A Community of Practice for Interpreting: the missing link

COVID19 brought its own online teaching challenges. But that was the easy part. Wait until you hear about the summative assessment challenges! Here is how we did it. That could perhaps help you with your own online final exam approach. Traditionally, assessing conference interpreting is done in so many ways, but always face to face. Some universities assess their students as they interpret live speeches whilst others prefer their students to use recorded speeches. Some universities organise a final panel to assess candidates, others assess recorded exams. This post is not about the format of interpreting exams, but rather about the approach to online exams at a time of crisis. At London Metropolitan University, the format of our interpreting exams is as follows: each module is individually assessed. It could combine one or more of the following formats: practical interpreting exams (consecutive and simultaneous), presentations, essays, and portfolios of practice.  I would like to f...

Photo from European Commission Interpreters (Facebook) O n the 26th and 27th of March,  I was privileged to attend the annual DG Interpretation University Conference.The Directorate General Interpretation (European Commission), also known as DG SCIC works closely with universities that provide conference interpreting training to ensure quality. Every year, university representatives are invited to come together and reflect on interpreting studies and the interpreting profession with DG SCIC at the European Commission in Brussels. You can still watch the conference  on line. During the conference, a very relevant question was asked: Photo from European Commission Interpreters (Facebook) "Is one year enough to train conference interpreters at University?" I would like to use this post to expand on the contribution I made on that day. First of all, one year may be enough for some interpreting students but not for others....