Dr Lily Wang
Course overview
- Study period
- Semester 1, 2025 (24/02/2025 - 21/06/2025)
- Study level
- Postgraduate Coursework
- Location
- St Lucia
- Attendance mode
- In Person
- Units
- 2
- Administrative campus
- St Lucia
- Coordinating unit
- Languages & Cultures School
This course further consolidates the consecutive and simultaneous interpreting skills required to interpret at international conferences. Through focussed interpreting practice, this course aims to further develop competence in interpreting advanced materials in both the consecutive and simultaneous modes. Particular emphasis will be placed on teaching the skills necessary for professional conference interpreters to successfully work in the local and international markets. These include heightening professional awareness, leveraging teamwork and preparation for maximum effect and successful communication with clients, colleagues and delegates. Additional skills covered include relay interpreting, remote interpreting and the use of other digital tools, such as digital terminology management tools.
This course lays a good foundation for students to prepare for NAATI Certified Conference Interpreter (CCI) test.
Course requirements
Assumed background
Students need to have basic competence in both consecutive interpreting and simultaneous interpreting.
Prerequisites
You'll need to complete the following courses before enrolling in this one:
TRIN7310
Incompatible
You can't enrol in this course if you've already completed the following:
JAPN7220, CHIN7190
Course staff
Course coordinator
Lecturer
Timetable
The timetable for this course is available on the UQ Public Timetable.
Additional timetable information
Public holidays:
Alternative arrangements for affected students will be announced through the Blackboard site.
Class allocation:
In order to optimise the student experience, it may be necessary to reallocate students to a different class from their first choice. Before this happens, every effort will be made to enable students to voluntarily change into an alternative class that is suitable. Please note: Teaching staff do not have access to the timetabling system to help with class allocation.
Therefore, should you need help with your timetable and/or allocation of classes, please ensure you email hass.mytimetable@uq.edu.au from your UQ student email account with the following details:
- Full name,
- Student ID, and
- the Course Code
Additional information and support can be found here.
Aims and outcomes
This course aims to:
(1) further consolidate students' simultaneous interpreting skills, consecutive interpreting skills and sight translation skills through focused conference interpreting practice almost every week,
(2) enhance students' competence in interpreting in the simultaneous mode and consecutive mode a wide range of formal speeches that may be given at international and national conferences in various field such as politics and diplomacy, commerce and economics, science and technology, medicine, and engineering.
(3) improve students' conference preparation skills, professional awareness, teamwork skills, relay interpreting skills, remote interpreting skills, and use of digital tools.
Learning outcomes
After successfully completing this course you should be able to:
LO1.
Interpret sufficiently accurately in both language directions on a range of topics in the consecutive mode at international and national conferences.
LO2.
Interpret at professional-entry level in both language directions on technical topics in the simultaneous mode with preparation.
LO3.
Consolidate conference preparation skills, show professionalism, demonstrate teamwork, perform relay interpreting and remote interpreting, and use digital tools.
Assessment
Assessment summary
| Category | Assessment task | Weight | Due date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Examination, Translation/ Interpretation |
Consecutive Interpreting Examination
|
40% |
28/04/2025 12/05/2025
During tutorial in class in WEEK 9 and WEEK 11. |
| Examination, Translation/ Interpretation |
Simultaneous Interpreting Examination
|
60% |
9/06/2025 - 16/06/2025
Exam (School Based) during Exam Period. Students' simultaneous interpreting performance in the exam will be assessed according to the marking rubric of this course. |
Assessment details
Consecutive Interpreting Examination
- Identity Verified
- In-person
- Online
- Mode
- Oral
- Category
- Examination, Translation/ Interpretation
- Weight
- 40%
- Due date
28/04/2025
12/05/2025
During tutorial in class in WEEK 9 and WEEK 11.
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L03
Task description
During tutorial in class in week 9 and week 11, students will complete in-class consecutive interpreting tasks as part of the Consecutive Interpreting Examination.
Students will be required to interpret two speeches in the consecutive mode in conference settings, one speech for each language direction:
English to LOTE (Chinese or Japanese) consecutive interpreting
LOTE (Chinese or Japanese) to English consecutive interpreting
Students will be given the speech topics and and interpreting brief one week in advance. On the day of the exam, there won't be any preparation time for each interpreting activity. Each speech is approximately 700-800 words long. Each speech is divided into three segments, and each segment will be approximately 300 words long.
Students' consecutive interpreting performance in the exam will be assessed according to the marking rubric of this course.
