A university study of sign language interpreting in Slovakia and Czechia

We analyzed student satisfaction with sign language interpretation teaching in Slovak Republic (Trnava University, TU, n = 36) and the Czech Republic (Charles University, CU, n = 16), implemented as a bachelor’s university study program. The anonymous questionnaire with 46 questions was divided into 3 areas. In the area of “satisfaction” up to 90% of respondents from both universities rated this program as interesting. In the area of practical skills (“practice”), a significant difference was found especially in the questions focused on interpreting into sign language and understanding the deaf (P < 0.01), and students identified translation from sign language to spoken language as more challenging (43% or 75% of respondents). In the area of teaching conditions (“conditions”), the highest difference was found in the assessment of students’ satisfaction with the extent of practical teaching (47% of respondents answered positively at TU and 6.25% at CU), which may be related to different length of study (3 or 4 years at CU and TU, respectively). A surprising finding was the preference for teaching sign language without the use of voice and teaching led by a deaf lecturer (75−100% of respondents). This survey indicates the need to modify the teaching of sign language interpreting, particularly by increasing practical teaching in favor of interpreting from sign to spoken language.