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Dr. Sarah Sheridan

Assistant Professor (C.L.C.S.)
Assistant Professor (Centre for Deaf Studies)
      
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Dr. Sarah Sheridan

Assistant Professor (C.L.C.S.)

 

Assistant Professor (Centre for Deaf Studies)

Dr. Sarah Sheridan is Assistant Professor at the Centre for Deaf Studies and the Centre for Language and Communication Studies. She teaches across several programmes including the Bachelor in Deaf Studies and the suite of MPhil linguistics programmes offered by the School. Sarah has extensive supervision experience at both undergraduate and postgraduate level and is currently supervising four PhD students. In 2021, Sarah was awarded a Teaching Hero Award by the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education in collaboration with the Union of Students in Ireland. Her primary research is on second language learning and topics related to learning anxiety, motivation and wellbeing. She is also interested in workplace wellness for both language teachers and sign language interpreters. She is currently involved in several teaching and research projects, e.g., the Erasmus + K2 funded INCLUDEED (Social cohesion and INCLUsion: DEveloping the EDucational possibilities of the European Multilingual Heritage through Applied Linguistics) project, which is a multilingual project whose main objective is the integration of immigrant and refugee groups in Europe through one of Europe's main assets: its languages. Sarah is the School Director of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, which arose from the School receiving a bronze level Athena SWAN award. Sarah previously sat on the School Athena SWAN self-assessment team. Her professional background is sign language interpreting and she has over 15 years of experience. Sarah is committed to lifelong learning, particularly in relation to her teaching practice, and completed her PhD in the area of applied linguistics (language learning anxiety). In addition, she has obtained many CPD qualifications including a Postgraduate Diploma in Educational Studies and a Postgraduate Certificate in Workplace Wellness. She is currently taking the Aurora Women in Leadership programme.
  Applied Linguistics   Deaf Studies   Educational Psychology   Intercultural Studies   Irish Sign Language   Second language acquisition   sign language interpreting   signed language teaching and learning   Social Psychology   SOCIOLINGUISTICS   Teaching and learning
Project Title
 INCLUDEED
From
2021
To
2024
Summary
(Social cohesion and INCLUsion: DEveloping the EDucational possibilities of the European Multilingual Heritage through Applied Linguistics) is a multilingual project whose main objective is the integration of immigrant and refugee groups in Europe through one of Europe's main assets: its languages. It involves the participation of leading universities in Applied Linguistics, especially language teaching and with previous joint experience in creating materials for the use of these socially disadvantaged groups. This project has the inclusion of disadvantaged groups as a central aim of its actions. With this, it responds directly to the priority "Social inclusion", and does so with an innovative approach in two ways: on the one hand, it addresses the sociolinguistic and cultural integration of groups of immigrants and refugees who already have basic linguistic skills in the host language. It is therefore a further step in their process of adaptation to the new environment, acquiring very important skills in the development of their professional and personal activities.
Funding Agency
Erasmus + K2
Project Type
Strategic partnership
Person Months
36
Project Title
 Development and delivery of an accredited training programme for Deaf Irish Sign Language Interpreters
From
2020
To
2021
Summary
Deaf Interpreters (DIs) are Deaf or hard-of-hearing people who possess fluency in a national or regional sign language and have recognised skills in interpretation and translation between their working languages/varieties/modes. Deaf interpreters often work in tandem with another interpreter. They provide supports that bridge a cultural or linguistic barrier that has been recognised within the community. Their in-depth lived knowledge of Deaf culture and the Deaf community supports hearing ISL interpreters, most of whom are L2 users of ISL DIs may work interlingually (e.g. between two varieties of Irish Sign Language, or indeed, cross-modally, working from Irish Sign Language to "hands-on" mode for DeafBlind clients). DIs can also work inter lingually, for example from another sign language to/from ISL. With commencement of the Irish Sign Language Act in December 2020, interpreters recruited by the public services must be formally registered with SLIS - graduates of this programme will be prepared to meet the requirements for membership of the register. This CPD course was delivered across 2020-21 in monthly weekend blocks, with a final summer school in July 2021. Students completed four modules introducing them to linguistics, ethics, interpreting theory and practice, with content delivered by CDS colleagues and leading experts in the field of interpreting studies. Graduates of this programme are now prepared to meet the criteria for registering on the Register of Irish Sign Language interpreters, managed by SLIS.
Funding Agency
Sign Language Interpreting Service
Project Title
 The Performance of Language and the Psychology of the Sign Language Learner
From
2021
To
2022
Summary
This book stems from my PhD research and is due to be published in Spring 2023. It is an exploration of both the performance of language and the psychology of the language learner. There is minimal data on the formal assessment of learner proficiency and very little empirically driven analysis of all aspects of L2-M2 teaching, learning and assessment. There is also an absence of literature on the learner experience, which was a driver for this research. The span of the research is broad and it provides a coherent and readable synthesis of a range of psychology of language learning perspectives (anxiety, learner strategies and motivation) that tend to be treated separately. Therefore, it will appeal to both sign and spoken language researchers and is likely to attract international attention from scholars within my discipline and from tangential fields (educational psychology, spoken language learning, etc.).
Funding Agency
Office of the Dean of Research, Trinity College Dublin
Programme
Boost Funding Programme
Project Title
 Workplace Wellbeing during COVID-19: The Case of Irish Sign Language Interpreters
From
2021
To
2022
Summary
An unexpected global pandemic has greatly impacted the work of SLIs and changed the 2020 interpreting landscape. COVID-19 resulted in a sudden decrease in work volume, which forced many SLIs to apply for the COVID payment. Those who continued to interpret operated in a very different way, predominately interpreting in remote settings. The aim of this research is to explore the range of demands and wellbeing issues currently experienced by SLIs since COVID-19 entered our lives. There is also potential to explore some of the merits and drawbacks of interpreting remotely (for appointments that would be traditionally face-to-face) and to ascertain if SLIs are experiencing additional stress and burnout compared to pre-COVID times. If so, how have SLIs engaged in self-care in order to navigate their way through these turbulent times?
Funding Agency
Citizens Information Board & TCD Arts and Social Sciences Benefactions Fund
Programme
Irish Sign Language Research Bursary
Project Title
 Sign Language Acquisition Corpus
From
September 2013
To
Present
Summary
The Second Language Acquisition Corpus project was developed by the Centre for Deaf Studies, Trinity College Dublin and the Sign Language Department, Stockholm University, Sweden. It represents the world's first multi-modal data set of adult learners of a signed language (Irish/Swedish Sign Language) as a second or subsequent language in a second modality (sign languages are visual-spatial languages). The digital data set will be annotated in ELAN for a number of key points of interest, including: multi-modal code-mixing components, the use of fingerspelled items, the phonological in/accuracy of articulation of lexical signs and the use of signing space. This 'first pass' will inform our consideration of higher order questions around language acquisition in a new modality, and allow for the documentation of longitudinal development on issues surrounding the development of L2 proficiency in a signed language. This is a key step in bridging the significant gap in knowledge about sign language acquisition pathways.

