Avant Language Introduces ASL Interpretation for Every New Episode of The Multiliterate Mind
Beginning September 2026, American Sign Language interpretation will be included in all new podcast episodes published
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Beginning September 2026, American Sign Language interpretation will be included in all new podcast episodes published on YouTube.
EUGENE, OR, UNITED STATES, September 17, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Avant Language announced that starting September 16 2026, every new episode of The Multiliterate Mind published on YouTube will include American Sign Language interpretation. The move addresses a gap that has persisted across language education media: content about multilingualism has remained largely inaccessible to Deaf and signing communities for whom ASL is a primary language.
Created by Avant and hosted by Dr. Liza Trejo and Marnina Falk Colman, The Multiliterate Mind explores multilingualism, language proficiency, literacy, assessment and the developments shaping language education. Each episode brings together educators, researchers and language professionals to share their experiences and consider how language influences learning, identity and access.
The initiative was originated by Amira Fahoum, Chief of Staff at Avant, after a conversation with a podcast guest reframed how she understood the show’s own accessibility gaps.
“Watching Episode 10 with Robyn Marcak, an educator and advocate who spent the first 15 years of her life without language, made something clear to me. We were creating a podcast about multilingualism, language identity, and access, and we were doing it in a way that excluded people who understand those things more intimately than almost anyone. That’s a contradiction at the heart of what we’re trying to do.
Most podcasts about language education have never offered ASL interpretation. Adding it is us correcting something that should have been there from the start. Signed languages are complete languages with their own grammar, structure, and cultural depth. The people who use them belong in conversations about language learning and identity, not as guests we’re finally making room for, but as voices this field has needed all along,” said Amira Fahoum, Chief of Staff at Avant.
To support this initiative, Avant is working with Sorenson Communications to provide ASL interpretation for the podcast. Beginning with episodes released in September, viewers will see an ASL interpreter incorporated into each new episode available on Avant’s YouTube channel, allowing ASL users to engage in their primary language: not as an accommodation added after the fact, but as part of how the podcast is produced going forward.
The addition of ASL interpretation reflects Avant’s commitment to recognizing the many ways people use, learn and experience language. It also supports the purpose of The Multiliterate Mind, which examines language education through a wider lens and creates space for perspectives that have not always been adequately represented. Podcasts and media about language education have rarely included ASL interpretation, which is a gap that sits in tension with the field’s stated commitments to equity and inclusion.
Avant also recognizes that ASL interpretation addresses one signed language community within a much broader global Deaf population. Signed languages vary by country and region, and accessibility in media and education remains an unfinished conversation across all of them. This initiative reflects a first step and an ongoing commitment to examining where language content falls short.
New ASL-interpreted episodes of The Multiliterate Mind will be available on the Avant YouTube channel. Listeners can learn more about the podcast and explore previous episodes at avantassessment.com/podcast.
About The Multiliterate Mind
The Multiliterate Mind is an Avant Language podcast hosted by Dr. Liza Trejo and Marnina Falk Colman. Through conversations with educators, researchers and language leaders, the podcast explores multilingualism, proficiency, literacy, assessment and the evolving role of language in education and society.
About Avant Language
Avant, The Language Proficiency Company, transforms language proficiency from learning to certification. Avant Learn features Mira, with immersive AI practice and assessment tools, and Avant MORE Learning with customized data-driven training and support. Avant Assess delivers adaptive, standards-based tests like STAMP, the only ACE-approved, computer-adaptive proficiency assessment available in 150+ languages, including the first for ASL second-language and CODA learners. Our tests provide key insights into real-world communication skills. Avant Certify offers recognition and certification, and all of Avant’s tests qualify for the open-standard Global Seal of Biliteracy, issued worldwide. Whether in education, a workplace, or government, Avant’s Language Proficiency Platform™ supports Avant’s mission to improve the teaching and learning of languages.
About Sorenson Communications
As the leading language services provider, Sorenson combines innovative, patented technology with world-class sign language interpreters to deliver clear, seamless communication for Deaf, DeafBlind and Hard of Hearing communities. The company offers a portfolio of solutions that includes Video Relay Service (VRS), VRS for Zoom and the Lumina Video Phone. For people who are Hard of Hearing, CaptionCall provides the clarity and confidence to stay connected. Sorenson’s business solutions include Video Remote Interpreting (VRI), On-Demand VRI and on-site interpreting. Sorenson Forum helps enterprises make communication more accessible for employees and customers. Sorenson’s AI Sign Language Translation capabilities enable real-time communication between users of sign languages and users of spoken languages in everyday interactions where an interpreter may not be available, making sign language access available in more places and moments. Each year, Sorenson enables hundreds of millions of conversations for our customers’ unique communication needs. Sorenson is a portfolio company of Ariel Alternatives and is committed to operating responsibly by actively managing and reducing its environmental impact. To learn more, visit www.sorenson.com/enterprise or es.sorenson.com.
Amira Fahoum
Avant Language
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