Fundamentals of Court Interpreting

This course introduces students to the profession of court interpreting and lays the foundation to help students prepare for the state and federal court interpreter certification exams. Students will become familiar with the standards of practice for court interpreters in the United States, including ethics, courtroom protocols and certification requirements.

In the first part of the course, an interactive lecture format will be used to introduce students to the job market, the laws governing court interpreters, codes of ethics and standards of practice, the U.S. court system, and criminal and civil procedure. Periodic quizzes will be given to assess mastery of content, and in-class exercises will demonstrate the practical implications of the material presented. Throughout the course, students will sight translate typical court documents, both into and out of English, as a means of reinforcing terminology and protocols as well as improving message transfer skills.

For the Consecutive Interpreting component, students will practice interpreting court proceedings, interviews and witness testimony in both informal settings and formal court proceedings. The interpreting will be bidirectional, with English questions and Spanish answers, also reflecting actual practice in the U.S.

For the Simultaneous Interpreting component, students will practice interpreting advisement of rights, opening/closing statements and proceedings involving more than one speaker (motions, witness testimony, etc.). The interpreting will be into Spanish, reflecting actual practice for certification exams.

The standards of national certification exams for court interpreting will be explained and applied throughout the semester so that students will be prepared to take those exams upon graduation.