Social work through an interpreter

Nicholas G. Baker, MSW, is Cross Cullural Specialist, Center for Applied Linguistics, Washington, D.C. At the time of writing, Mr. Baker was Coor dinator, Refugee Foster Care Pro gram, Catholic Charities of Salt Lake City, Salt Lake City, Utah. Throughout the history of their ment, foster care, mental health, and profession, social workers have often other areas using social workers and worked with clients whose native lanother professionals. Often, however, guage differs from their own. Social these workers cannot provide services work originated in large cities on the without assistance; they must rely on eastern coast of the United States, and the help of an interpreter to learn about its target population often included clients, convey information to them, immigrants, perhaps newly arrived, and provide basic casework services, who needed services in their own lanFor many reasons, the current use of guage.1 The need for bilingual social interpreters differs from the past expe workers is a historical element of the rience of social workers with non profession that continues to the present. English-speaking client groups. In Social workers are unlikely, howdochinese refugees now coming to the ever, to speak the language of a new United States speak Vietnamese, Lao, client population in this country—the Cambodian (Khmer), Hmong, and sev 484,000 Indochinese refugees who have eral Chinese dialects. Many corn arrived in the United States since munities with large refugee populations 1975.2 The demand placed on the prohave members of each ethnic group, fession by this group is significantly These languages are linguistically dif different from social work's past expeferent from each other; an individual rience with other immigrant and refwho speaks Vietnamese cannot there ugee groups. This article will (1) disfore speak Khmer any better than an cuss the unique problems faced by soAmerican can. As a result, it is unlikely cial workers who must use an inthat an agency serving these people will terpreter, (2) give case examples to find a paraprofessional social worker demonstrate various approaches to who speaks the necessary languages, utilizing interpreters, and (3) make recmuch less a professional who does, ommendations about hiring and workIn fact, it is unlikely that social ing with interpreters. workers will be able to speak any of the Southeast Asian languages. Few Americans have taken high school NEED FOR INTERPRETERS Hmong or vietnamese. Some ser. Since the fall of Saigon in April 1975, vicemen who were stationed in South there has been a steady flow of refugees east Asia learned the languages but from Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia may have retained little in the more into the United States. The flow inthan six years since the Americans left creased during the summer of 1979 Vietnam. The extreme tonal dif when President Carter, reacting to inferences between these languages and creased publicity and concern regardEnglish make learning a language such ing the "boat people," doubled the as Vietnamese much more difficult than quota of admissions to 14,000 per learning one more closely related to month. Although estimates for the fuEnglish. In addition, social workers ture are impossible because of the mulliving in their own country do not have titude of factors involved, at this time the refugees' motivation to learn a new no indication exists that the number of language or the advantage of having refugees entering this country from everyone around them speak the lan Southeast Asia will decrease in the imguage they are learning. Although it is mediate future. In fact, the number possible for social workers to learn one may increase dramatically as proceor more of the languages their clients dures are developed to admit the speak, the demands of their job often thousands of Cambodian refugees curmake it unrealistic for them to devote rently in camps in Thailand. the necessary time and effort to such a Almost since the arrival of the first formidable task. Other things must be Indochinese refugees, social workers done; other principles must be learned have been actively involved in providthat are ultimately more important and ing services to these people. Programs more practical in helping clients than have been established in resettlement, the lengthy process of acquiring an In job training and vocational developdochinese language.