Dreaming of Federal Certification

Pick your materials wisely. Look for study materials that have been curated for interpreters using simulated court proceedings by a reputable and properly credentialed member of our profession. Choose materials that have both transcript and audio, using the audio to interpret and the transcript to check your work.
Use your materials wisely! The number one mistake I see students make is to only interpret a practice lab one time. That first time is a valuable “blind run” moment, when you practice your skills and see how good you are at handling unknown topics. You should treat those blind runs seriously, trying not to pause in the middle or spiral when you make a mistake. Practice breathing and keeping your composure. Expect mistakes, and carry on anyway.
However, once you finish, you are NOT done. You must then listen to your recording, look for patterns to your mistakes, note your strengths and weaknesses and then integrate what you have learned, again and again until you have developed new muscle memory and your brain knows what it feels like to interpret smoothly and faithfully. You can repeat a lab 10-15 times and still learn from the experience. I call this step
Pace yourself! You won’t get very far if you only practice once a week. However, you also won’t get very far if you burn out. Find colleagues in the community with similar goals. Join Facebook groups with others studying for the same thing to find others dreaming of federal certification. Take classes. Hold yourself accountable. Ask for feedback, listen carefully to the feedback and integrate the feedback.

Athena Matilsky fell in love with languages the year she turned sixteen. She majored in Spanish interpreting/translation at Rutgers University and also studied French. After graduation, she taught elementary school in Honduras and then returned home to begin freelancing as a medical and court interpreter. She later became a staff interpreter for the NJ judiciary. She has gone on to earn certifications as a healthcare interpreter and a federal court interpreter for Spanish and as a court interpreter for French. Most recently, she received her Master’s Degree in Conference Interpreting from Glendon at York University. She currently works as an interpreter and teacher, training students to acquire the skills necessary to pass state and federal interpreting exams. When she is not writing or interpreting, you may find her practicing acroyoga or studying French.

< Older Post Newer Post >

Dreaming of Federal Certification