LEVEL: All Levels
LANGUAGE: Language Neutral
PRESENTER: Giovanna Carriero-Contreras

A code of ethics defines the core values and principles guiding professionals in making decisions in complex scenarios. For interpreters, these codes promote critical thinking, responsible judgment, and ethical navigation of professional dilemmas—moving beyond rigid adherence to rules. The AAITE National Codes of Ethics introduced a framework rooted in Communicative Autonomy and Cultural Awareness, highlighting the importance of ethical decision-making and critical thinking. But how do these principles hold up against the growing perception that AI tools can perform interpreting tasks better and cheaper? Does the ethical behavior expected of interpreters extend to the use and implementation of AI tools? Join this thought-provoking, interactive session to explore these questions and examine the intersection of human judgment, professional ethics, and emerging technologies. Discover where interpreting ethics stand in a rapidly shifting legal and technological landscape.

Objectives:  Attendees will understand the key ethical principles that guide interpreters in their role as providers of language access, highlighting their critical contribution to ensuring effective communication within the broader legal framework. They will learn to navigate ethical dilemmas ensuring that professional standards and human judgment remain central to the interpreter’s work. They will also develop an informed response to explain why artificial intelligence databases, despite their efficiency and vast data capabilities, cannot replicate the nuanced judgment, cultural sensitivity, and ethical decision-making inherent to the human mind in interpreting.

LEVEL: All Levels
LANGUAGE: Language Neutral
PRESENTER: Nestor Wagner

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into interpreter training is transforming the educational process by blending human expertise with advanced technology. Online training platforms now feature AI-powered evaluation tools that provide real-time feedback, delivering performance assessments within three minutes of completing a practice session. During seminars, AI actively engages with students, asking them how much they have learned at specific intervals. Based on their responses, the AI immediately identifies areas that need further review, enabling students to address gaps in understanding while still engaged in the learning process. Additionally, trainees can create their own interpreting and translating exercises, receiving instant, tailored feedback to refine their skills. This innovative approach personalizes and accelerates interpreter training, fostering deeper learning and greater confidence in professional performance.

Objectives: In this session, we will showcase AI’s Role in interpreter training, explore how AI is enhancing the educational process by blending human expertise with advanced technology, and highlight real-time feedback mechanisms.

We will demonstrate AI-powered tools that provide instant performance assessments within minutes of practice sessions.  We’ll promote interactive learning, examine how AI engages students during seminars, assessing progress and identifying areas for improvement in real-time.  We’ll enable personalized training and discuss how trainees can create customized exercises and receive tailored feedback to refine their interpreting and translating skills. We’ll foster efficient skill development and showcase how AI accelerates the learning process, enabling students to address gaps and improve with greater confidence. Finally, we’ll encourage adoption of innovative tools and provide practical insights for trainers and institutions to integrate AI into their training programs for more effective learning outcomes.

LEVEL: All Levels
LANGUAGE: Language Neutral
PRESENTER: David Gilbert, Ph.D.

Commenting on the quality of translated intercept evidence a Supreme Court judge said: “The acceptance of translations by Courts and juries involves a leap of faith in every case; but here the perils involved in the leap have been exposed.” The courts heavily rely on interpreters and translators to convey evidence in English at an acceptable standard to realize due process. The complex nature of Forensic Transcription Translation (FTT) presents several significant challenges that differ from other forms of translation. This session explores who determines acceptable standards in the field of FTT, how acceptable standards are defined, how they are measured, and how they are applied. An overview of the complexities of court interpreting is provided where translated intercept evidence as a product of FTT is presented in court. Using selected case studies, the session demonstrates the extent to which the court relies on interpreters and translators to maintain the integrity of the chain of evidence. Ethical issues are addressed, and the impact of disruptive technologies on FTT is explored.

Objectives: Attendees will learn how to use terminology used in the field of forensic transcription translation (FTT). The quality required of FTT is explored enabling attendees to determine how acceptable standards are defined and applied. The session will explain how to negotiate difficulties when interpreting extracts of translated intercept evidence in court. Ethical issues associated with FTT are explored enabling attendees to identify ethical issues and apply professional obligations in different situations. The session explores the difference between FTT and other forms of expert evidence, enabling attendees to understand what the courts require of interpreters and translators who are called as expert witnesses. Future technologies are explored providing attendees with an appreciation of disruptive technologies likely to affect the field of FTT.

LEVEL: All Levels
LANGUAGE: English with some Spanish/Indigenous Language Examples
PRESENTER: Luis Lopez Resendiz

There are over 500 Indigenous languages spoken in Latin America. Why is it then, that the popular narrative continues to assume that mostly everyone from south of the US-Mexican border speaks Spanish and this remains the default language when rendering service? This is not by accident but by design. During this presentation, you will learn from Indigenous experts in the field about the diversity of Indigenous languages, best practices, and techniques for identifying Indigenous languages. You will learn about case studies that demonstrate how this dominant narrative has fatal consequences and the efforts of Indigenous peoples to fight for their language rights.

Objectives: Participants will learn about the diversity of Indigenous languages and techniques for identifying these languages. They will walk away with the knowledge to apply these techniques in their everyday work. Participants will learn about best practices for interpretation when working with Indigenous interpreters and the community. This will include unique situations that may arise when working with Indigenous populations and how to navigate them. The presentation will include historical context of migration and displacement of Indigenous populations and how this contributes to historical traumas that arise when working with Indigenous populations. Participants will learn how to recognize and work through these challenges.

