Interpreter Education Online

Language combinations: English < > Albanian, Arabic, French, Haitian Creole, Hmong, German, Korean, Mandarin, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Vietnamese.

The Advanced (8-unit) Language-Specific Course provides in-depth training to legal interpreters. This course offers a comprehensive approach to theoretical and practical training for aspiring legal interpreters. It consists of six major components distributed among eight units:

1. Fundamentals of the U.S. legal system and various areas of law: Criminal Law, Civil Law, Immigration Law, Juvenile Law, and Intellectual Property Law

2. Categories of Crimes and Stages of Criminal Procedure

3. Special Topics: Controlled Substances, Firearms, Physical Evidence, Autopsies, Jargon, and more

4. Court Interpreter Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice

5. Interpretation Theory

6. Interpretation Practice

The Course is designed to:

1. Expand students’ knowledge of the U.S. legal system and criminal procedure

2. Help students to build an extensive base of “ready-to-use” linguistic equivalents of special terminology and phraseology

3. Improve interpretation skills under the guidance of language-specific mentors

4. Promote in-depth knowledge and understanding of the ethical principles in our profession. A large portion of the course will be dedicated to criminal procedures to emulate the approach of the Consortium and the Federal Interpreter Program. Civil law, IP law and immigration law will be extensively covered in the course as well.

The course consists of 8 units and is expected to be completed in 16 weeks. The course is offered in 5 formats:

• Package 1: Materials Only. This option includes:

• Course materials: chapters, glossaries (23), quizzes, and interpretation practice exercises (18)

Tuition: $850.00

• Package 2: Materials Only Plus. This option includes:

• Course materials: chapters, glossaries (23), quizzes, and interpretation practice exercises (18)

• Initial and Final Interpretation Performance Examinations and Final Court Interpreter Ethics Test

Tuition: $1100.00

• Package 3: Intermediate Package. This option includes:

• Course materials: chapters, glossaries (23), quizzes, and interpretation practice exercises (18)

• Initial and Final Interpretation Performance Examinations and Final Court Interpreter Ethics Test

• Mentorship provided by Language-Neutral and Language-Specific Instructors

• Tech Support

• Control bilingual glossaries (9)

• Interpretation exercises evaluated by instructors (6)

Tuition: $1500.00

• Package 4: Upgraded Intermediate Package. This option includes:

• Course materials: chapters, glossaries (23), quizzes, and interpretation practice exercises (18)

• Initial and Final Interpretation Performance Examinations and Final Court Interpreter Ethics Test

• Mentorship provided by Language-Neutral and Language-Specific Instructors

• Tech Support

• Control bilingual glossaries (16)

• Interpretation exercises evaluated by instructors (8)

Tuition: $1800.00

• Package 5: Deluxe Package. This option includes:

• Course materials: chapters, glossaries (23), quizzes, and interpretation practice exercises (18)

• Initial and Final Interpretation Performance Examinations and Final Court Interpreter Ethics Test

• Mentorship provided by Language-Neutral and Language-Specific Instructors

• Tech Support

• Control bilingual glossaries (23)

• Interpretation exercises evaluated by instructors (12)

Tuition: $2200.00

Language combinations: English < > Albanian, Arabic, French, Haitian Creole, Hmong, German, Korean, Mandarin, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Vietnamese.

The Basic (3-unit) Course prepares aspiring bilinguals to approach the career of legal interpretation equipped with basic skills and knowledge. This course offers fundamental information on the following:

• U.S. legal system

• Criminal Procedures

• Interpreter role and Code of Ethics

• Interpretation theory and

• Skill-building practical exercises

The course consists of 3 units and is expected to be completed in 6 to 8 weeks. The course is offered in three formats:

• Package 1: Materials Only. This option includes:

• Course materials: chapters, glossaries (10), quizzes, and interpretation practice exercises (6)

Tuition: $350.00

• Package 2: Materials Plus. This option provides:

• Course materials: chapters, glossaries (10), quizzes, and interpretation practice exercises (6)

• Initial Interpretation Performance Examinations and Final Court Interpreter Ethics Test

Tuition: $550.00

• Package 3: Upgraded Basic Package. This option includes:

• Course materials: chapters, glossaries (10), quizzes, and interpretation practice exercises (6)

• Initial Interpretation Performance Examinations and Final Court Interpreter Ethics Test

• Mentorship provided by Language-Neutral and Language-Specific Instructors

• Tech Support

• Control bilingual glossaries (10)

• Interpretation exercises evaluated by instructors (3)

Tuition: $750.00

Professional interpreters will benefit by selecting from a wide array of our single topic units, ranging from an in-depth look at interpreting traffic and vehicular accidents to concepts and terminology needed to successfully navigate IP matters.

All Single Topic Units shall be completed within two weeks of the starting date.

Students enrolled in subject-matter Single Topic Units may add language-specific interpretation exercises, which are evaluated by an instructor, for an additional charge of $104.99.

SUBJECT MATTER:

• Court Interpreter Ethics Should you interpret everything that is said in the courtroom? What do you do when a defendant asks you for legal advice? How do you react when an attorney questions your language proficiency? This unit answers all these questions, plus more, and provides comprehensive information regarding the court interpreter Сodes of Ethics and professional responsibility. By completing this course, you will develop a profound understanding of the professional standards for competent court interpreters as well as practical knowledge of ethical dilemmas in the workplace. The course includes four video segments illustrating proper utilization of the ethical and protocol norms, various types of court hearings, and challenging situations commonly encountered by legal interpreters. Tuition is $199 without instructor’s evaluation or $299 with instructor’s evaluation.

