Has anyone tried Bromberg Interpreter Education Online? Thread poster: Deborah Kolosova
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When searching for training programs for interpreters, I found that almost all of them are oriented toward Spanish-English interpreters. One exception I found is the Interpreter Education Online program offered by Bromberg and Associates (see site at http://site.interpretereducationonline.com/programs/). Not only does it offer language specific training for my language pair (Russi... See more When searching for training programs for interpreters, I found that almost all of them are oriented toward Spanish-English interpreters. One exception I found is the Interpreter Education Online program offered by Bromberg and Associates (see site at http://site.interpretereducationonline.com/programs/). Not only does it offer language specific training for my language pair (Russian-English), it offers the flexibility of distance learning. Sounds good, but I wanted to know if anyone had actually tried it and could give me their opinion of the program before I invested my money in it. Even though the programs are not outrageously expensive, they're expensive enough that I can't afford to spend the money on them if they're not going to give any significant help to my career. Can anyone help me out? ▲ Collapse
| | | | Parrot 
Spain
Local time: 06:27
Spanish to English
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| The link that works | Jul 31, 2009 |
http://site.interpretereducationonline.com/programs/
Hi Deborah,
Welcome! When you post links, it's advisable to leave a space or break after the link regardless of any punctuation, since the characters tend to run together.
Good luck...
[Edited at 2009-07-31 14:12 GMT]
| | | | linguist09 (X)
English to Russian
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Deborah;
Since you have already invested money in this program, then I am afraid it's too late to discuss its strong and weak points. Try it and let us all know. As far as I am concerned, I would never recommend any on-line interpreting programs because nothing could replace a hands-on interpreting training in a booth. Such programs are available in Europe (including Russia) and in USA.
Best
[Edited at 2009-07-31 19:25 GMT]
[Edited at 2009-07-31 19:25 GMT]
| | | | | Other Russian-English interpreter training programs? | Jul 31, 2009 |
No, I haven't invested any money in it yet; that's the point. I wanted to find some information before doing so. I wasn't able to find any language-specific Russian-English interpreter training programs besides the MA program at the Monterey Institute, which is rather pricey for me, as well as time consuming. If you know of any, please let me know where to find them. I'm currently in the LA area; something close to here would be ideal.
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linguist09 (X)
English to Russian
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I believe that MIIS is the only school in the US to offer this type of training.
| | | | | There are more economical ways to learn the same skills. | Aug 2, 2009 |
Hello, Deborah,
I have checked their website. They boast that their "goal is to fill the educational gap for interpreters of languages other than Spanish (OTS)." Well, sounds like a great idea, as inteprreter training programs in any language but Spanish are hard to find.
The devil, however, is in the details. Look at their course description:
"The Basic (3-unit) Course
The Basic (3-unit) Course prepares aspiring bilinguals to approach the ... See more Hello, Deborah,
I have checked their website. They boast that their "goal is to fill the educational gap for interpreters of languages other than Spanish (OTS)." Well, sounds like a great idea, as inteprreter training programs in any language but Spanish are hard to find.
The devil, however, is in the details. Look at their course description:
"The Basic (3-unit) Course
The Basic (3-unit) Course prepares aspiring bilinguals to approach the career of legal interpretation equipped with basic skills and knowledge. Tuition $550
This course offers fundamental information on the following:
U.S. legal system
interpreter role and Code of Ethics
interpretation theory and
skill-building practical exercises.
The course consists of 3 units and is expected to be completed in 6 weeks."
Notice that the bulk of the course (U.S. legal systen, the Code of Ethics, etc.) is not language specific. So much for "filling the gap"!
Instead of spending that much money, I suggest to get the following:
1. "Fundamentals of Court Interpretion", by Golzález, Vásquez and Mikkelson. $57.80 on Amazon. If you shop around for a used copy, you might find a better deal. It will tell you everything you need to know about the U.S. legal system, the interpreter role and Code of Ethics, plus a bit of interpretation theory (and you don't need that much theory - it's all practice).
2. Now, for the skill-building practical exercises, get the Russian CD set from ACEBO. You can find it here: http://acebo.com/rts.htm. It's $105.
You might also buy from ACEBO the videos on consecutive note taking, interpreter's ethics and criminal procedure. That is, if you have extra money to spend, as each video is $38. If you don't feel like spending that much, stick to the above two items - that will be quite enough for starters.
