Being a language assistant: an unexpected interpreting practice.
Who would have thought that being a language assistant would be a marvellous way of practicing interpreting skills? Be warned though: this role comes with great responsibility.
Sometimes in life, when we get really lucky, we get a job that we like just because we speak a specific language. I have always looked at English native speakers with a tad bit of envy, as they can go abroad for quite long periods to teach English or just give conversation classes.
Being Italian, unfortunately, does not give you that type of “privilege” in life, as the world is more interested in what we eat and drink rather than how we talk. However, after years of silently waiting enviously in the background, my turn suddenly came. Although no tropical sunny beaches are involved in the scenario, I was asked by the Centre of Translation Studies at the University of Leeds to be a language assistant for this year’s MACITS (Master in Conference Interpreting and Translation Studies) Italian class. My duty would be preparing and delivering speeches to the class in order for them to practice with new material and, above all, a native speaker.
Although the sessions are not on a regular basis, this experience has already proven to be great on a personal level: going back to the classroom has helped remind me of the importance of constant practice, and participating to the lessons has given me the opportunity to brush up on some tricks of the trade, and even learn a few more. Moreover, preparing the speeches is practice itself: you need to research the topic to find something interesting to talk about, writing the speech keeps your language production active, and you have to stick to certain parameters and criteria in order for it to be pedagogical, which makes it slightly different than writing per se. In a way then, you are forced to play with the language, activating specific vocabulary, using uncommon expressions, and mimicking the style that a delegate of yours could actually use when you yourself are interpreting.
However, it is not all fun and games. We all know that to a certain extent an interpretation can be as good as the original speech, and this is why this role comes with a great deal of responsibility: you are there to help the students learn and get ready for what’s out there, your speeches then need to be engaging and relevant, tailored to specific levels of ability. This is even more true when the speech will be used as an exam speech: I found myself worrying a little (read: a lot) about their performance on the day of the exam – are they going to be okay? Maybe I shouldn’t have used that expression, maybe I should have made that point clearer. Moreover, I am sometimes asked to give them feedback after the performance, and at the end of the lessons the students have asked me for advice on how, where and when to practice.
This has also been the perfect chance to create practice material and to upload it on Speechpool.com, our favourite interpreting practice platform at the University of Leeds. Admittedly, preparing a speech, recording and uploading it is a time-consuming activity that we all want to do, but we often end up procrastinating. Being a language assistant has “forced” me to finally get down with it, helping a little with the perennial shortage of interpreting practice material.
On the whole, this experience has been absolutely fantastic: it has given me the opportunity to learn and grow whilst helping others to learn and grow too. My advice is, if you are ever asked to be a language assistant, don’t hesitate to take the opportunity, even if they’re not sending you to Honolulu to deliver your speeches.
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