SIMULTANEOUS INTERPRETING I - 2025/6

Module Overview

This module provides students with little or no previous experience of interpreting with a hands-on introduction to simultaneous interpreting into their A language and with the practical skills and knowledge required to perform simultaneous interpreting tasks effectively in relevant communicative situations. The module takes place in professionally equipped, ISO-certified simultaneous interpreting labs. The focus is on interpreting in a wide range of communicative scenarios (e.g. conference/business/media settings, international institutions).

Module provider

Literature & Languages

Module Leader

DAVITTI Elena (Lit & Langs)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 7

Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A

Module Availability

Semester 1

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

None

Module content

Indicative content includes:

* A general introduction to interpreting skills and strategies for all interpreting modes (consecutive, dialogue and simultaneous interpreting) which is shared with the Consecutive and Dialogue Interpreting I module (TRAM482) and provides the bedrock of core interpreting skills necessary to operate professionally in all modes. Initial practical exercises are designed to develop and systematically improve the students’ ability to grasp the meaning of the source language and to produce, at the same time, an accurate and coherent version in the target language based on small segments from the incoming source language.

* A language-pair specific component focusing on the consolidation of these skills and the development of strategies in relation to a given language pair and direction, and the associated linguistic, social and cultural challenges. The emphasis is on simultaneous interpreting into the student’s A language. Students are introduced to working in an interpreting booth; sight interpreting and interpreting from scripts are used at the beginning to familiarise students with the simultaneous mode of interpreting (e.g. to learn to split attention). Furthermore, the module provides an introduction to professional interpreting situations and interpreters' work environments. Throughout the semester, students analyse and discuss their own practice in relation to professional interpreting requirements and standards in order to reflect on the difficulties and to develop their solutions. Students also learn how to prepare for an interpreting assignment, i.e. how to gather information from clients, research relevant terminology etc. Materials include live speeches and recorded materials from general and semi-specialised registers of varied speech rates.

* Multilingual group simulations of real-life interpreting situations (ranging from international conferences to business meetings and other relevant areas for interpreting practice), which provide students with opportunities for further hands-on practice, to consolidate their interpreting skills; develop professional practice with regard to preparation; develop flexibility in switching from one mode to another; practise in front of live audiences, thus boosting confidence and public-speaking skills. Simulations will be covered in class as well as in student-led small group practice regularly throughout the module and, where possible, with input from invited professionals who may work with interpreters (e.g. business people, legal practitioners, representatives of governmental and supra-national organisations) who may participate in simulations as role players. As a by-product, students also develop skills related to interaction with clients, follow-up of interpreting assignments and working as a team. This complements the knowledge and skills acquired by participating in the Centre for Translation Studies (CTS) Seminars, focussing on professional development activities and invited talks by experienced practitioners and Interpreting Studies Scholars

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

Resits may exceptionally require an alternative form of assessment. In such cases, the mode and/or topic of the assignment may be modified. Where a face-to-face arrangement is not practical, the assignment may be carried out remotely. The achievement of the learning outcomes is measured in the same way as in the first attempt, using the criteria for oral interpreting assignments.

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy is designed to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate their practical interpreting skills as well as their reflective skills, alongside the other module outcomes, via both formative assessment (ongoing throughout the module) and summative assessment. Through this strategy, this module enables students to gradually build resilience towards simultaneous interpreting, by breaking down the process into manageable steps and testing students at different stages in their learning journey, so that they can appreciate what component(s) require further work and tailor their practice accordingly. Also, students are encouraged to identify which aspect(s) of their work they would like to request feedback, thus developing them into independent learners.

Thus, the summative assessment for this module consists of:

*One Reflective Presentation About the Simultaneous Interpreting Assignment, including a presentation by the student and follow up-questions at the end of the semester (40%)

*One Assignment of Simultaneous Interpreting into the Student’s A Language¿at the end of the semester (60%) 


Formative assessment and feedback

Students receive regular comprehensive feedback and feedforward from tutors, peers and clients on their preparation and interpreting skills during the practice in class, which allows them to monitor their progress week by week. Towards the end of the semester, students conduct a formative ‘mock exam’ to simulate their simultaneous interpreting assignment. This includes comprehensive feedback, an indicative mark and feed-forward to enable students to prepare for the end-of-semester assignment. In the mock exam, tutors use the same assessment criteria as the end-of-semester assignments. The criteria are made available to and explained to the students in class.

