EAST ASIA PRACTICUM (CHINA & JAPAN)
I joined the Tokyo trip as a part of the East Asia Practicum trip as one of the two Japanese interpreters. The main sessions that my colleague and I interpreted were the Q&A session with Mr. Masataka Suzuki, a former member of the Upper House in the Japanese Diet on March 17 (consecutive interpretation) and an individual interview with Professor Hiroshi Tanaka on Japan’s immigration issues on March 18 (whispering and consecutive interpretation). For other lectures, I was either silently practicing simultaneous interpretation or taking notes. Working with the audience who need to rely on our interpretation, I learned how to interact with clients and audience, which I cannot “study” in class. Although I tend to focus in class more on how well I can interpret, interpretation is about how to deliver messages from one person to another. I believe that my colleague and I were able to always make sure our purpose as interpreters is to serve the group and lecturers. Through getting a head start on preparation, asking professors for documents, accommodating our interpretation format as necessary, and asking students about their research interests, we were able to have a great practical training experience from this trip.
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