Simultaneous Interpreting in Community Settings

The first part is a 2-hr introductory session on the theoretical underpinnings and skills needed to master simultaneous interpreting.

The second part is ongoing guided practice that interpreters can join for 3-9 months. The guided practice is not mandatory – you can choose to just take the introductory session. On the other hand, to attend the guided practice component one must have completed the 2-hr introductory session (exceptions can be granted to those with MCIs or other formal education that included rigorous simultaneous training, or if you have attended an introductory session with Elena Langdon in the last 2 years).

The guided practice component will include weekly group meetings, led by a MasterWord Institute expert, and will include peer practice, resources for further practice, and suggested “homework.” This sort of deliberate and focused practice is what will really make the difference in your interpreting performance over time, and will go much beyond the introductory principles or similar presentations and workshops that run for a day or less and expect you to be able to implement all the advice and tips on your own.

 

How it works:

Simultaneous interpreting is an important tool for interpreters in most settings, yet in healthcare, education, and other community setting training, most programs focus on consecutive interpreting and sight translation. And because it cannot be learned in a just a few hours, we developed this course to guide interpreters through deliberate practice specifically for simultaneous interpreting in non-conference settings.

During the weekly online synchronous meetings, students will practice various skill-building exercises that underpin quality simultaneous interpreting output, as well as practice simultaneous interpreting—all in a safe space, with instructor and peer feedback. Half of the 60-minute session will be dedicated to skill-building drills, and half will be interpreting practice using Zoom. The sessions are intended for synchronous participation, and will take place weekly at 7pm Eastern on Wednesdays, starting on September 11, 2024, for 12 sessions (3 months). The initial part of the session will be recorded so that if you miss a session you can practice with a partner at a different time that week. Materials for practice will also be sent for all who are participating.

The speeches we use for this will depend on the group’s interest – once you sign up for the guided practice component of the course we will reach out to find out what type of setting you work in and/or are interested in applying your simultaneous practice. For example, if you work as an interpreter in a school setting, we will provide videos/audios related to common topics that come up in that setting. The settings we will cover are healthcare, education, legal, and social work/mental health. We are open to adding more settings if there are enough students who wish to practice in any given setting. All videos/audios provided will be in English, for practice into your non-English language.

The introductory session was held on July 31, 2024 at 5pm CST (6pm EST). This session recording is available in your course library.

Below is a draft of the outline of the sessions, and it’s subject to change:

Session	Date	Topic/Skill
1	9/11/24	Introduction to deliberate practice principles; baseline performance (speech 1); simple shadowing This session recording is available in your course library.
2	9/25/24	Simple shadowing + shadowing with increased decalage; speech 2 This session recording is available in your course library.
3	10/2/24	Smart shadowing; speech 3 This session recording is available in your course library.
4	10/9/24	Chunking and salami technique; speech 4 This session recording is available in your course library.
5	10/16/24	Clozing and prediction skills; speech 5
6	10/23/24	Summary and expansion skills; speech 6
7	10/30/24	Reformulation; speech 7
8	11/06/24	Decalage; speech 8
9	11/13/24	Public speaking skills; speech 9
10	11/20/24	Tech setup for RSI & terminology mining & extraction; speech 10
11	12/04/24*	AI-enhanced interpreting; speech 11
12	12/11/24	Self and peer feedback; speech 1, take 2

*Note: we will NOT have class the day before Thanksgiving)

For this to work, we will need at least 10 people to sign up, and we have a 2-for-1 deal to help make that happen. Invite a colleague who works in the same language pair as you and save 25%!

Special 2-for-1 discount: if you sign up with a buddy (who works in the same language pair as you), you can both do the introductory session and attend 3 months of guided practice for $180 (covers two people). This comes out to $10/month per person for guided practice, or $2.50/session.

To take advantage of this deal, instead of adding the product(s) to your cart above, sign up below and we’ll email you to ask about the second person’s name and contact information.

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