LEVEL: All Levels
LANGUAGE: Language Neutral
PRESENTER: Lili Selden

Interpreters in every sphere work under stressful circumstances and rely on their minds and bodies to help facilitate effective communication. The stresses we experience stem from the cognitive load of balancing the need for complete and accurate renditions, on the one hand, and the need to be as inobtrusive and efficient as possible, on the other hand, while also hearing accurately and speaking clearly for hours on end, often with only brief breaks to decompress. There is also a moderate to high risk of vicarious trauma for interpreters working on assignments involving natural disasters, conflict or injustice of all kinds, debilitating health issues, and so on. It is essential, therefore, for interpreters to continually monitor their mental, emotional, and physical health, and to take care of their “instrument.” This 90-minute, language-neutral, hands-on workshop is co-presented by an Armenian<>English conference interpreter and vocal coach, and an English<>Japanese legal and community interpreter. The presenters discuss the research documenting symptoms of vicarious trauma in interpreters. They also share best practices for routine self-care, ranging from vocal exercises to ensure healthy vocal cords, accounting for the risk of hearing loss and acoustic shock from unsuitable headsets when interpreting remotely or in the booth, and prioritizing one’s mental and emotional health both to ensure delivery of reliable services during potentially traumatic assignments and to be able to de-stress afterward. Attendees will learn about, and practice together, a range of vocal, breathing, visualization, and other exercises. Ultimately, this session will equip novice and experienced interpreters with an array of self-care tools to enhance their mental, emotional, and physical wellbeing.

Objectives:  Attendees will have their memories refreshed, both about the cognitive and emotional demands placed on their minds and bodies when working as conference, legal, and community interpreters, and the ways in which prioritizing self-care allows them to decompress after particularly taxing assignments. Attendees will leave the workshop with a range of tools for maintaining their mental, emotional, and physical health.

LEVEL: All Levels
LANGUAGE: Language Neutral
MODERATOR: Ellen Wingo

Symbols play a crucial role in effective note-taking for consecutive interpretation, enabling interpreters to capture key concepts quickly and efficiently. However, many interpreters find it challenging to come up with symbols, incorporate them into their note-taking, and apply them consistently. This session is designed to demystify the use of symbols in note-taking, offering attendees a deeper understanding of how to develop their own collections of symbols and integrate them effectively into their practice. In this interactive workshop, the presenter will share her own symbols and the systems that she uses to create and connect them in her notes. She will introduce a classification method that ranks symbols by their efficiency and origin, creating families of related symbols and systematic ways to generate them that reduce the cognitive load of note-taking. This will help participants identify which symbols are most effective for their personal style. Through hands-on exercises, attendees will experiment with various symbols and strategies, gaining insight into how symbols can streamline note-taking, extend working memory, and reduce cognitive load. By the end of the session, participants will have practical strategies for refining their note-taking systems, improving both speed and accuracy in consecutive interpretation. This language-neutral workshop is open to all interpreters seeking to enhance their understanding and use of symbols in consecutive interpretation, offering valuable tools for boosting efficiency and effectiveness in their practice.

Objectives: By the end of the session, participants will learn how to streamline note-taking, extend working memory, and reduce cognitive load through the use of symbols. They will have a deeper understanding of how to effectively integrate symbols into their note-taking systems. Attendees will gain practical strategies for developing and refining their own symbols, tailored to their personal style, which will allow them to improve speed, accuracy, and overall efficiency in consecutive interpretation.

LEVEL: All Levels
LANGUAGE: Language Neutral
PRESENTER: Mary Aponte

Even though team interpreting is widely considered best practices for longer judicial proceedings, its use is still questioned in certain courts. Participants attending this session will learn what the established practices are, how to implement them effectively and how to handle challenges encountered in putting team interpreting into practice. Participants will have an opportunity to learn and discuss best practices, share their experiences and gauge their ability to work as a team via three rounds of an interactive game. Participants will also have the option of taking part in a live debate on contentious topics that arise during the presentation. Now is the time for interpreters to reexamine their current approach to team interpreting and strategize for increased use of standard procedures in order to maximize accuracy and ensure due process!

Objectives: At the conclusion of this presentation, participants will be able to define team interpreting, recognize its indispensability in certain judicial proceedings, and apply established techniques for successful outcomes. They will also understand who benefits from team interpreting and why its use is essential.

LEVEL: All Levels
LANGUAGE: Language Neutral
PRESENTER: Agustin de la Mora

Even though the consecutive mode allows interpreters to hear the entire utterance and take notes before speaking, interpreters may still find themselves forgetting details or confusing sequences of events. That is where the essential skill of memory comes in. Join Agustin de la Mora for this practical class on developing your memory skills with proven techniques that you can start using immediately. Learn how notetaking and memory compliment and support each other, as well as how to keep lists, sequences of events and more in order without writing a single word.

Objectives:  Participants will improve consecutive interpreting skills and simultaneous interpreting skills.  This session will improve their confidence in stored memories and the ease of encoding and decoding remembered information.

LEVEL: All Levels
LANGUAGE: Language Neutral
PRESENTER: Javier Castillo, Jr.

In this entertaining and thought-provoking session, attendees will have a chance to do some introspection and find ways to stay ahead of life’s different curves. In the face of changing landscapes, with AI, and other threats and opportunities, it’s important to prepare and think about the different ways that one can future-proof one’s profession.

Objectives: Attendees will learn ways of thinking about their current and future situations and find ways to be prepared to provide the highest level services for their clients in a rapidly changing environment.

LEVEL: All Levels
LANGUAGE: Language Neutral
PRESENTER: Judy Jenner

Traditional tablets have long been used for note-taking in interpreting, but they are heavier than many interpreters would like them to be. For quite some time, no good alternatives to old-school non-environmentally friendly paper notebooks were available, but the lightweight Remarkable tablet has changed all that. It’s a sleek, Norwegian-designed tablet that’s designed exclusively for note-taking and has revolutionized the way many interpreters take notes. Join the presenter, who is an early adapter of Remarkable, for a presentation of features of this device, which also allows you to upload your notes, convert them to text, annotate documents, and more. Attendees will be able to use the Remarkable during the session.

