Student Showcase: Translating and Interpreting Harrisonburg

Students in Dr. Marianne Mason’s SPAN 496 class bring their classroom language skills to provide much-needed translation and interpreting services to the Harrisonburg community, supplementing the efforts of professionals in the Valley.

Dr. Mason works closely with local organizations – including Healthy Families, Blue Ridge Legal Services, and the Rockingham County Police Department – to secure internship placements for students where they can offer crucial and meaningful assistance in areas from literacy services and education to food pantries and counseling services.

“Translation and interpreting services can be very costly,” Dr. Mason shared. “The students help provide a free service that is very needed.”

Some students, like Kelly Crook (Justice Studies, ‘22), work directly in classrooms helping young children with little or no English language proficiency. “I really like seeing the students' confidence grow as they’re taught. It’s very rewarding, especially with younger students and how quickly they can pick up things,” Crook said of assisting English learners at River Bend Elementary School who are studying for their naturalization exam.

Using the language in a new context strengthens students’ comprehension skills and expands their vocabulary. That experience has brought Crook greater comfort in her own Spanish classes at JMU. “I’m more confident in speaking even without knowing the exact context or answer,” Crook said. “I feel comfortable being able to work anywhere now.”

Classes like Dr. Mason’s benefit both JMU students and the local community. Students grow their practical skills and language proficiency by volunteering to translate complex legal documents, tutor children, even teach self-defense — while providing services where much-needed resources are stretched thin. Most rewarding, though, are the connections forged between community members, working together.