LA884-7-AU-CO:
Introduction to Bilateral Interpreting
PLEASE NOTE: This module is inactive. Visit the Module Directory to view modules and variants offered during the current academic year.
2025/26
Language and Linguistics
Colchester Campus
Autumn
Postgraduate: Level 7
Inactive
Thursday 02 October 2025
Friday 12 December 2025
15
14 March 2025
Requisites for this module
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)
This module is for advanced level of interpreters.
Students of this module should have had basic skills and/or gained practical experiences of interpreting.
This 10-week module aims to enhance students’ understanding of the profession of simultaneous interpreting (SI) and provide advanced training of SI skills. Students will be required to perform Simultaneous Interpreting (SI) in the booths of the interpreting lab.
At the beginning of the term, split attention skill will be reinforced for more challenging SI tasks.
Students will be exposed to real-life scenarios to improve their understanding of the paramount importance of knowledge schemas, terminologies and personal experiences.
At the end of the module, students will be assessed for simultaneous interpreting skills in both language directions (Chinese-English and English-Chinese).
1. To acquire the foundational skills (verbal memory, note-taking, interpreting numbers, presentation skills and speech analysis etc) and build essential knowledge schemas to work as a competent dialogue interpreter.
2. To establish standards and criteria for interpreters’ performance evaluation and conduct regular self-reflections
3. To assess personal and peer performance in-class and during self-organised group practices
4. To facilitate with meeting and conference organising when acting as an event organiser
5. To familiarize with the uses of meeting technologies such as microphone, delegate position, recording facilities, video-recording tools and cloud sharing resources
By the end of this module, students will be expected to be able to:
- Demonstrate an advanced level of simultaneous interpreting strategies and techniques
- Demonstrate an advanced level of consecutive interpreting strategies and techniques in real-life scenarios
- Demonstrate capability of quick code-switching between Chinese and English numbers/terminologies in the selected context
- Demonstrate Accurate and steady rendering between English and Chinese within selected topics
- Demonstrate improving presentation style
- Self-assess and give constructive feedback to peers
Syllabus includes (subject to change)
- Introduction to Simultaneous Interpreting (SI)
- Sight Translation
- Linear Interpreting Practice
- Skill Consolidation
- Themed Practice, English to Chinese (E-C)
- Themed Practice, Chinese to English (C-E)
- Effective Communication
- Mock test
- Simultaneous Interpreting (SI) Skills Review
- End of module assessment
This module will be delivered in the following format:
Two-hours per week, combining lecture and practical work including pre-class preparation, role-play, booth practice and feedback sessions.
The above list is indicative of the essential reading for the course.
The library makes provision for all reading list items, with digital provision where possible, and these resources are shared between students.
Further reading can be obtained from this module's
reading list.
Assessment items, weightings and deadlines
| Coursework / exam |
Description |
Deadline |
Coursework weighting |
Additional coursework information
N/A
Exam format definitions
- Remote, open book: Your exam will take place remotely via an online learning platform. You may refer to any physical or electronic materials during the exam.
- In-person, open book: Your exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer to any physical materials such as paper study notes or a textbook during the exam. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, open book (restricted): The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer only to specific physical materials such as a named textbook during the exam. Permitted materials will be specified by your department. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, closed book: The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may not refer to any physical materials or electronic devices during the exam. There may be times when a paper dictionary,
for example, may be permitted in an otherwise closed book exam. Any exceptions will be specified by your department.
Your department will provide further guidance before your exams.
Overall assessment
Reassessment
Module supervisor and teaching staff
Ms Dan Chen, email: dan.chen@essex.ac.uk.
Chantel Chen
4.204a, cchenn@essex.ac.uk
No
No
No
Dr Yan JIANG
SOAS University of London
Senior Lecturer in Linguistics and the Languages of China
Available via Moodle
Of 32 hours, 0 (0%) hours available to students:
32 hours not recorded due to service coverage or fault;
0 hours not recorded due to opt-out by lecturer(s).
* Please note: due to differing publication schedules, items marked with an asterisk (*) base their information upon the previous academic year.
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