Good luck, and feel free to ask me any questions. ▲ Collapse
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I was thinking more about the advanced course, which, while more expensive ($1100) does offer language specific practical training in consecutive and simultaneous interpretation and sight translation, as well as units on vocabulary related to various specific areas of law. However, I was a bit skeptical about how they would be able to carry out this practical training over the Internet. After seeing the online program, I also had seen some info on the ACEBO materials and was beginning to think... See more I was thinking more about the advanced course, which, while more expensive ($1100) does offer language specific practical training in consecutive and simultaneous interpretation and sight translation, as well as units on vocabulary related to various specific areas of law. However, I was a bit skeptical about how they would be able to carry out this practical training over the Internet. After seeing the online program, I also had seen some info on the ACEBO materials and was beginning to think that they might be a good, more affordable alternative. Can you (or anyone else) give any more info on them (reviews, opinions, etc.)? Are they effective? ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Let's look into the more expensive course... | Aug 4, 2009 |
Here is the description of the $1100 (ouch!) course:
"1. Fundamentals of the U.S. legal system and various areas of law: Criminal Law, Civil Law, Immigration Law, Juvenile Law, and Intellectual Property Law
2. Categories of Crimes and Stages of Criminal Procedure
3. Special Topics: Controlled Substances, Firearms, Physical Evidence, Autopsies, Jargon, and more
4. Court Interpreter Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice
5. Interpr... See more Here is the description of the $1100 (ouch!) course:
"1. Fundamentals of the U.S. legal system and various areas of law: Criminal Law, Civil Law, Immigration Law, Juvenile Law, and Intellectual Property Law
2. Categories of Crimes and Stages of Criminal Procedure
3. Special Topics: Controlled Substances, Firearms, Physical Evidence, Autopsies, Jargon, and more
4. Court Interpreter Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice
5. Interpretation Theory
6. Interpretation Practice"
I suspect that points 1 through 5 are English only. Maybe, just maybe, points 2 and 3 will give you some solutions of the tricky English-Russian problems (due to the differences between Russian and US legal sistems - a sourse of the eternal headache for the interpreters in Russian-English pair). But I wouldn't hold my breath here...
All the theory you can study on your own. Do you really need to asnswer multiple-choice questions to find out whether you understood, say, the Code of Ethics? (If you explore their website, you'll see that they rely on multiple-choice questions to check your progress).
What you need is somebody who is an experienced interpeter listen to your interpretation and give you feedback. If they provide that, then it might be worth your money. But before you invest, e-mail them and ask: how many hours (if any) will a live instructor actually spend listening to your recorded and/or live interpretation and provide the feedback? Then divide the $1100 by the number of hours given and come to your own conclusions.
Bottom line: everything else, other then the feedback on your interpretation (if they indeed provide that) you can do on your own and much, much cheaper.
It appears that they have not been around for long, so finding somebody who tried them might be difficult. ▲ Collapse
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| They claim they do... | Aug 5, 2009 |
They claim that they do have experienced interpreters who act as instructors and give feedback. Also, from what I understand, the special topics in point 3 consist of studying terminology in the language in question, which is language specific. Still, even if they do have experienced instructors, I don't know how effectively they can evaluate my interpreting over the Internet; most likely my answers would be recorded, which isn't quite the same as live. What I've been meaning to do is to call ... See more They claim that they do have experienced interpreters who act as instructors and give feedback. Also, from what I understand, the special topics in point 3 consist of studying terminology in the language in question, which is language specific. Still, even if they do have experienced instructors, I don't know how effectively they can evaluate my interpreting over the Internet; most likely my answers would be recorded, which isn't quite the same as live. What I've been meaning to do is to call them (there's a phone number on the site) and ask them for more detailed info, but of course they're going to praise their own program, so I was hoping to find someone who had firsthand experience with it. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like anyone does. Another point about the program which I thought might possibly be a plus is that they give a certificate of completion at the end, which you don't get for self study, but on the other hand, is it likely that any clients/employers would take something like that seriously as a qualification? Probably not. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Before investing in the program... | Aug 5, 2009 |
...be sure to call and ask tons of questions. Don't allow them to get away with just giving their usual marketing speech - be very specific in what you ask. And I'll repeat the major question for you to ask them, because I think it's very important: how many hours will the instructor actually spend listening to your recorded and/or live interpretation and providing the feedback?
As to the value of the certificate for the po... See more ...be sure to call and ask tons of questions. Don't allow them to get away with just giving their usual marketing speech - be very specific in what you ask. And I'll repeat the major question for you to ask them, because I think it's very important: how many hours will the instructor actually spend listening to your recorded and/or live interpretation and providing the feedback?
As to the value of the certificate for the potential employers - based on my experience, I don't think it's worth $1100. I've been interpreting in English-Russian pair since 1999, and lack of "professional interpreting education" has never been a problem. The way you can get credit for self-study is to become certified. If the state you live in offers State Court Certification for Russian interpreters, go for it; otherwise, consider NAJIT exam.
And, should you decide to invest your money in the program, let us know how it went for you! ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Any update? Has anyone taken this course? | May 24, 2010 |
I'm curious to know whether in 8 months that have passed since the question was originally asked, anyone has taken this course, and if yes, what was his/her impression.
I see they advertise heavily in ATA magazine and other places. They might be worth the money, after all, and I may even consider them for my continuous education (which I must do by the end of 2010), but I'd like to hear first from at least one person who have taken their course.
Anybody? Thanks!
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