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Details Date
A member of the Scientific Committee for EFLSLI2022: The European Forum of Sign Language Interpreter Annual Conference. Manchester, U.K., September 2022. 2022
External Examiner for the BA and MA sign language interpreting programmes at the University of Wolverhampton 2021 - 2023
External Examiner - Queens University Belfast, Masters in Interpreting 2013
Member of the Deaf Education Partnership Group 2019 - Present
Board Member - Sign Language Interpreting Service 2013 - 2016
Committee Member of the Council of Irish Sign Language Interpreters 2011-2013
Language Skill Reading Skill Writing Skill Speaking
English Fluent Fluent Fluent
Irish Basic Basic Basic
Irish Sign Language Fluent Fluent Fluent
Spanish Basic Basic Basic
Details Date From Date To
Council of Irish Sign Language Interpreters 2011 Present
European Forum of Sign Language Interpreters 2012 Present
Irish Association of Applied Linguistics 2015 Present
International Association for the Psychology of Language Learning 2018 Present
European Second Language Association 2019 Present
Sign Language Interpreting in Ireland in, editor(s)Stacey Webb, Jemina Napier, and Robert Adam , Sign language translation and interpreting education two decades on, Washington DC, Gallaudet University Press, 2025, pp265 - 298, [Sarah Sheridan, Teresa Lynch, and Lorraine Leeson], Book Chapter, PUBLISHED  TARA - Full Text
Sheridan, Sarah, Irish Sign Language Interpreter Workplace Wellness during COVID-19: Looking back and moving forward, Journal of Interpretation, 31, (1), 2023, p1 - 25, Journal Article, PUBLISHED
European Forum of Sign Language Interpreters, Rights. Right?, 2023, Greece, 15th - 17th September, A member of the Scientific Committee, Meetings /Conferences Organised, PUBLISHED
Linguistic Profile of Migrants in, editor(s)Ediciones Universidad de Salamanca , GUIDE FOR THE LINGUISTIC INCLUSION OF MIGRANTS, Ediciones Universidad de Salamanca, 2022, pp36 - 59, [Carson, Lorna; Sheridan, Sarah; O'Brien, Caitríona; El-Hossary, Yomna Mohamed Hassan], Notes: [DOI: https://doi.org/10.14201/0LP0031], Book Chapter, PUBLISHED  TARA - Full Text
Translation as a pedagogical tool in, editor(s)Stone, C., Adam, R., Müller de Quadros, R. & Rathmann, C. , Routledge Handbook of Sign Language Translation and Interpreting, Oxfordshire, UK, Routledge, 2022, pphttps://doi.org/10.4324/978100 , [Sheridan, S. and Lynch, T. ], Notes: [https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003019664], Book Chapter, PUBLISHED
Sign Language Interpreting in Ireland in, editor(s)Napier, J., Adam, R., and Webb, S. , International perspectives on sign language interpreter education (2nd Edition), Gallaudet University Press, 2022, [Sheridan, S., Lynch, L. and Leeson, L.], Book Chapter, IN_PRESS
Coppinger, Lucy; Sheridan, Sarah, Accent Anxiety: An Exploration of Non-Native Accent as a Source of Speaking Anxiety among English as a Foreign Language (EFL) Students, JOURNAL FOR THE PSYCHOLOGY OF LANGUAGE LEARNING, 4, (2), 2022, p1 - 20, Notes: [https://doi.org/10.52598/jpll/4/2/61 ], Journal Article, PUBLISHED  TARA - Full Text
European Forum of Sign Language Interpreters, EFSLI2022: #Awkward, September 3rd - 4th, 2022, Manchester, UK, A member of the Scientific Committee, Meetings /Conferences Organised, PUBLISHED
Sheridan, Sarah, Revisioning the deaf community: the journey to developing a mixed-modality multilingual identity, International Association of Applied Linguistics (AILA 2020),, Groningen, The Netherlands, August, 2021, 2021, Conference Paper, PRESENTED
Sheridan, Sarah, Revisioning the deaf community: the journey to developing a mixed-modality multilingual identity , The Language Learning Journal, 2021, Notes: [Doi: 10.1080/09571736.2021.1923782], Journal Article, PUBLISHED  URL
  