Objectives:  Attendees will learn the basic functions of a new piece of hardware that they may never have had before and will also be able to use the presenter’s device to test it. Attendees will be made aware of the advantages — as well as limitations — a digital device that is lightweight and versatile and eliminates the need for paper.

LEVEL: Beginner
LANGUAGE: Language Neutral
PRESENTERS: Jamilla de Mistro

This workshop is for current or aspiring self-employed professionals (i.e. freelance interpreters and translators). The topic? The behind-the-scenes grunt work that stops those freelancers from feeling satisfied. We are our own bosses, so how can we be the best boss possible? Through partner dialogues and class discussions, we’ll explore what our ultimate business goals are and how, practically, to reach them. Topics covered will include goal-setting and time management, stress reduction and budgeting.

Objectives: Participants will leave armed with the tools they need to make their self-employment as successful and fulfilling as possible. During this session, participants will understand best business practices, career planning, and mapping success for linguists and language professionals.  We’ll talk about how to grow your business, how to set your rates, how to calculate and negotiate, and how to get more clients.  The session will also cover marketing and promotion for your translation and interpretation business, which includes advertising yourself and setting yourself up to be the interpreter the client always calls while watching for ethics pitfalls.

LEVEL: ALL
LANGUAGE: Language Neutral
PANELISTS: To be announced
MODERATOR: Bill Rivers

The revocation of Executive Order 13166 represents a pivotal shift in federal language access policy with potential far-reaching implications for millions of limited English proficient (LEP) individuals nationwide. This panel will examine the immediate and long-term consequences of this decision in light of the legal bases for language access as a civil right, while exploring adaptive strategies and potential pathways forward in this changing policy landscape.

LEVEL: Intermediate/Advanced
LANGUAGE: Language Neutral
PRESENTER: Katty Kaufman

Interpreting assignments often take us far beyond the courtroom, from depositions to remote meetings and travel-based assignments in non-legal contexts. This session explores innovative, practical strategies for using portable interpreting equipment effectively in these diverse settings. Attendees will learn how to adapt equipment to meet the unique demands of each scenario, troubleshoot common technical challenges, and ensure high-quality sound and performance under varied conditions. The session will provide actionable tips on managing portable equipment in unconventional and noisy environments. Additionally, we’ll address ethical considerations, such as confidentiality when using remote systems with transcription, and balancing client expectations with professional integrity in an array of settings. Through real-world examples and a discussion on best practices, this session will empower interpreters to confidently handle any assignment, regardless of location. Whether you’re navigating a complex deposition, supporting communication at a business conference, or managing a multilingual meeting while traveling, “Equipment Tricks and Hacks: Beyond the Courtroom” will leave you with the skills and ethical awareness to elevate your interpreting practice.

Objectives: Attendees will gain practical strategies to effectively utilize portable interpreting equipment in diverse settings, ensuring optimal performance and adaptability across varied environments. They will develop the ability to troubleshoot common technical challenges, maintaining high-quality sound and performance even in unconventional or noisy conditions. Through an exploration of real-world scenarios, participants will learn to uphold professional ethical standards, including safeguarding confidentiality and balancing client demands with integrity. By mastering these techniques and best practices, interpreters will leave equipped to confidently manage assignments ranging from depositions to multilingual meetings, enhancing their professional versatility and effectiveness.

LEVEL: All Levels
LANGUAGE: Language Neutral
PRESENTER: Athena Matilsky

This workshop is for current or aspiring self-employed professionals (i.e. freelance interpreters and translators). The topic? The behind-the-scenes grunt work that stops those freelancers from feeling satisfied. We are our own bosses, so how can we be the best boss possible? Through partner dialogues and class discussions, we’ll explore what our ultimate business goals are and how, practically, to reach them. Topics covered will include goal-setting and time management, stress reduction and budgeting. Participants will leave armed with the tools they need to make their self-employment as successful and fulfilling as possible.

Objectives:Participants will explore the challenges of entrepreneurship, obtaining tools and strategies for running a successful and fulfilling business.

LEVEL: All Levels
LANGUAGE: Language Neutral
PANELISTS:  Giovanna Carriero-Contreras (AAITE) , Janis Palma (NAJIT), Christina Green (ATA)

Explore how ethical codes from various organizations (e.g., ATA, NAJIT, AAITE) guide interpreters and translators across diverse settings, fostering an understanding of the core values across specializations and specialization-specific nuances of ethical principles.

Objectives:

Promote Knowledge Sharing and Collaboration – Facilitate an exchange of perspectives among association leaders and language professionals, emphasizing the collaborative development of ethical guidelines that address the complexities of working across multiple specializations and settings.

Identify and Address Ethical Challenges- Develop strategies to navigate potential conflicts and challenges posed by differing ethical frameworks, ensuring interpreters and translators uphold ethical responsibilities while serving diverse communities effectively.