STATEMENT ON AI & MT
This assessment task evaluates students' abilities, skills and knowledge without the aid of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) or Machine Translation (MT). Students are advised that the use of AI or MT technologies to develop responses is strictly prohibited and may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.
Exam details
| Planning time | no planning time minutes |
|---|---|
| Duration | 90 minutes |
| Calculator options | No calculators permitted |
| Open/closed book | Closed Book examination - no written materials permitted |
| Materials | blank notepad for taking notes during consecutive interpreting |
| Exam platform | Paper based |
| Invigilation | Invigilated in person |
Submission guidelines
This assessment task is designed to be face-to-face in a designated lab. Students' consecutive interpreting performances are recorded by the lecturer using voice-recorders in the designated lab for this course. Students can use their own voice-recorders to record their consecutive interpreting performances as a backup in case there is a technical problem.
Deferral or extension
You may be able to defer this exam.
Late submission
A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.
If a student's interpretation is not successfully recorded by the lecturer in the designated lab for technical reasons, they need to upload their backup recording of their interpreting performance for that week to a dedicated section in Assessment on Blackboard within two hours of the end of the class. If not, their submission is considered 'late submission'.
Simultaneous Interpreting Examination
- Identity Verified
- In-person
- Online
- Mode
- Activity/ Performance, Oral
- Category
- Examination, Translation/ Interpretation
- Weight
- 60%
- Due date
9/06/2025 - 16/06/2025
Exam (School Based) during Exam Period. Students' simultaneous interpreting performance in the exam will be assessed according to the marking rubric of this course.
- Learning outcomes
- L02, L03
Task description
Students will be required to interpret two speeches in the simultaneous mode in conference settings, one speech for each language direction:
English to LOTE (Chinese or Japanese) simultaneous interpreting
LOTE (Chinese or Japanese) to English simultaneous interpreting
Students will be given the speech topics and and interpreting brief one week in advance. On the day of the exam, there won't be any preparation time for each interpreting activity. Each speech is approximately 1200-1500 words long.
STATEMENT ON AI & MT
This assessment task evaluates students' abilities, skills and knowledge without the aid of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) or Machine Translation (MT). Students are advised that the use of AI or MT technologies to develop responses is strictly prohibited and may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.
Exam details
| Planning time | no planning time minutes |
|---|---|
| Duration | 90 minutes |
| Calculator options | No calculators permitted |
| Open/closed book | Closed Book examination - no written materials permitted |
| Materials | blank notepads for taking brief notes during simultaneous interpreting |
| Exam platform | Paper based |
| Invigilation | Invigilated in person |
Submission guidelines
This assessment task is designed to be face-to-face in a designated lab. Students' simultaneous interpreting performances are recorded by the lecturer using voice-recorders in the designated lab for this course. Students can use their own voice-recorders to record their simultaneous interpreting performances as a backup in case there is a technical problem.
Deferral or extension
You may be able to defer this exam.
Late submission
A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.
If a student's interpretation is not successfully recorded by the lecturer in the designated lab for technical reasons, they need to upload their backup recording of their interpreting performance for that week to a dedicated section in Assessment on Blackboard within two hours of the end of the class. If not, their submission is considered 'late submission'.
Course grading
Full criteria for each grade is available in the Assessment Procedure.