Module aims

• The module aims to: introduce students to different settings that require professional simultaneous interpreting (e.g. institutional, business, media)
• isolate the various challenges of the simultaneous interpreting process and enable students to develop the skills and strategies required to cope with these (e.g. active listening, anticipation, split attention, segmentation and transfer skills)
• prepare students for professional interpreting tasks through preparatory activities (e.g. sight interpreting, abstracting, switching, dual tasking) followed by language-pair specific (individual and group) practice in ISO-certified professional labs for simultaneous interpreting
• encourage students to develop reflective and critical skills and a thorough understanding of an interpreter's role and process with in-class discussions and analyses of different interpreting situations
• offer language-pair specific practice workshops (subject to demand) in Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Greek, Italian, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish and other languages (please enquire) paired with English

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to:

• combine teacher-led input and discussion (approx. 30%) and hands-on activities  (approx. 70%) allowing for extensive practice using the School’s facilities


• enable learning in language-pair specific small group workshops allowing students to develop their practical skills and expertise in interpreting


• encourage critical self- and peer-evaluation of the students' performance

• Foundational introductory classes to develop basic skills for interpreting which are language-pair independent. These include active learning activities, small group discussion, hands-on performance followed by generous teacher and peer feedback.

• Language-pair specific practice workshops that enable students to further develop their interpreting skills through extensive practice and receive a large amount of formative feedback from their tutors and peers. Workshops include opportunities for hands-on practice in simulated real-life scenarios, thus enabling students to put their knowledge into practice and develop additional key technical and transferrable skills (e.g. teamwork, professionalism, communication), preparing them for the world of work.

• Independent study during which students are expected to research the subject areas and are encouraged to develop digital and research skills to enable them to find appropriate materials for preparation; students are also expected to practise on interpreting materials, individually and in groups, and carry out regular (self-)recording to analyse and enhance different aspects of their performance; interpreting problems arising from assignments are discussed in class.
   


• Students are encouraged to be active participants throughout the practical sessions, and support one-another during the process, and in doing so, develop as informed, confident, collaborative and independent learners.  

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: TRAM486

Other information

Native or near-native competency in English and another language offered in the programme.

Surrey's Curriculum Framework is committed to developing graduates with strengths in Employability, Digital Capabilities, Global and Cultural Capabilities, Sustainability and Resourcefulness and Resilience. This module is designed to allow students to develop knowledge, skills and capabilities in a range of areas.

The module is designed to equip students, in a gradual yet incremental way, with all the core competencies required of professional interpreters working in the simultaneous mode. The language-specific part of the module is taught by practicing interpreters, who bring into the classroom some invaluable experience and insights on the current language industry landscape and market demands. The tasks and assessment undertaken across the module reflect the challenges of real-life scenarios, with a level of difficulty proportional different learning stages, and are specifically chosen to equip students with the skills and knowledge that are key to develop professional competence and awareness. Successfully completing the module requires resilience, consistent and regular practice (both individually and in small groups), as well as persistence to engage in the process of trial and error that is needed to develop such skills and manage an inherently multitasking activity like interpreting. Employability and sustainability are also enhanced by the fact that successful completion of this module in combination with TRAM487 (semester 2) and its Consecutive and Dialogue Interpreting I and II counterparts (TRAM482 and 483) is officially recognised as fulfilling the entry criteria of the National Register of Public Service Interpreters (NRPSI), thus facilitating access to a key player for interpreters’ professionalisation and work ethics and standards in the UK.

The module is taught in an interactive way, with hands-on practice carried out in small groups and in a truly collaborative manner. As the course is inherently multilingual and multicultural, students are encouraged to engage with, and learn from, different perspectives to develop the skills necessary to learn how to convey content across languages and cultures in an accurate, clear and appropriate manner, thus developing their global and cultural capabilities. Students will develop their own resourcefulness and reflective skills that will benefit their critical thinking and ability to identify appropriate solutions and strategies to cope with a range of different challenges in real time. Altogether, this will contribute to building students’ own confidence and self-efficacy and professional skills.

The resources needed for this module are available digitally, and students will be encouraged to navigate and utilise several digital and technological resources for their assignment preparation and practice. Furthermore, students will train in state-of-the art interpreting labs, equipped with ISO-approved double interpreting booths as well as hardware and software solutions to practise in both in-person and hybrid interpreting, which will boost digital skills and well as sustainability, by raising awareness of different, remote modalities of interpreting delivery. This module is complementary to other TRAM modules where students acquire the theoretical foundations of translation and interpreting, which can be then tested and put into practice here. Likewise, this module builds the foundations to acquire and practise advanced interpreting skills in other TRAM modules. The topics and knowledge acquired will also be beneficial to seminar-based modules focused on interpreting and technology and on interpreting in public service settings as well as to the dissertation module particularly in the interpreting plus commentary format.

Programmes this module appears in

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2025/6 academic year.