LEVEL: All Levels
LANGUAGE: Language Neutral
PRESENTER: David Proano Celi

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly reshaping the landscape of language services. This 90-minute session aims to equip interpreters and translators with a comprehensive understanding of AI’s capabilities, challenges, and potential. We begin with a live demonstration of GPT-powered interpretation, highlighting how advanced voice technology facilitates seamless language conversion. Following this, we analyze findings from key reports, including sentiment and future expectations of AI adoption in the interpreting and translation sectors. Attendees will gain valuable insights from comparative studies on how AI tools are perceived, providing a snapshot of how the field is responding to technological advancements. The session also draws on examples from the legal and medical fields, how attorneys are learning how to leverage AI tools into their workflow, including reports on how AI could be used to automate a large part of legal work, and summaries of AI applications in medical workflows. These examples will encourage interpreters and translators to rethink how such tools could enhance their professional roles. Finally, we present findings from various research studies and our own original tests on AI’s performance in legal interpretation. We address practical questions about accuracy, bias, and reliability, while also exploring how AI’s interpreting performance has evolved over time and its effectiveness in complex fields, such as legal interpretation. This structured presentation will provide attendees with knowledge and tools for navigating AI’s evolving role in interpreting and translation.

Objectives: Attendees will gain a clear understanding of how GPT and other AI tools operate in the context of language interpretation and translation, enabling them to comprehend the technology’s functionality and potential applications. They will explore recent research findings on AI’s role in language services, gaining insights into its advancements and challenges. Through examples from the medical and legal fields, participants will learn practical strategies for effectively leveraging AI tools in professional settings. Additionally, attendees will evaluate AI’s strengths, limitations, and its evolution in interpreting performance, with a specific focus on its current capabilities and effectiveness in legal interpretation.

LEVEL: INTERMEDIATE
LANGUAGE: LANGUAGE NEUTRAL
PRESENTER: ENRIQUE GARCIA

Expert witness testimony can be one of the most challenging tasks for a court interpreter in the simultaneous mode. This is especially true in the field of ballistics and firearm identification. This presentation will dissect the testimony of such experts to reveal a common and prepared format that witnesses follow on the stand. Knowing what is going to be discussed, in what order, and the most commonly used terms during such testimony, the interpreter can be more successful in his/her interpretation. The presenter will rely upon his own personal experience as a staff interpreter who has interpreted during numerous trials where expert testimony was given by members of the Philadelphia Police Department’s Firearm Identification Unit. The presenter will also provide actual transcripts to widen the participant’s knowledge of the boilerplate formatting and delivery of such testimony.

Objectives: Participants will gain a greater understanding of the methodology and format of firearm identification testimony, which can be used to enhance their own vocabulary, preparation, mechanics, and delivery during simultaneous interpretation.

LEVEL: ALL
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
PANELISTS: CARMEN BESTUÉ, VANESSA CAÑETE JURADO, SAMANTHA CAYRON, ELENA GANDÍA GARCÍA, AND ELOÍSA MONTEOLIVA GARCÍA
MODERATOR: PROF. AÍDA MARTÍNEZ-GÓMEZ, SSTI VICE-PRESIDENT

This panel, sponsored by the Society for the Study of Translation and Interpreting (SSTI), aims to foreground the connections between empirical research and the actual practice of legal and judiciary interpreting and translation. It is designed as an opportunity for researchers, professionals, and trainers to reflect jointly upon the present and the future of our discipline.

It will comprise four presentations that cover different aspects of our profession in a variety of geopolitical areas. Profs. Cañete-Jurado and Gandía-García will present the results of a survey-based research project on the application of current codes of professional conduct to interpreting assignments in asylum cases involving unaccompanied minors in the United States. Ms. Monteoliva-García will explore the concept of the ‘stand-by mode of interpreting’ and its implications, including their collaborative potential and their associated risks, for police interviews with Spanish-speaking suspects in Scotland. Prof. Bestué will discuss the usefulness of corpus-based research to identify and classify interpreting problems and strategies/techniques in the context of criminal proceedings conducted in three language pairs (English/French/Romanian-Spanish) in Spanish criminal courts. Prof. Cayron will describe a theoretical model to solve legal translation problems stemming from asymmetries between the different legal systems and will illustrate it with authentic notary public documents from France and Spain.

Objectives: In this session, attendees will become familiar with different research methods and projects aimed at advancing our knowledge of the legal/judiciary translation and interpreting field, reflect about the constraints of current codes of professional conduct when working with unaccompanied minors, reflect on their own use of the ‘stand-by mode of interpreting’ in actual practice and its implications for specific communicative events, become familiar with typical interpreting problems and strategies/techniques common in court proceedings and with tools to identify and classify them, learn about a theoretical model to solve legal translation problems stemming from asymmetries between different legal systems.

LEVEL: INTERMEDIATE/ADVANCED
LANGUAGE: LANGUAGE NEUTRAL
PRESENTER: GLORIA RIVERA, Ph.D.

Most people have a general understanding of the basic structure of their bodies. They may know the location of their heart, the size of their liver, and which foot is the left one. But a certified interpreter requires a deeper understanding of anatomical terminology and concepts since they will have to interpret for a Qualified Medical Evaluator (QME), sight-translate a pathology report, or render an expert witness’ testimony in court. In this session, participants will be exposed to basic anatomical terms, levels of organization, and structure of the body (cells and tissues, and the integumentary, skeletal, muscular, nervous, endocrine, cardiovascular, lymphatic/immune, respiratory, digestive, urinary, and reproductive systems), basic functions, and common signs and symptoms of illness.

Objectives: Participants will learn basic anatomical terms, levels of organization, and structure of the body, its basic functions, and common signs and symptoms of illness or disease.

