Erfahrungen von Sozialarbeiterinnen zu Rapportaufbau und Rapportmanagement in dolmetschervermittelter Kundenarbeit

Abstract

This article focuses on rapport and rapport management in interpreted social work from the social worker’s perspective. It analyzes the different forms of rapport and relations between social worker, client, and interpreter, as well as the interpreter’s behavior and actions that are felt to enhance or maintain relations or to have a negative influence on them. The study considers both remote and onsite interpreting settings. The research data consist of the transcripts of 13 in-depth interviews with practicing social workers in Finland. The interviews were conducted in 2023. A qualitative analysis was carried out in atlas.ti. The coding was informed by the theoretical approach to rapport management by Spencer-Oatey. The results show the complex and entangled network of rapport and relations in interpreted social work. The interpreter’s presence and behavior can influence social worker–client rapport and relations negatively or positively. Social workers can benefit from the interpreters’ presence or background when building rapport with the client. The social workers’ need to build or maintain rapport with interpreters is linked to their understanding of the interpreter’s role (colleague vs. conduit or machine).

This article focuses on rapport and rapport management in interpreted social work from the social worker’s perspective. It analyzes the different forms of rapport and relations between social worker, client, and interpreter, as well as the interpreter’s behavior and actions that are felt to enhance or maintain relations or to have a negative influence on them. The study considers both remote and onsite interpreting settings. The research data consist of the transcripts of 13 in-depth interviews with practicing social workers in Finland. The interviews were conducted in 2023. A qualitative analysis was carried out in atlas.ti. The coding was informed by the theoretical approach to rapport management by Spencer-Oatey. The results show the complex and entangled network of rapport and relations in interpreted social work. The interpreter’s presence and behavior can influence social worker–client rapport and relations negatively or positively. Social workers can benefit from the interpreters’ presence or background when building rapport with the client. The social workers’ need to build or maintain rapport with interpreters is linked to their understanding of the interpreter’s role (colleague vs. conduit or machine).