Continuing Education that Improves the Interpreter as a Professional.
June 25, 2012 § 2 Comments
Dear Colleagues,
As an interpreter who also teaches continuing education I am especially receptive to comments and criticisms by colleagues who attend continuing education workshops. I pay attention to what they have to say, good or bad, about a class they took, whether it is a college-sponsored seminar or a privately organized presentation. Many times I hear good things about the subject matter or the presenter, but it seems to me that the most popular complaint is that the classes are boring and they do not give anything to the interpreter that he or she can use to improve performance, access to the professional market, or plain and simple have a better income.
When I decided to teach continuing education for interpreters, transcribers, and translators many years ago, I made the decision to teach interesting topics that could aid the professional linguist in his or her career. This is what I have done all over the United States. Many of my students and workshop attendees have told me how they learned something that made a difference in their careers. I have always believed that a good interpreter must know his craft, and must provide ethical service. With this belief in mind, I have presented ethics and practical subject matters in different formats: One-hour to all-day presentations at national and regional conferences, multi-day workshops at colleges or privately sponsored events, and one-on-one tutorials. By taking my seminars, colleagues have passed court interpreter certification exams, they have been hired as staff interpreters, and they have secured professional contracts with governments and corporations.
This Friday I will be teaching a court interpreter ethics class in Columbus Ohio at the invitation of the Ohio Supreme Court. The day-long seminar will cover many relevant aspects of ethical interpreting in the court system, will analyze the code of ethics at the federal and state levels, and will give local interpreters an opportunity to test their knowledge and comprehension of interpreter ethics while participating in useful and fun practical exercises. The seminar, presented in English, will meet continuing education requirements for the Ohio court certification program and others.
On Saturday I will give a half-day presentation on Mexican legal terminology at the Texas Association of Judiciary Interpreters and Translators (TAJIT) IN San Antonio. The presentation will focus on Mexican Spanish legal terminology in Criminal, Civil, Family and Administrative Law. Those attending will get a better idea of the Mexican legal system, its similarities, and its differences with the American system, but more importantly, will teach them the methodology to research the meaning and significance of legal figures, terms, and principles. The idea is that at the end of this presentation the interpreters will be able to better understand what they do, and will feel comfortable about taking Mexican attorneys and businesses as their clients. Those attending this presentation in Spanish will receive continuing education credits in Texas, New Mexico, and other states.
I invite you to attend these classes and I encourage you to tell me what you would like to see as continuing education topics that I may teach in the future.
The Professional Interpreter 
Ethics that is a good subject. I know lots of interpreters who don´t even know what the word Ethics means.
I can attest to the fact that you provide very useful presentations. I attended the NAJIT conference last year and am seeing the benefits. I have been a certified interpreter in California going on 10 years, however with the skills I gained from very qualified presenters (yourself included) I am now finding ways to specialize and set myself apart and my preparation skills for conferences has improved dramatically. Continuing education that helps us grow professionally should be the standard not the exception. Thank you!