LEVEL: ALL
LANGUAGE: LANGUAGE NEUTRAL
PRESENTER: MARGARET WOLFE-ROBERTS

Participants will be introduced to a highly efficient system of note-taking that allows for the retention of 2-3 times more spoken information than one could write out in complete words. I have developed and refined this system over several years’ time in court and other legal settings. Using it, I personally can interpret 120-150 words of witness testimony at a time with a high degree of accuracy. At the heart of the method is a specially designed concepts-based symbology consisting of about 90 basic elements, many of them common shapes of letters and numbers, such as, for example, the number 7, which represents a bent leg, implying all types of movement. These elements can be combined in logical ways to create a vast arsenal of easy-to-learn symbols capable of covering much of the vocabulary one typically encounters in legal proceedings. Participants will receive copies of a Quick Jots glossary and a variety of worksheets. We will discuss the training of mind and hand for successful use of the system, and have fun giving it a try. We will also learn and practice how to appraise source statements for their essential concepts and discuss how to adapt the system for individual use, how concepts map to language, and why a language-neutral system for note-taking is desirable. Note: Attendees should bring 20 pages of unlined paper for practice.

Objectives: By the end of the session, participants will be well-equipped and on the road to acquiring a note-taking system that has the potential, with practice, to double or triple their retention during consecutive interpreting.

LEVEL: ALL
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
PRESENTER: KELLY VARGUEZ

Many ethical codes for interpreters include a canon on maintenance and improvement of skills. How can interpreters find the time to follow through on this important professional standard with all the commitments and responsibilities of work and private life? Join Kelly Varguez (U.S. Court Certified Interpreter) to explore the ethical issues surrounding skills maintenance and development. In this practical interactive session, you will discover the power of establishing tiny habits; devise ways to weave skills work into your regular day; find free and low-cost tools to help you change your habits, and leave with a renewed desire to set and reach ambitious goals.

Objectives: This session will discuss ethical issues surrounding skills development, evaluate current habits and level of compliance with the skills development canon, identify free and low-cost tools to help build positive skills-improvement habits, and develop a plan for consistent skills-improvement work.

LEVEL: ALL
LANGUAGE: LANGUAGE NEUTRAL
PRESENTER: AGUSTÍN SERVIN DE LA MORA

Many Interpreters may be familiar with “the 4 agreements”, a philosophy championed by renowned author Don Miguel Ruiz.  But did you know that there is a “4 agreements” just for interpreters? Come find out how four simple statements can make a world of difference in your day-to-day interpreting activities. Be more mindful, more careful and more honest with yourself as you journey and grow in the interpreting profession. For interpreters of all levels.

LEVEL: ADVANCED
LANGUAGE: SPANISH
PANELISTS: RAFAEL CARRILLO, LAURA GARCÍA-HEIN, KATTY KAUFFMAN, JANIS PALMA, AND ALÍ SALCEDO
MODERATOR: ERNEST NIÑO-MURCIA

Have you wondered how your colleagues render troublesome federal court terms like guideline range and downward departure? Hear suggested interpretations for these and other terms from a panel of federally-certified interpreters from different regions, with experience interpreting in both a staff and freelance capacity. Discussion will focus on the rationale behind different renditions, including the spectrum of interpreting terms via linguistic calques or researching and finding equivalent terms from the Latin American legal codes.

Please note that this is intended to be an advanced-level session, so it will be assumed that audience members are already familiar with the meaning of legal terms in English.

Objectives: Participants will be able to identify different interpretations of given terms and understand the rationale behind these proposed renderings.

LEVEL: ALL
LANGUAGE: LANGUAGE NEUTRAL
PRESENTER: ATHENA MATILSKY

“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results”—Attributed to Albert Einstein. In this workshop, participants will discover new ways to critically evaluate their interpreting output and practical ways to improve, so they don’t do the same thing over and over. Participants will be given the tools to use their study time more effectively. The session will focus specifically on the Consecutive Mode. Participants will be given a multitude of practical exercises and ways to approach different problem areas such as names and numbers, fast-paced speakers and long, complicated utterances. Whether they hope to pass a specific exam or simply improve their on-the-job renditions, participants will come away from the presentation more confident, prepared, and ready to achieve their professional goals. The session is language-neutral and applicable to legal, medical and community interpreters.

Objectives: Participants will learn how to optimize their self-study techniques, learn from mistakes, and improve accuracy and self-confidence. Knowledge learned can be applied to state certification exams, federal certification exams, and medical interpreting exams. These techniques can also be used to strengthen on-the-job interpretation skills.

LEVEL: ALL
LANGUAGE: LANGUAGE NEUTRAL
PRESENTER: JEFF TORRES

This session will familiarize the participant with the structure of criminal street gangs, associated drug organizations, and their present-day involvement in the sale and transportation of illegal narcotics, including current cultural trends, phrases, and terminology. Participants will also learn about the lifestyle, common phrases, hierarchy, pagan idols, and the symbolic/religious customs generally associated with these criminal and “narco” gangs.

Objectives: To familiarize participants with gang-related criminal behavior, gang-related terminology, narcotics-related terminology, and narco/gang-related culture and its effects on witness/suspect/victim testimony in the courtroom.

LEVEL: ALL
LANGUAGE: LANGUAGE NEUTRAL
PRESENTER: SANDRO TOMASI

Legal translation/interpreting is a double operation consisting of both legal and interlingual transfer, with an emphasis on legal transfer, which constitutes the principal operation. An essential step in the translation/interpreting process is ascertaining the legal meaning of the source-language term. Some English common-law terms can be prima facie deceptive and are analogous to the tip of an iceberg in that they only represent part of the picture. Translators/interpreters need to understand the full size, shape and depth of a legal term before even attempting to translate/interpret. This workshop will offer an in-depth view of some of the most commonly mistranslated English common-law terms, providing a legal-semantic picture of what needs to be translated into any language.

Objectives: Interpreters and translators will learn how to go beyond the prima-facie meaning of a legal term by using statutes and treatises to identify the full legal semantics thereof.