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Sarah Sheridan, Psychology of Language Learning, BAQONDE Summer School, Trinity College Dublin, 05 Aug, 2022, Invited Talk, PRESENTED
Sheridan, Sarah, Irish Sign Language Interpreter Workplace Wellness during COVID-19, An event part of Deaf Awareness Week (19 - 23 September), Citizens Information Board, September 23rd, 2022, Invited Talk, PUBLISHED
SUPERVISED Reyes, Brandon, Perception of Reflective Practice and Meditation in Language Education, Trinity College Dublin , 2022, Thesis, PUBLISHED
SUPERVISED Dempsey, Michael Bernard, Effects of Cultivating Bilingualism in Children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder, Trinity College Dublin, 2022, Thesis, PUBLISHED
SUPERVISED Garcia, Katty, The multilingual Latinx: translation and language mixing in contemporary Latin pop, Trinity College Dublin , 2022, Thesis, PUBLISHED
SUPERVISED Sheng, Yingli, Perceptions of Oral English Teaching and Learning in China: Do learners experience positive psychology in the classroom?, Trinity College Dublin , 2022, Thesis, PUBLISHED
Sheridan, Sarah , The Psychology of Sign Language Learning , Language Teacher Psychology Conference 2021, Graz, Austria, 06-08 September, 2021, University of Graz, Austria, Invited Talk, PRESENTED
SUPERVISED Coppinger, Lucy, Accent Anxiety: An Exploration of Non-Native Accent as a Source of Speaking Anxiety among English as a Foreign Language (EFL) Students, Trinity College Dublin , 2021, Thesis, APPROVED
SUPERVISED Smick, Benjamin, An Analysis of English Language Teacher's Perceptions of Online Language Learning in the Era of Covid-19, Trinity College Dublin , 2021, Thesis, APPROVED
SUPERVISED Yuan, Fei, Foreign Language Learning Anxiety in the Classroom: A Scoping Review, Trinity College Dublin , 2021, Thesis, APPROVED

  


Page 1 of 3
Award Date
Teaching Hero Award - National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education in collaboration with the Union of Students in Ireland 2021
Special Commendation, Thesis in Three, EUROMEC SUMMER SCHOOL, Trinity College Dublin 2017
Selected by Léargas to attend an expert workshop on Promoting Excellence in Language at the European Centre for Modern Languages (Graz, Austria) 2017