Public Service Interpreting - Course design

Dear community members,The KCI editorial team is currently doing some housekeeping in the communities section. The aim is to avoid unnecessary duplications and enhance synergies where possible.We have noticed that this community has been idle for a while and we have therefore transferred your membership to the Mapping PSI community, which focuses on various strands of Public Service Interpreting, amongst which Training and Education. In case you do not wish to be a member of that particular community, please let us know and we will cancel your membership.We have taken good note of the comments under this community. Any linked content has already been published on the KCI.It is not our intention to delete a community if it is still active. Should you wish to keep this community, please leave a small comment.Unless you decide otherwise, we will dissolve this community towards the end of February.Kind regards,The KCI editorial team

Hi, we have developed some free MOOCs as introductory courses on PSIT,- have a look and let us know what you think, send the links to your students, or tell us if you want to contribute or share with us any ideas .... FREE MOOCS IN PSITWe would like to share the information about the 3 free MOOCs we offer (Spanis, English & Chinee):1- Spanish: "¡Iníciate en la traducción e interpretación en los Servicios Públicos!”2. English : "Get your start in PSIT"3. Chinese: 让我们共同开启公共服务事业的口笔译吧！("Get Your Start in Public Service Interpreting and Translation!")The MOOCs are composed of three specific modules which focus on aspects as intercultural communication, mediation, roles that take part in it, documentation resources and PSIT professionalisation. This content is developed through theoretical videos, individual reflection and self-assessment activities, exercises which make use of social networks, and debate forums where users can express and share their opinion. Signing in the courses is simple and free: just register to access the MOOC. Access these courses by clicking on the following links:"¡Iníciate en la traducción e interpretación en los Servicios Públicos!”: https://openeducation.blackboard.com/mooc-catalog/courseDetails/view?course_id=_2865_1"Get your start in PSIT": https://openeducation.blackboard.com/mooc-catalog/courseDetails/view?course_id=_2830_1让我们共同开启公共服务事业的口笔译吧！("Get Your Start in Public Service Interpreting and Translation!"): https://openeducation.blackboard.com/mooc-catalog/courseDetails/view?course_id=_2806_1We appreciate your interest in the MOOCs and hope you make the most of them.

At the MA in Intercultural Communication, Public Service Interpreting and Translation (University of Alcala, Madrid, Spain) we have developed and used what we called an entrance ‘aptitud test’. Our test is a combination of the SynCloze test developed by (Pochhacker 2009) and a similar study carried out by Mariachiara Russo, as presented in the Symposium on Aptitude for Interpreting (Antwerp, May 2009). The test combines customized oral/aural cloze exercises with tasks requiring high expressional fluency. It is administered in a multimedia lab, which allows assessing twenty-four students at a time recording their performance for further evaluation. The study analyzes the interpreter competences -a combination of knowledge, skills and attitudes (Salaets & Vermeerbergen 2009). It also takes into account both the degree of accuracy and the speed of response. Variables such as candidate’s background education and training; gender; age; nationality; mother tongue and professional experience are analyzed. Assessment criteria will be focussed on what Schjoldager (1996) called: ‘ideal interpreting.’ The study also discusses two major concerns in testing: test validity and reliability (Baker 1989) assessed in two main ways: the examination of qualitative feedback from candidates and the analysis of student’s performance. More info in: Carmen Valero-Garcés and Denis Socarrás-Estrada - 1 Development and Assessment of an Aptitude Test for Interpreters: Using Labs for Interpreting Training -1 Peter Lang, International Academic Publishers. DOI: 10.3726/978-3-0353-0145-8/6

Potential PSI students work in A-B combinations, and often with very asymmetric language levels. The B-language is also often the majority language of the country and the language of instruction. Just as for ConfI, PSI students need to be screened to check that their language proficiency is good enough to 1) be able to follow instructions and teaching in the language in question and 2) learn to perform dialogue interpreting/short consecutive and on sight translation in the time period of the course. Pöchhacker (2014) suggests cloze tests as an indicator in screening tests for ConfI. We have tested that and find it a good indicator of language levels and ability to coordinate and anticipate. Candidates take the cloze test orally, meaning that they listen to a source and have to write down the missing word. This also checks their ability to write in both their languages (we are lenient on spelling). We also have candidates do a short transfer test (i.e. "interpret" 15 sentences, sentence by sentence (they are given orally) first from B-A and then from A-B (two different monologues). Sentences are graded 2 points for correct meaning, 1 for grammar and 1 for pronunciation. Grammar and pronunciation can be unidiomatic if it does not skew understanding. I believe Oslo Met also have a very similar entrance test.