Conference Interpreting MA
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Teaching and learning
The MACINT degree is devised to train students with aptitude for Conference Interpreting in an intensive and highly individualised manner.
Contact hours with CTIS staff will involve a mixture of seminars with students studying all five languages on the MACINT degree (Arabic, Chinese, French, German and Spanish) and language-specific tutorials focusing on your particular language combination. In the Professional Development for Conference Interpreters unit, students will also have the opportunity to work as part of a team of interpreters at a number of simulated multilingual conferences. As a result of the technology involved in simultaneous interpreting, class sizes are small which allows for intensive contact with teaching staff. In addition to class contact hours, e-learning provision provides students with the support and feedback required between classes, as well as allowing them the possibility for tracking their progress. Guided self-study sessions in small groups are an essential part of the MACINT degree. These sessions encourage self-reflexive learning and also nurture peer assessment and feedback skills. As a result of the expertise of CTIS staff, students will also be taught conference interpreting on the basis of research carried out in skill and expertise acquisition in Interpreting Studies. In addition, teaching and learning is informed by current research in Interpreting Studies on issues as diverse as cognitive processing and the social and ethical role of the interpreter.
Progression and assessment
MACINT is designed as a specialised postgraduate qualification in Conference Interpreting. Course units in consecutive and simultaneous interpreting complement one another and teaching and learning is informed closely by the research-led components. As the modules in MACINT are progressive (e.g. Consecutive Interpreting II builds on skills learnt and settings covered in Consecutive Interpreting I), with structured self-study forming an integral part of the course design, students are able to track their progress clearly as the programme develops.
Assessment on MACINT takes two forms: (1) assessed coursework and (2) end-of-unit examinations. The theoretical units (Interpreting Studies, Research Methods I and II) are assessed entirely by coursework, with two tasks spaced throughout the semester, enabling students to critically reflect on the material covered in class and receive formative feedback. Assessment in the practical interpreting modules is weighted towards end-of-unit examination, assessed by a panel of internal and external examiners, reflecting the task and professional practice of conference interpreting. However, coursework assessment is also integral to the practical interpreting units. This takes the form of an interpreting portfolio to track student progress throughout the semester, alongside other tasks such as compilation of a glossary-based terminology and interpreting performance in multilingual conferences.
Facilities
The facilities for the MACINT degree are internationally competitive. Students benefit greatly from the state-of-the-art simultaneous interpreting conference room which was installed in summer 2009. This includes simultaneous interpreting booths with interpreting consoles and integrated teaching software from leading simultaneous interpreting equipment manufacturer, Televic. This is the same equipment used at international organisations such as the European Parliament.
We also offer a Melissi digital self-study lab which provides excellent resources for group study and individual practice. This lab allows students to edit and use a wide range of multimedia materials. Additionally, the digital recording systems make it easier to record and monitor performance, both for consecutive interpreting and simultaneous interpreting exercises.
The John Rylands University Library (JRUL), on the doorstep of the Samuel Alexander Building, boasts one of the best stocked libraries internationally for Translation and Interpreting Studies literature. It also holds subscriptions to leading international journals in the field of interpreting such as Interpreting and The Translator. In addition, students have access to the most comprehensive abstracting service in Translation and Interpreting Studies, Translation Studies Abstracts (TSA), via John Rylands University Library.