Prisons as communities of practice: An example of situated and collaborative learning in translation and interpreting

Abstract

This paper reports on the results of a research and training action project in translation and interpreting developed with and for foreign bilingual prisoners in Spain. The starting point for this project was the presence of communication deficiencies in the foreign prison population. The project had two objectives: to facilitate communication in prisons and to provide training and useful tools for the resocialisation of foreign prisoners. The project's theoretical framework was based on situated learning and communities of practice and was applied to the development of training in the specific context of prisons. Cooperation between research team members, prison staff, inmates, and teachers and trainers on an MA in Intercultural Communication and Public Service Interpreting and Translation led to the development of a pilot course on translation and interpreting aimed at bilingual prisoners who serve as linguistic and cultural links inside the prison. Publication of an introductory manual and a guide of good practice for the prison staff on how to work with interpreters and translators also resulted from the project. Following the successful implementation of the pilot training initiative in one prison centre, preliminary efforts are underway to adapt and integrate the training into other prisons' education programmes.