LEVEL: ALL
LANGUAGE: LANGUAGE NEUTRAL
PRESENTER: JUDY JENNER

Do you hate Twitter, not understand it, or think it’s a waste of time? Are you still puzzled when someone uses the term “hashtag?” Love it or hate it, Twitter is here to stay and there’s no doubt that this platform has a major impact on business. The presenter, who has more than 11,000 followers on this divisive social media platform, will explain, in clear language, what Twitter is, how it should be used, and what you can expect from using it, from increasing your public profile to interacting with others in the profession. No technical experience is necessary, and participants do not need a Twitter account to benefit from the presentation. The speaker will also cover the importance of safeguarding your online reputation, explain how to use lists and hashtags, address ethics and trolling, and will gladly decipher Twitter lingo for you.

Objectives:  Twitter is a relatively new technology, and the presenter will provide an overview of what Twitter is for, how it works, and how linguists can use it to further their careers and exposure at no cost, beyond the cost of your time.

LEVEL: ALL
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
PRESENTERS: HON. STEVEN K. AUSTIN AND ELIZABETH TAM-HELMUTH

A member of the Language Access Plan Implementation Task Force (Task Force) and a program staff member will provide an update on ongoing efforts to implement the Strategic Plan for Language Access in the California Courts (adopted January 2015). The presentation will cover plan implementation efforts and progress to date, including securing funding for interpreters to provide services in civil cases, and a Video Remote Interpreting (VRI) Pilot Project with spoken language interpreters to evaluate different equipment solutions. The session will highlight various language access products developed by the Task Force and added to the online resource, the Language Access Toolkit. These include a Notice of Free Language Access Services (translated into nine languages); a Request for Interpreter (Civil) INT-300 Form; a Translation Protocol and Translation Action Plan; a Model Complaint Form and Model Procedures; and Web Guidance Materials for Courts to ensure that LEP court users can easily locate relevant and accessible materials on court websites. The session will also provide an opportunity for participants to ask questions and make comments about ongoing plan implementation and monitoring.

LEVEL: ALL
LANGUAGE: LANGUAGE NEUTRAL
PRESENTER: JACKI NOH

Conference interpreters face unique challenges when it comes to demonstrating competence in simultaneous interpreting. Except for tests given by the United Nations and the US State Department or possession of a degree in Translation and Interpretation, there are no official exams that conference interpreters can take to demonstrate to organizers and language service providers their competence in simultaneous interpreting. Each assignment, therefore, becomes a “test” of its own. How do you prepare for that “test” once you receive a signed contract? The presenter will draw on her own experiences and share valuable tips about researching and studying subject matter to become a successful conference interpreter.

Objectives: Attain a clear understanding of what “conference interpreting” is, strategies on how to prepare for an assignment, the reasons why one needs to prepare, and how to organize files for interpreting assignments.

LEVEL: ALL
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH WITH SPANISH AND FRENCH LEXICON
PRESENTER: JULIE SELLERS, Ph.D.

Mobile devices offer language professionals a wealth of possibilities for improving their skills and managing daily work. Sometimes, however, the sheer number of options is overwhelming. The presenter will share and demonstrate a selection of apps that support interpreters and translators in the various facets of their work. Some of the apps to be covered are aids for practice and skill development, note-taking, editing, and project management and collaboration. Others are annotation tools or dictionaries. This presentation will include apps for both interpreters and translators and will provide examples in multiple languages, with English translations as necessary. All apps will be demonstrated to help participants tap into the technology available to support their work.

Objectives: To introduce participants to a selection of useful apps that support language acquisition, assignment management, editing and annotating, and professional practice, while providing an interactive space for interpreters and translators to share useful apps.

LEVEL: ALL
LANGUAGE: LANGUAGE NEUTRAL
PRESENTER: GLORIA RIVERA, Ph.D.

Forensic science is the application of scientific principles and technological practices to the study and resolution of criminal, civil, and regulatory issues for the purpose of justice. There are many specialized fields within forensic science, and each one is based on a type of evidence often found at crime scenes. Fingerprint analysis, blood typing, and DNA fingerprinting use biological samples for profiling suspects, identifying criminals, and disproving claims. Each one uses different procedures for collecting, analyzing, and matching said samples, and court interpreters should be familiar with these. During this workshop, participants will learn basic terminology, concepts, collection, classification, and uses of fingerprints, blood analysis, and DNA fingerprinting in criminology.

Objectives: 1) Participants will learn about blood (components, structure, types), fingerprints (origin, structure, classification, how to get them, how they are matched), DNA (origin, structure, how it is collected and matched), and their use as aids in criminology.

LEVEL: ALL
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH/SPANISH
PRESENTER: VINKA VALDIVIA

This seminar will present recent legislation and changing attitudes that have affected the LGBT community. It will also discuss the situations in which interpreters might encounter LGBT issues in the courtroom and how to choose the most appropriate terminology. Both the legalization of same-sex marriage by the Supreme Court and recent so-called bathroom laws have increased the likelihood of more cases involving LGBT people, including divorce, adoption, domestic violence, and sexual harassment, just to name a few. Will you be prepared with the correct terminology when you come across one of these cases? Will you know how to address a transgender person? Don’t wait until you find yourself in one of these cases to answer these questions. Inform yourself and be prepared.

Objectives: This session will address recent legislation affecting the LGBT community and the need for interpreters to be informed regarding the proper terminology. The instructor will present a list of terminology and possible translations into Spanish, when appropriate. Participants will also receive a list of websites to research this subject further.

