module specification

This module is divided into two parts.

The first part aims at introducing students to interpreting theories that underpin their practice so they raise their awareness of the relationship between the two. It is an invitation for students to embrace the concept of “practisearchers” (Orlando, 2016) to cross the practice/research divide. Students gradually connect interpreting theories as a way to contribute to their understanding of the interpreting process. Students are then able to use interpreting theories as a reflective tool to analyse their own interpreting performance.

Students gradually get familiar with key scholars and understand the value of their contribution in the field. Students get introduced to research papers from a variety of countries and understand how to apprehend academic contributions critically. They are then able to make connections between scholars, interpreting contexts, and their own interpreting progression.

This reflective approach provides students with an opportunity to think of their own identity as potential researchers, able to identify areas of interests where they can contribute. This gently brings students to think of their dissertation in the second semester. Students then get familiar with scholars in their field of interest. With the help and guidance of peers and tutors, students are then engaged into shaping their reading into a literature review built around potential research questions that will later on inform their dissertation.

The second part of the module is tightly connected to the preparation strategies students need to master to prepare an interpreting assignment. This part of the module is connected to the interpreting practice in the practical modules of the MA Conference Interpreting and the MA Interpreting. The preparation strategies evolve around the following themes:
- exploring what the interpreting assignment is about (the brief);
- engaging in finding relevant bilingual resources that help the interpreter to develop a conceptual understanding of the brief;
- engaging students to strategically extract key terminology from their preparation;
- developing a terminology management system that fits with their needs, using the appropriate technology and software;
- activating new knowledge and terminology required to relieve the cognitive load during the interpreting assignment;
- accessing the terminology fast and efficiently during the interpreting assignment;
- reflecting on the efficiency of the preparation strategies after an interpreting assignment (Mock Conferences from module TR7092) and reviewing new strategies to adopt for the next assignment;
- understanding the technology available to move towards a paperless approach;
- developing collaborative strategies with booth partners to optimise preparation strategies and standardise terminology.

Module Aims:
In this module you will:

for part 1:

- develop a critical understanding of the main interpreting theories and their impact on practice;
- develop your identity as a “practisearcher” and identify an area of interest for your research, based on your reflective practice;
- identify the relevant literature review to support your research interest; 

for part 2:
- develop a strategic understanding of the nature of the interpreting assignment and what preparation it entails;
- adopt a strategic approach to researching bilingual materials relevant to the assignment to develop a conceptual and lexical understanding of the assignment;
- engage in a collaborative approach to enhance preparation strategies with your booth partners.

N/A

The module is delivered in a blended mode, with online and face to face sessions, offering some flexibility to students who cannot always be onsite. As the module offers two distinctive parts, sessions reflect this reality and are organised in clusters of hours around the topic studied.

The experiential learning module is tightly connected to the practical interpreting modules of the semester as it provides strategies to prepare for interpreting assignments but also to reflect once the performance is over. The cycles cover:
- preparing for an interpreting performance,
- applying strategies during the interpreting assignment
- reviewing the efficiency of strategies applied once the assignment is over;
- reflecting on the new ways forward to improve the next interpreting performance. (LO.1; LO.2; LO3;)

Students will upload their preparation for the mock conferences to a portfolio of practice which is assessed as a pass or fail. The portfolio of practice will collect the preparation materials used to prepare two mock conferences, as well as their reflective journey.(LO.1; LO.2; LO3;)

The theoretical background complements the reflective understanding of the interpreting process and the efficiency of strategies applied during the assignment. This connection between practice and theory will empower students to develop an enthusiastic approach to their personal research interests. (LO.4; LO.5; LO.6)

On a weekly basis, students are introduced to scholars that are key in their fields. They get familiar with key research papers which they critically discuss and connect to their own practice. Papers cover research interests at an international level and will be selected to represent the identity of students (countries represented, language specific interests, personal research interests).(LO.4; LO.5; LO.6)

The module encourages students to write summaries of papers, to critically review a paper or again to reflect on a paper. The writing is uploaded in a portfolio of writing that encourages students to use methods that they feel more comfortable about, such as using audio recording or video recording to reflect on a paper which can then be used as a pre-writing step.(LO.4; LO.5; LO.6)

Students are encouraged to work collaboratively, online or face to face. This collaborative approach across identities and cultural differences is not only essential for their personal and professional development, but it is also essential to prepare students to confidently work with peer interpreters they don’t know during their professional life.(L.O1; LO.2; LO.3; LO.4; LO.6).

Scheduled teaching activities and independent studies are tightly connected and based on online/face to face flipped activities.
The face to face activities will provide an introduction to key strategies to preparing an interpreting assignment. Students will then have to try and implement some of these strategies that include technology (terminology management software, use of tablets and stylus, accessing terminology fast whilst interpreting, learning terminology with software), a reflective approach per booth and on an individual basis to prepare the mock conferences. As a result, the reflective experience of students will feed taught sessions and introduce further strategies. Face to face classes will introduce guest speakers and alumni that will share their experience and demonstrate their experience of professional settings. As a result, independent studies in groups and individually will be crucial so that each student builds the appropriate approach to preparing an interpreting assignment for the module, but also later on as professionals.

The second part of the module is slightly different. Face to face classes will lead students into their independent practice. The input from face to face teaching will define the independent studies that includes the reading of articles, the writing of reflective summaries on the way articles relate to practice and vice versa. The face to face activities will aim at demystifying theory and engage students into a needs-based response to their practical interpreting challenges with theory and research. Gradually, students will be invited to gain independence with their engagement in theory and research and try to define a potential area of interest for their own research. Their independent practice will then be more guided and will take centre stage. Face to face teaching will then evolve into a collective opportunity to share research interests and build a body of literature.

By the end of this module you will:

(Part 1 of the module)
LO.1: gain a critical insight in the main interpreting theories to reflect and improve your practice;

LO.2: understand the concept of “practisearcher” to identify your research interest inspired by your experience of practice;

LO.3: identify the relevant literature review to support your research interest;

(Part 2 of the module)

LO.4: understand the interpreting brief to strategically prepare for the assignment;

LO.5: based on strategic bilingual research, you will develop a conceptual understanding around the brief and establish a terminology management strategy to activate new knowledge;

LO.6: understand how to work collaboratively with your booth partner to optimise the personal and collective interpreting performance.

The assessment includes two components. One is formative and the second one is summative.

The formative assessment relates to part 1 of the module. It represents the learning journey of the students who will gradually prepare two mock conferences (module TR7092). It will include the three preparation temporal stages for each assignment (before, during and after) and contain:
- the terminology management strategies and glossaries
- the research materials (links) selected to prepare assignments
- the reflective journey of the student (video, audio or writing)
The reflective journey will include the experiential learning experience of the student, highlighting clear progress between interpreting assignments.

The summative component assesses the second part of the module.
During the module, students researched potential research interests. They have now formulated a research question. Students read about the topic and developed a critical approach to what they are interested in. This was collected in a portfolio of writing.

They now need to write a 2,000 to 2,500- word essay representing the literature review that will lead to the identification of a gap in knowledge, leading to a research question with some potential aims. This assignment aims at engaging students in research and their summer dissertation assignment, offering a head start with their research skills, their engagement with critical reading in connection with their potential interest in interpreting research.

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