Commit. Practice. Succeed.
If you speak English and Spanish fluently, you are a prime candidate to join the exciting and high-demand field of legal interpretation.
Once you complete this interpreter training program, you will have the necessary skills and credentials to apply to interpreting agencies nationwide, covering assignments such as community meetings, educational events, mediations, among many others.
By completing this program you will also be ready to take our State Court Interpreter Oral Exam Training Program in preparation for your certification test, which (if you pass) will allow you to work in state court.
Train with Confidence
We combine proven principles of cognitive psychology with state-of-the-art interpreter training technology to help you practice with confidence and ease.
Our 37 labs include practices based on real-life legal proceedings that have been cherry-picked to prepare you to start accepting interpreting assignments.
How EACH COURT interpreter training lab WORKS
MASTER THE LEGAL VOCABULARY
Memorize English/Spanish court terminology through:
• Audio Drills
• Slide Shows
• Games/Quizzes
• Target Practices (to focus on the terms you select)
Don’t have the time to study vocabulary? Our Audio Drills can be used on the go. Whether you’re exercising, doing chores, or on public transportation, you’ll be able to memorize the necessary bilingual legal terminology.
INTERPRET AND VOICE RECORD
· Interpret the same practice at slower, then faster speeds (up to 120 words per minute), to progressively increase your pace in the Simultaneous Mode
· Gradually tackle longer chunks of speech in the Consecutive Mode, until being able to accurately render 25-word chunks
· Sight translate real court documents (from the U.S and from jurisdictions around the world where Spanish is spoken) while learning the most effective method to markedly increase your accuracy in this mode
GRADE YOUR PERFORMANCE
Seamlessly assess your improvement with our patent-pending grading technology. This immediate feedback helps you learn faster and takes the guesswork out of your training by letting you know:
· Which vocabulary needs further practice
· When you are ready to move on to the next lab
With your strengths and weaknesses highlighted, you’ll know exactly what you need to review in order to achieve your best score. This invaluable feature is not offered by any other self-study interpreting program.
Commonly asked questions
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Introduction to Legal Interpreting Program
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How long is the program?
You will have access to the program for 12 months. However, you should be able to complete the program in less than 6 months. If you wish to renew the program after 1 year, you may do so for a renewal fee of $129.
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Can you tell me about the team who created this program and who researched the content?
Interpretrain’s Team
We put together a team of highly qualified experts to make sure you get the most efficient
court-interpreter training program. Here is what each member contributed.Every single target language equivalent was proofread by:
• Virginia Benmaman, PhD, and Federally Certified Court Interpreter, author of
“Bilingual Dictionary of Criminal Justice Terms: English/Spanish.”
• Gabriela Castellanos, PhD linguist, formerly served the US State Department as a
contract interpreter.
• Frances Hontoria, Federally Certified Court Interpreter with over two decades of
experience in court and conference interpretation.
• Stelio Papadopoulos (attorney at law with over a decade of experience in Civil,
Criminal, Family, and Housing Law) reviewed this material to ensure its relevance, and
helped us create our legal explanations to ensure their accuracy.
• Dr. Victoria H. Valencia (practitioner in Family Medicine since 2005) proofread
and reviewed the medical vocabulary.
• Athena Matilsky (B.A., Federally Certified Court Interpreter, interpreter trainer)
helped design the program’s sequence, wrote the instructions, created the warm-ups, and
made sure our online platform is optimal for your learning process.
• Brad Wilk (B.S. in public justice from Oswego State University of New York)
served as our project manager, pedagogical resource developer, and e-learning
coordinator. He streamlined our online tools to make them user-friendly and effective.
• Juan Camilo Villada (Bachelor of Visual Arts, Universidad del Valle, Cali,
Colombia, juan.jaramillo11@outlook.com), was in charge of data entry and technical
supervision of our online pedagogical materials.
• Finally, Virginia Valencia spearheaded the operation. She developed
Interpretrain’s 3-Step Method TM, selected and gathered the real court cases to be
included, chose and researched all the vocabulary units in each lab, and created the
educational tools for each step. Virginia’s main credentials are:
• Federally Certified Court Interpreter.
• Psychologist (Universidad del Valle, Cali, Colombia).
• Approved/Certified by the state courts of NY, NJ, and CA.
• Court interpreter since 2003.
The members of our team have put their hearts and souls into this educational
material. We are beyond excited to offer you these labs that empower you to accomplish
your professional goals! -
What skill level is required for this program?
To take this training you should be fluent in Spanish and English. You do not need to have interpreting experience. After completing this training, you will have the necessary skills to apply to interpreting agencies for work assignments.
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Is your note-taking program included in this program?
Yes. Our note-taking training is included in this program.
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How many hours does the program require to complete it?
This training requires approximately 100 hours to complete.
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Do you offer a certificate of completion?
You have the option of acquiring a certificate of completion for a processing fee of $35. Your certificate will only be issued if our records indicate that you have successfully completed the program. To inquire about your certificate, please contact us.
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Can I complete this program on my smartphone?
Yes. The training program is fully supported by a customized mobile app.
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Do I need an internet connection?
Yes, to effectively take this program you will need a reliable internet connection.
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Do you offer teacher discounts?
Yes. If you are teaching with our materials, and need a discount for your students, please contact us to discuss options.
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Do you offer an installment plan?
At this time, this program does not have an installment plan.
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Can I purchase practices for simultaneous, consecutive, or sight translation separately?
You may choose to focus on a particular interpreting mode, however you may not purchase them separately.
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Do you offer group discounts?
Yes, we offer flexible pricing packages depending on the size of your group. Please contact us and one of our agents will customize a package that meets your needs.
About Your Instructor
Virginia Valencia is a professional psychologist (2001) and a federally certified court interpreter (2008) with over 17 years’ experience in the fields of legal, medical, and conference interpretation.
She holds a Combined Certificate in Translation and Interpretation Studies (Hunter College, 2004) and is certified/approved by Superior Courts of NJ (2005), NY (2006), and CA (2012).
She currently lives in California, where she teaches and works as an interpreter.
Testimonials