LEVEL: ALL
LANGUAGE: LANGUAGE NEUTRAL
PRESENTER: STEPHEN IWICKI, VICE PRESIDENT, SOS INTERNATIONAL (SOSi)
MODERATOR: ROBERT CRUZ, NAJIT’s EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

This session will include a brief overview from SOSi on the current state of their Executive Office of Immigration Review (EOIR) court interpreter contract with the Department of Justice (DOJ) focusing on the relationships and current challenges between EOIR, SOSi, and the interpreting profession. Mr. Iwicki will reserve the majority of the session’s time to engage in a Q&A with the audience. This is a unique opportunity for current and prospective court interpreters to ask questions, get factual answers, and share concerns about the program.

LEVEL: ALL
LANGUAGE: LANGUAGE NEUTRAL
PRESENTER: ANNA M. MEDINA

The U.S. Justice Department Civil Rights Division has been engaged in a comprehensive initiative to increase language access in state courts nationally utilizing its enforcement authority under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  This session will feature a senior DOJ attorney who has worked on the DOJ Courts Language Access Initiative since its inception in 2009 who will provide an overview of the initiative, including issues of interest to court interpreters.  DOJ has sought to encourage comprehensive language access in all court proceedings, as well as court services and programs.  The work has relied upon not only civil rights investigations and voluntary settlements, but also technical assistance and collaborative outreach to bar and court organizations, advocates, and interpreters, including NAJIT leadership.  Interpreters will gain an understanding of the Initiative, legal requirements, the importance of court programs and services outside the courtroom, and trends nationally.  The presenter will also discuss the different roles court interpreters are playing in court reform. Lastly, time will be available to engage in a Q&A session.

Objectives: Attendees will learn about the application of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 requirements to state courts and DOJ’s Courts Language Access Initiative, understand what comprehensive language access means for court interpreters and translators (it’s not just criminal proceedings anymore), and hear about national trends and the roles interpreters and organizations can play in pushing for continued improvements.

LEVEL: ALL
LANGUAGE: LANGUAGE NEUTRAL
PRESENTER: JOE MAZZA

The US State Department’s Office of Language Services (LS) carries on a tradition of diplomatic translation dating back to 1781. How is the work of a diplomatic translator changing in our technology-driven age? What are the lexical challenges, old and new? How does LS deal with languages of limited diffusion? Most importantly: how does a 236-year-old office stay so young? Join the Chief of LS’s Translating Division for a lively and interactive presentation on language and the secrets of eternal youth.

LEVEL: ALL
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
PANELISTS: RAFAEL CARRILLO, GLADYS MATTHEWS, ESTHER NAVARRO-HALL, ERNEST NIÑO-MURCIA, HILDA SHYMANIK
MODERATOR: ROB CRUZ, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Join the NAJIT Board and key committee chairs to discuss NAJIT and issues within the profession.

LEVEL: ALL
LANGUAGE: LANGUAGE NEUTRAL
PRESENTER: PROF. AÍDA MARTÍNEZ-GÓMEZ

Interpreter education has traditionally focused on elective sequential bilinguals (i.e., individuals who grew up as monolinguals and purposefully acquired their L2 after childhood). However, the student body in college-level interpreting programs in the U.S. is mainly comprised of heritage learners who also have previous experience as ad hoc language brokers for their families and communities. So, what do we as interpreter educators do when faced with this major contradiction between theory and practice? This presentation includes basic research methods to assist in gathering empirical information about students’ “starting points” and training models that can inform their efforts to adapt the curricula. These theoretical concepts will be illustrated using a project developed within the framework of the BA in Spanish and the undergraduate Certificate programs in Legal Translation and Interpretation at John Jay College of Criminal Justice (City University of New York).

Note: Though the examples shared will be based on Spanish-speaking students and education programs, the content of this session is applicable to and relevant for any language combination.

Objectives: This session aims to equip interpreting educators with innovative pedagogical and research tools to identify and respond to the backgrounds, expectations, and needs of students, particularly those with ad hoc language-brokering experience. In this session, participants will become familiar with the profile of undergraduate legal interpreting students, research methods to identify students’ self-reported abilities, learn to identify students’ strengths and weaknesses prior to the start of their education programs and to use the PACTE translation competence model for curricular design.

LEVEL: ALL
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH WITH SPANISH AND PORTUGUESE LEXICON
PRESENTER: AIMEE BENAVIDES

This session is designed to help language professionals get the most out of their research time and achieve the highest quality output. In addition to dictionaries and glossaries, parallel texts provide enormous benefits beyond the words that are used. Interpreters can become subject matter experts within a short amount of time to the benefit of their listeners. Translators can find the industry-specific jargon needed to localize their translations. Not everything on the internet is an asset, and this presentation will also warn of pitfalls to be avoided. The presentation will be in English with a few examples given in Portuguese and Spanish. However, any language professional can benefit from this workshop.

Objectives: Providing proven tips for using the internet to research scientific and technical terminology and industry-specific jargon necessary for court and conference interpreting. Parallel texts will be defined. Specific topics where these parallel texts are especially useful will be examined. Additional skill-building resources will be discussed once the texts have been chosen. This session will focus on the subject of ballistics and how to find relevant terminology.

LEVEL: ALL
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
PRESENTER: JAVIER SOLER

Join a representative from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts to discuss recent updates and engage in a question and answer session.

LEVEL: ALL
LANGUAGE: LANGUAGE NEUTRAL
PRESENTER: HEIDI CAZES

Interpreting goes beyond transferring a message orally from a source language to a target language. Interpreting takes place in many fields, including conference, business, medical, community and legal, and uses different modalities, generally simultaneous or consecutive. Each of these fields and modalities require interpreters to play different roles and adhere to different codes and rules in their rendition.

Legal or judiciary interpreting is subject to specific, strict canons and is guided by a succinct code of ethics, which applies to all work done in the courtroom and for the record. At first glance, there appears to be very little room for variation, but legal interpreters commonly work in different scenarios beyond the courtroom, where the existing guidelines are not sufficient.

