Introduction to Community Interpreting

Introduction to Community Interpreting

Asian American Family Services

6220 Westpark Dr., Suite 228; Houston, TX 77057

 Community Interpreting is one of the fastest growing specialties within the language industry.  Community interpreters facilitate communication for individuals with language barriers trying to access health care, legal, government and social services.  

This 24-hour program will introduce attendees to the goals and code of ethics of the community interpreter. Through practice scenarios and case studies, attendees will learn the fundamental skills of consecutive interpreting, sight translation, message retention and note-taking. The instructor will also discuss the different hats worn by the interpreter and will give attendees hands-on opportunities to practice and obtain feedback from a nationally recognized trainer.

Upon completion of a knowledge test and skills assessment, attendees will receive a certificate of participation. (This is not considered “certification.”)

Come explore the potential of a rewarding career as a professional community interpreter.

Topics Covered

• Laws Related to LEP Access
• Goals of Interpreting
• Function of the Interpreter
• Culture and Communication
• Barriers to Communication
• Adversarial & Cooperative Situations
• Skills for Successful Interpreting
• Modes of Interpreting
• Facilitating the Interpreted Session
• Hands-on Practice
• The Interpreter’s Code of Ethics
• Memory & Note-Taking
• Five Hats of the Interpreter
• Dilemmas in Social Services
• Extra Practice Scenarios
• Professional Development Resources

 Instructor's Bio

Mary Esther Diaz, M.Ed., is a self-employed translator and interpreter  trainer. She serves as Medical Division Administrator for the American Translators Association (ATA), as New Member Coordinator and past-president of the Austin Area Translators and Interpreters Association (AATIA), and Secretary of the Texas Association of Healthcare Interpreters and Translators (TAHIT). She is a former Board Member of the National Council on Interpreting in Health Care.

Esther learned Spanish while living and studying in Mexico for 10 years. She is ATA-certified from Spanish to English and from English to Spanish. She worked as an in-house medical translator, disability examiner, and training director for the Texas Rehabilitation Commission where she also taught medical terminology for 19 years. She has more than 25 years of experience as a translator and trainer. A co-founder of the AATIA, she also created the seven-course Translation and Interpretation Certificate Program at Austin Community College. In addition to teaching Bridging the Gap for the Cross Cultural Health Care Program and the Spanish Bilingual Assistant course, she has taught interpreter workshops for refugee agencies throughout Texas and is an adjunct faculty member of Austin Community College. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Spanish and Master of Education in Adult Education and Human Resource Development Leadership from the University of Texas at Austin.

(24 total hours of instruction)

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