• Controlled Substances You’re asked to interpret for a defendant who has been accused of selling marijuana. Are you familiar and up to date with all the drug slang and jargon you could possibly encounter in this case? Do you know what the equivalent term for “cannabis” is in your specific language? This unit offers an in-depth look into concepts and terminology that interpreters encounter while interpreting drug-related offenses. It also provides an extensive resource section and comprehensive glossary. Tuition is $ 109 without instructor’s evaluation (includes chapter, resources, exercises and glossary for self study) or $ 189 with instructor’s evaluation (students are required to submit an exercise and a glossary for review).

• Physical Evidence Occasionally, as a legal interpreter, you will find yourself having to interpret cases that involve physical evidence. Are you confident in your ability to interpret courtroom evidence such as fingerprints and bloodstain patterns? This course introduces you to the classification of physical evidence, types of commonly used testing techniques, and other vital information interpreters must be familiar with. It also offers an extensive resource section and comprehensive glossary. Tuition is $ 109 without instructor’s evaluation (includes chapter, resources, exercises and glossary for self study) or $ 189 with instructor’s evaluation (students are required to submit an exercise and a glossary for review).

• Firearms and Ballistics A type of bullet with a flattened head is known as what? What’s the difference between a revolver and a handgun? These are just some of the things that an interpreter dealing with firearms and ballistics needs to know. This unit offers you an in-depth look into categories of firearms, parts of a firearm and concepts used in ballistics. It also provides an extensive resource section and comprehensive glossary. Tuition is $ 109 without instructor’s evaluation (includes chapter, resources, exercises and glossary for self study) or $ 189 with instructor’s evaluation (students are required to submit an exercise and a glossary for review).

• Autopsies Dead bodies are scary! But what’s even scarier is being an interpreter who is unprepared for a case involving an autopsy. Can you differentiate between a forensic and clinical autopsy? Are you able to successfully interpret terms such as “postmortem” and “pathologist”? This unit provides comprehensive information on autopsies including types of autopsies, techniques, and other vital information interpreters must be familiar with. It also offers an extensive resource section and comprehensive glossary. Tuition is $109 without instructor’s evaluation (includes chapter, resources, exercises and glossary for self study) or $ 189 with instructor’s evaluation (students are required to submit an exercise and a glossary for review).

• Traffic and Vehicular Accident Accidents happen on the road every day, but that doesn’t mean they should happen in the courtroom, too. To prevent mistakes, legal interpreters should have knowledge of specialized terms and concepts dealing with the road and traffic, the insurance industry, accident reconstruction an much more. In this course, you will discover comprehensive information on the types of traffic and vehicular accidents, major causes of accidents, related injuries, and much more. It offers an extensive resource section and comprehensive glossary. Tuition is $ 109 without instructor’s evaluation (includes chapter, resources, exercises and glossary for self study) or $ 189 with instructor’s evaluation (students are required to submit an exercise and a glossary for review).

• Types of Motions What exactly are motions and what are they used for? What about affidavits? Legal interpreters will receive a better understanding of various types of motions used in criminal, civil and immigration hearings after studying this unit. It also provides a comprehensive glossary. Tuition is $ 109 without instructor’s evaluation (includes chapter, resources, exercises and glossary for self study) or $ 189 with instructor’s evaluation (students are required to submit an exercise and a glossary for review).

• IP Law Have you ever wondered how someone can protect his or her creative ideas? Are you familiar with the equivalent terms of “fair use”, “infringement” and “patent” in your specific language? This unit offers an in-depth look into Intellectual Property law, types of patents, trademarks and copyright protection. It also provides an extensive resource section and comprehensive glossary. Tuition is $ 109 without instructor’s evaluation (includes chapter, resources, exercises and glossary for self study) or $ 189 with instructor’s evaluation (students are required to submit an exercise and a glossary for review).

INTERPRETATION PRACTICE – SKILL-BUILDING

• SI Techniques How confident are you in your ability to interpret at the same time someone else is speaking? Can you do so at 120 words per minute? How about 135? In this unit, you will learn valuable theoretical knowledge and gain practical skills necessary for a competent simultaneous interpreter. A larger portion of the unit is dedicated to skill-building exercises. Tuition is $ 249 (students are required to submit two exercises for review).

• CI Techniques Do you have the memory and note-taking skills that are necessary for a successful consecutive interpreter? Would you like to learn how to develop them? This course will allow you to learn valuable theoretical information and gain practical skills required for consecutive interpreting. A larger portion of the unit is dedicated to skill-building exercises. Tuition is $ 249 (students are required to submit two exercises for review).

• Note-taking Techniques Imagine you’re in court and you have to consecutively interpret for someone who is on the witness stand. As the witness speaks, you write down every single word. Unfortunately, the witness speaks faster than you can write. Wouldn’t you rather feel comfortable knowing that you can handle any interpretation assignment because of your strong note-taking skills? In, “Note-taking Techniques”, you will learn valuable theoretical information and gain practical skills necessary for note-taking during consecutive interpretation. A larger portion of the unit is dedicated to skill building exercises. Tuition is $ 249 (students are required to submit two exercises for review).

• ST Techniques You’re asked to sight translate a police report from English into your specific language during a court case. What do you do when you come across a word which you are unfamiliar with? Do you know how to paraphrase? “ST Techniques” will introduce you to valuable theoretical information and the practical skills necessary for executing flawless sight translations. A larger portion of the unit is dedicated to skill-building exercises. Tuition is $ 249 (students are required to submit two exercises for review).