| Grade | Cut off Percent | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 (Low Fail) | 0 - 24 |
Absence of evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: Very little of the target language information is accurate. There are numerous unjustified omissions and/or unjustified additions. Target language output is characterised by unnatural expressions and grammatical/syntactical errors. Delivery is uneven, ranging from very slow and hesitant to very fast, with many pauses and corrections. Target language output is largely incomprehensible. |
| 2 (Fail) | 25 - 44 |
Minimal evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: Only some of the information given in the target language is accurate. There are frequent unjustified omissions and/or unjustified additions. Target language output is often characterised by unnatural expressions and grammatical/syntactical errors, which distort the meaning and make the output difficult to comprehend. Delivery is uneven, ranging from very slow and hesitant to very fast, with frequent pauses and corrections. |
| 3 (Marginal Fail) | 45 - 49 |
Demonstrated evidence of developing achievement of course learning outcomes Course grade description: More than half of the target language output is inaccurate and/or not readily comprehensible. There are many meaning errors, unjustified omissions and/or unjustified additions. Many grammatical/syntactic errors and unnatural expressions distort the meaning, and the target language output is often difficult to comprehend. Unsuccessful delivery and presentation. Many instances of inappropriate linguistic style and register. Limited ability to use appropriate terms and expressions. |
| 4 (Pass) | 50 - 64 |
Demonstrated evidence of functional achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: The source language message is adequately accurately conveyed. There are a number of meaning errors, ranging from major to minor. There may be unjustified omissions and/or additions of information. Many details and nuances are omitted or inaccurate. Appropriate target language expression and register are sometimes used, but there are also many instances of non-idiomatic usage. Grammatical/syntactical errors may detract from the quality and clarity of the message. Delivery may be fluent in some parts but hesitant in others. Overall the main points of the message are comprehensible although some parts may not always be entirely clear or accurate. |
| 5 (Credit) | 65 - 74 |
Demonstrated evidence of proficient achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: Many of the important points of the source language message are accurately conveyed in the target language, with only a few errors. There are unjustified omissions and/or additions of information, but these are not significant. Some of the details and nuances of the original are inaccurate or omitted. Variety and appropriateness of target language expression and register may fluctuate. Delivery is fluent in some parts but rather hesitant in others. Non-idiomatic usage and grammatical/syntactical errors are present and may at times distort the meaning, but generally the main points of the target language message are readily comprehensible. |
| 6 (Distinction) | 75 - 84 |
Demonstrated evidence of advanced achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: Most of the important points of the source language message are grasped and accurately conveyed in the target language with no serious errors of meaning. Most of the details and nuances are also accurately grasped and conveyed. Target language expression is reasonably varied and appropriate to the source language text, while register for the most part accurately reflects that of the source language. Fluency is generally good, though subject to some fluctuation. Target language output features only a few instances of non-idiomatic usage or grammatical/syntactical errors, but these rarely distort the meaning. The message is generally clearly comprehensible. |
| 7 (High Distinction) | 85 - 100 |
Demonstrated evidence of exceptional achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: The source language message is conveyed in the target language highly accurately, with few errors of meaning. All important points, details and nuances of the original speech are accurately conveyed. There are few omissions or additions of information, and any that occur are negligible and do not distort the original message. Target language expression is varied, appropriate to the source language message and in the correct register. Delivery is fluent and confident, with few hesitations. There may be a few cases of non-idiomatic usage or grammatical/syntactical errors, but these are negligible and do not distort the meaning or clarity of the message. Overall performance is close to that of a T&I professional working in conference settings. |
Additional course grading information
Marking criteria and/or marking rubrics are available in the ‘Assessment’ folder in Blackboard for this course
Supplementary assessment
Supplementary assessment is available for this course.
Learning resources
You'll need the following resources to successfully complete the course. We've indicated below if you need a personal copy of the reading materials or your own item.
Library resources
Library resources are available on the UQ Library website.
Additional learning resources information
There are no set texts for this course. Depending on the topic, students will be required to make use of technical/specialised dictionaries, on-line resources, information provided by the lecturers and other information as appropriate.
Learning activities
The learning activities for this course are outlined below. Learn more about the learning outcomes that apply to this course.
Filter activity type by
Please select
| Learning period | Activity type | Topic |
|---|---|---|
Multiple weeks |
Lecture |
English-to-LOTE conference interpreting practice English-to-LOTE consecutive and simultaneous interpreting practice using relatively easy speeches. Weeks 2-3: 3 hours/week Learning outcomes: L01, L02 |
Tutorial |
Conference interpreting practice Simultaneous and consecutive interpreting of formal speeches on various topics. Weeks 4, 6, 8, 10: LOTE-to-English simultaneous and consecutive interpreting. Weeks 5, 7, 9, 11: English-to-LOTE simultaneous and consecutive interpreting. Weeks 4-11: 3 hours/week Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03 |
|
Lecture |
Relay interpreting practice in conference settings Relay simultaneous interpreting. Weeks 12-13: 3 hours/week Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03 |
|
Lecture |
Introduction to Conference Interpreting A PowerPoint presentation on Introduction to Conference Interpreting. Week 1: 3 hours/week Learning outcomes: L01, L02 |
Policies and procedures
University policies and procedures apply to all aspects of student life. As a UQ student, you must comply with University-wide and program-specific requirements, including the:
- Student Code of Conduct Policy
- Student Integrity and Misconduct Policy and Procedure
- Assessment Procedure
- Examinations Procedure
- Reasonable Adjustments - Students Policy and Procedure
Learn more about UQ policies on my.UQ and the Policy and Procedure Library.