Coronavirus or COVID-19 is on everyone's mind nowadays. For some it still is only the news you read and watch, however, it is a painful reality. With our remote team-member's uncle dying last week of coronavirus, the pandemic hits close to home. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and everyone…
I love my job. I know, I am lucky! The agencies that hire me usually go beyond the norm. But their clients have no idea of the work we do, the preparation required, the pressure we perform under and the minimum requirements for us to deliver at the level they…
Q: How long have you been an interpreter and why/how did you get started in the field?It was 1979 when I first started interpreting for my boss as part of my job. I did not know that was a profession or that it could become a career. The next year…
The text below is aimed at individuals who have been trained but are stepping into a booth as professionals for the first time. These are my thoughts —nothing scientific about them, just good old experience, gut and gumption. So, the first thing you need to do is RELAX. The second…
By Tram Bui, Administrator of Southeast Asian Language Division (SEALD) The typical role of a professional association is to enable individual practitioners to collaborate, learn from each other, and speak with a (hopefully) unified, collective voice. For 60 years, the American Translators Association (ATA) has been the voice of translators,…
Q: How long have you been an interpreter and why/how did you get started in the field?I have been an interpreter for approximately 5 years. I had just moved to Huntsville, AL, where I currently live. I had finished my Masters degree, and had been doing some translation work for…
This 4th of July, we remember some quotes by famous Americans about our beautiful land of immigrants. “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to…
Notice from Michigan Supreme Court: All uncertified interpreters are required to take and pass a written exam before they may take the oral proficiency exam. The 135 multiple-choice questions are designed to measure basic, general English language proficiency, and court and ethics knowledge. This helps to predict whether candidates are…
When interpreters prepare for interpreting exams, we practice interpreting. But what are we doing to practice controlling our test anxiety? As someone who’s taken many interpreting exams (and didn’t pass them all) and prepared many interpreters for exams, there are a few things I’ve learned about managing test anxiety. Test…
Besides being an interpreter and a translator for over 20 years, I have also taught public speaking courses and presented at interpreters’ symposiums and other professional meetings. Speaking in public requires a high level of involvement with the subject matter and the preparation of the adequate delivery, depending on the…