different phases of interpreters' training and professional
practice. The theoretical basis of this work includes the distinction
between language proficiency and fluency, the evolution of the proficiency
concept, language testing, and a general view about sign language
translation and interpreting. The sign language testing that is approached
in this study comprises those explicitly named as 'proficiency tests' and
professional or selection tests that comprise sign language proficiency
features, even if they are not named as such. With this in mind, two
selection tests applied to sign language interpreting training courses have
been analyzed; these selection tests were applied in Rio Grande do Sul in
1997 and 2000; the National Libras Proficiency Examination from the
Education Ministry (Prolibras) in 2006 and the Sign Language Proficiency
Interview (SLPI) from the United States of America (USA). To reflect about
what are the competencies that would be tested in sign language
interpreters, considering test raters point of view, a sign language
selection simulation was made, that pointed to the attributes that they,
deaf and hearing potential raters, considered relevant in signing, as the
most adequate proficiency boundary to the beginning of sign language
interpreters' professional life and which are the features that (un)qualify
the language performance of test takers. From the data obtained,
reflections are proposed about the possibilities of improvement of the sign
language testing as applied presently.
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