NCTA Prep Workshop: CA Written Exam for Court Interpreters
by NITA Administrator ~ January 10, 2010
The Northern California Translators Association (NCTA) offers a 3-hour workshop on Saturday, January 30th, for prospective and working interpreters of all languages, offering an overview of the different written exams that all interpreters are required to take for certification as a court interpreter in the state of California.
Categories of questions that may appear on the written exam will be discussed in detail, with sample questions provided (vocabulary, grammar and usage, legal terminology, reading comprehension, and translation) as well as other relevant aspects for written exam takers.
The workshop will be conducted by well-known Holly Mikkelson; she is Associate Professor of Translation and Interpretation at the Graduate School of Translation and Interpretation, Monterey Institute of International Studies (an affiliate of Middlebury College.)
Note: ATA-certified members will earn up to 3 Continuing Education (CE) Points.
For registration, fees and other information, please see the pertinent NCTA announcement.
February 2nd, 2010 at 3:40 pm
When will the next written exam workshop get scheduled? At what level of spanish proficiency would you need to be to attend?
Thank you
February 2nd, 2010 at 4:53 pm
Hi Yadira – I’m going off the information shown on the NCTA site but I have a hunch that so soon after the previous workshop (last Jan 30) specific to the CA court interpreter written exam, it’ll be a while. I suggest keeping an eye on the information under the previous link, and more generally, their Calendar of Events. If you’re based in California, it’s a very good idea to get in touch with the NCTA, and consider joining them. They do a lot of very solid professional development work, and especially for court interpreters there’s really a lot to benefit from their membership. Tell ‘em NITA sent you!
If you’re going to take the written exam: good luck – and try and prepare especially well for the oral! Just a few tips for the written: work on good, solid and particularly fast text comprehension in both your languages, work on legal (especially criminal) terminology, and above all: make good use of the information provided through the CA Court Interpreter Program, especially the Professional Standards and Ethics. As to language level required to pass the exam: very proficient (i.e. “highly advanced”) in both languages. For success with the oral, you have to also have excellent interpreting skills. Good luck!