Community/Public-service interpreting as a communicative event: A call for shifting teaching and learning foci

Research in Community/Public-Service Interpreting, also referred to as Dialogic Interpreting, has been growing at a steadily pace in the last two decades. Developments in technology enabling remote access to services, as well as increasing immigration waves, and people’s mobility are all factors that contribute to the growth of interactions requiring interpreting, and, consequently, the resulting studies about them. Interestingly, however, the results of empirical research have barely begun to permeate practice, specifically the teaching and learning of community/public-service interpreting. A look at the professional development opportunities offered by community agencies, some educational programs, as well as some statements in codes of ethics or standards of practice of interpreting associations, reveals little dialogue between practice and theory/research. In this paper I explore this disconnect and suggest areas that could benefit from a deeper dialogue among stakeholders to enhance the education of current and future interpreters.