Hello, I have a BA in Journalism and another in Linguistics in Spanish. I have always had the passion to learn both English and Spanish perfectly. I have the desire to become a court interpreter. In the passed year i have taken a small course online on court interpreting. I have been utilizing that information to learn more about, not only terminology, but as on what an interpreter should do. I feel that there is more to learn about this amazing profession, that i am not finding, or at least i feel like i should know more. What should i practice and study on first for the written exam? Let me not forget to mention that i want and will take the certification test in two months. Also, where can i seek to work in this type of environment in order to gain experience but won't be asked for much experience in the field? |
Dear Mayra, Let me begin by saying that for the long term you should consider a university training program in court interpreting. There are many in the US. For now I would recommend that you consult the Acebo website which is run by Holly Mikkelson, an authority in the field. There you will find interesting articles, lists of reference works, and plenty of information about court interpreting. In addition you'll find training/practice materials (for sale) for court interpreting and certification test preparation. I would also recommend that you visit the website of the National Association of Judiciary Interpreters and Translators where you'll find information about the profession in the USA. These two websites will be good starting points for you and both will lead you to other sources of information. Thank you Luigi I appreciate your feed back and will look at these websites.
(23 Aug '13, 18:58)
Mayra
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Quite by accident I've come across another good resource. Go the National Center for State Courts website, and place your cursor over the "Education and Careers" tab. You'll see three links that will lead you to pertinent information, including "self assessment and study tools" and an "exam kit." 1
Thank you all this information is very valuable as i am putting a great effort to learn this on my own which i know i can and will. I don't have the luxury to pay for schooling for this and well i know my hard work will make up for it. Plus, i think my degrees earned will help the situation. I am very excited for this. And i honestly appreciate all this feed back. =)
(29 Aug '13, 19:03)
Mayra
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If you're looking for well-written short reads on the courts, please check out the following link, to the first of three in the series. They are put out by the ABA (American Bar Association) and are pretty cheap. |
Where are you going to take the exam and work as a court interpreter (which country)?
I am going to take the test in Tampa, FL which consist of a two day work shop and the third day is the written exam, few months later is the oral.
I am taking the exam in Tampa, FL. The exam consist of a two day work shop and the third day being the actual written exam. I am worried that what i study wont be what is on the exam. The oral test is not until months after taking the written. This really gives me more time to practice the oral which i could imagine what that would consist of.