This presentation will briefly mention the different modalities and fields of interpreting in general, focusing on the characteristics that distinguish judiciary interpreting. It will proceed to present the different settings —including courtrooms, jails, depositions, investigations— where interpreting takes place between different parties, including attorneys, prosecutors, investigators, witnesses, and defendants. It will concentrate on the different roles judiciary interpreters play, depending on the setting and for whom they are interpreting, and the corresponding decisions they must make.

The presenter will give practical examples and suggest how interpreters can best handle different situations when lacking specific guidance, using as their anchor the code of ethics and a clear understanding of their duty and where their obligations lie.

LEVEL: ALL
LANGUAGE: LANGUAGE NEUTRAL
PRESENTER: TERRY BURDETT

Within our court systems, providing interpretation has become a major challenge, and revising the way we conduct video interpretation has become a necessity. With the right technologies in place, court personnel will be able to provide any necessary interpretation services for those who are incarcerated and move such processes along in a more efficient, cost-effective manner. Technology is also allowing for interpretation services to be expanded across court systems and beyond, to remote locations when necessary.

Such technologies are leading to the “digitization” of the justice system by connecting the various systems and persons involved. Technology is changing the way law enforcement interacts with LEP communities and is helping them to better understand and serve their needs.

Objectives: 1. Educate people who are afraid of technology to help them become more comfortable with it. 2. Show how technology —when used properly from a business architecture standpoint— can improve experiences for the customer and the consumers who use it. 3. Provide examples of how technology facilitates communication for business or medical purposes without requiring an interpreter at the jail with the inmate. 4. Present ways that court systems —with limited resources— can provide assistance to growing LEP communities while complying with their mandates. 5. Explain how digitization can save massive amounts of time and resources so that the focus remains on the mission at hand.

LEVEL: ALL
LANGUAGE: SPANISH
PRESENTERS: SANDRO TOMASI and KATTY KAUFFMAN

With the criminal procedure reforms in Latin America throughout the last couple of decades, most Spanish-speaking countries have switched from a Roman-law inquisitorial system (sistema inquisitivo) to a common-law-based adversarial system (sistema acusatorio). With this change, arraignments in Latin America are quite similar in many ways to the ones in the United States. This seminar will explore the commonalities between the two systems from a legal-terminology perspective to give court interpreters more terms for their arsenal.

Objectives: Learning legal terms that are used in Latin-American courts, which can serve as functional equivalents for interpreting/translating legal terms used in American courts. The idea is for language professionals to avoid reinventing the language wheel.

LEVEL: BEGINNER/INTERMEDIATE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
PRESENTER: JAMES W. PLUNKETT, III

This session will provide participants with hands-on sight translation exercises that are designed to improve accuracy, speed, and completeness in all interpreting modes. Through individual and small-group exercises, participants will improve analytical skills, accuracy, completeness, speed, reformulation agility, and delivery in all interpreting modes. Participants should bring a recording device and earphones to this session.

Objectives: Improve performance in sight translation, and thus consecutive and simultaneous interpreting modes, through self-evaluation of skill-building exercises. Review theory on sight translation; practice the three modes via sight translation exercises.

LEVEL: ALL
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH WITH SPANISH & FRENCH LEXICON
PRESENTER: OLIVER RENWICK

Interpreters in institutional contexts —be they judicial, medical or social services— are on the front lines of the growing public health crisis of drug and alcohol addiction and are in dire need of more robust training and resources to cope with interpreting this peculiar discourse. This session will equip participants with biomedical, faith-based, philological and cultural conceptual frameworks to understand the experience of addiction and recovery, and the issues surrounding it. Using these frameworks as a backdrop, the session will open up for an in-depth discussion of the vocabulary of this discourse.

The session will be presented with ample resources for the Spanish and French languages, as well as monolingual English resources for those interested in building resources for other target languages.

Objectives: Participants will learn what addiction is and is not, gain insight into the current public health crisis, be exposed to archetypal discourses of recovery and their religious counterparts. They will become familiar with the concept of recovery (‘recovered’ vs ‘recovering’), as well as self-diagnosis, non-medical treatment, and institutional contexts of addiction recovery.

LEVEL: ALL
LANGUAGE: LANGUAGE NEUTRAL
PRESENTER: AGUSTÍN SERVIN DE LA MORA

Increase your confidence and accuracy of recall in the consecutive mode. Participants in this seminar will be invited to exercise their memory using visualization techniques and integrating the process with note taking, to produce a holistic approach to this mode. Several mnemonic techniques and mind mapping will be discussed. Practical consecutive exercises will be utilized during the session. Fast-paced and interactive.

LEVEL: ALL
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
PRESENTERS: VINKA VALDIVIA, ERNEST NIÑO-MURCIA, MAGDALENA GIRÓN, ARMIDA HERNANDEZ, AND ELIZABETH TORRES

It is not uncommon for interpreters in the legal field to encounter attorneys and/or judges unfamiliar with the inner works of our profession. This presentation, featuring materials created by the NAJIT Bench and Bar Committee, will offer a resource for interpreters who wish to help educate attorneys and judges about our field. The idea behind this effort is to provide ready-to-use, high-quality materials that are relevant to the specific geographical area needed so that interpreters can be eloquent and informative when giving such presentations. The session will model such a presentation and provide a question-and-answer period afterwards for comments from the audience. Key principles covered include the qualifications of a professional interpreter, how to best work with an interpreter, the interpreters’ code of ethics, and modes of interpretation.

Objectives: Participants will have a solid idea of how to present our profession to an audience of legal professionals and an understanding of the rationale behind the presentation.