Students

TRAN8906 – Specialised Interpreting Practice

2023 – Session 1, In person-scheduled-weekday, North Ryde

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff
Della Goswell
Jinhyun Cho
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
TRAN822 or TRAN8022
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

This unit introduces the skills, techniques and knowledge required by professional interpreters to competently work in specific institutional settings: business interpreting, medical interpreting and legal interpreting. Through a mix of theory and applied practice, students learn about the broader contexts of these domains and then prepare for a simulation of a typical interpreting scenario for each of these settings. Student will build skills in terminology and glossary development, discourse management, message transfer, and reflective self-analysis.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • ULO1: Demonstrate effective interpreting skills and techniques across business, medical and legal interpreting domains.
  • ULO2: Apply theoretical and contextual knowledge to interpreting practice in these specific settings.
  • ULO3: Generate creative solutions to complex interpersonal and professional conduct issues arising in interpreting practice.
  • ULO4: Develop strategies to enable ongoing improvement based on self assessment of interpreting performance across these settings.

General Assessment Information

Grade descriptors and other information concerning grading are contained in the Macquarie University Assessment Policy. 

All final grades are determined by a grading committee, in accordance with the Macquarie University Assessment Policy, and are not the sole responsibility of the Unit Convenor. 

Students will be awarded a final grade and a mark which must correspond to the grade descriptors specified in the Assessment Procedure (clause 128). 

To pass this unit, you must demonstrate sufficient evidence of achievement of the learning outcomes, meet any ungraded requirements, and achieve a final mark of 50 or better. 

Further details for each assessment task will be available on iLearn. 

Late Submissions 

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (OF THE TOTAL POSSIBLE MARK) will be applied each day a written assessment is not submitted, up until the 7th day (including weekends). After the 7th day, a grade of ‘0’ will be awarded even if the assessment is submitted. Submission time for all written assessments is set at 11.55pm. A 1-hour grace period is provided to students who experience a technical concern.   

 For example: 

Number of days (hours) late 

Total Possible Marks 

Deduction 

Raw mark 

Final mark 

1 day (1-24 hours) 

100 

75 

70 

2 days (24-48 hours) 

100 

10 

75 

65 

3 days (48-72 hours) 

100 

15 

75 

60 

7 days (144-168 hours)  

100 

35 

75 

40 

>7 days (>168 hours) 

100 

75 

 

For any late submissions of time-sensitive tasks, such as scheduled tests/exams, performance assessments/presentations, and/or scheduled practical assessments/labs, students need to submit an application for Special Consideration.  

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Interpreting performance 50% No weeks 4, 8 and 13
Self-assessment report 50% No weeks 6, 10 and 15

Interpreting performance

Assessment Type 1: Simulation/role play
Indicative Time on Task 2: 40 hours
Due: weeks 4, 8 and 13
Weighting: 50%

 

On three occasions throughout semester, students will take part in a domain-specific simulated role play with an industry practitioner (GP, police officer, business person) and a LOTE (Languages other than English) client. During each role play, students will be filmed, so that they can analyse their performance for a later self-analysis report. Performance will be marked by LOTE tutors, and students will be given feedback.

 


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Demonstrate effective interpreting skills and techniques across business, medical and legal interpreting domains.
  • Apply theoretical and contextual knowledge to interpreting practice in these specific settings.

Self-assessment report

Assessment Type 1: Reflective Writing
Indicative Time on Task 2: 40 hours
Due: weeks 6, 10 and 15
Weighting: 50%

 

After the role play sessions, students will be given a copy of their interpretation as a video clip. Students are required to write a report analysing their interpretation and the decisions they made in creating it. Students should discuss any improved decisions that they could make in future.

 


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Generate creative solutions to complex interpersonal and professional conduct issues arising in interpreting practice.
  • Develop strategies to enable ongoing improvement based on self assessment of interpreting performance across these settings.

1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

  • the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
  • the Writing Centre for academic skills support.

2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation

Delivery and Resources

This unit is delivered in blended mode - with weekly online asynchronous lectures and synchronous face to face practical workshop sessions. The workshops will be a combination of full group (across languages) and LOTE-specific practice and feedback opportunities. Via iLearn, students are provided with weekly lecture and tutorial materials, access to readings and video resources related to the topic areas.

As a student enrolled in this unit, you will engage in a range of online and face-to-face learning activities, including readings,  online videos and lectures, and practical workshops. Details can be found on the iLearn site for this unit. 

Recommended Readings 

See Leganto

Technology Used 

Active participation in the learning activities throughout the unit will require students to have access to a tablet, laptop or similar device. Students who do not own their own laptop computer may borrow one from the university library. 

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Students seeking more policy resources can visit Student Policies (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/policies). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.

To find other policies relating to Teaching and Learning, visit Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au) and use the search tool.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/student-conduct

Results

Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

Academic Integrity

At Macquarie, we believe academic integrity – honesty, respect, trust, responsibility, fairness and courage – is at the core of learning, teaching and research. We recognise that meeting the expectations required to complete your assessments can be challenging. So, we offer you a range of resources and services to help you reach your potential, including free online writing and maths support, academic skills development and wellbeing consultations.

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

The Writing Centre

The Writing Centre provides resources to develop your English language proficiency, academic writing, and communication skills.

The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources. 

Student Services and Support

Macquarie University offers a range of Student Support Services including:

Student Enquiries

Got a question? Ask us via AskMQ, or contact Service Connect.

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.

INCLUSION AND DIVERSITY

Social inclusion at Macquarie University is about giving everyone who has the potential to benefit from higher education the opportunity to study at university, participate in campus life and flourish in their chosen field. The University has made significant moves to promote an equitable, diverse and exciting campus community for the benefit of staff and students. It is your responsibility to contribute towards the development of an inclusive culture and practice in the areas of learning and teaching, research, and service orientation and delivery. As a member of the Macquarie University community, you must not discriminate against or harass others based on their sex, gender, race, marital status, carers' responsibilities, disability, sexual orientation, age, political conviction or religious belief. All staff and students are expected to display appropriate behaviour that is conducive to a healthy learning environment for everyone.  

PROFESSIONALISM

SECTION 7: PROFESSIONALISM 

Attendance and participation 

In the Translation and Interpreting program, professionalism is a key capability embedded in all our courses. As part of developing professionalism, students are expected to attend all classes and small group interactive sessions including tutorials.  As an adult learner, we respect your decision to choose how you engage with your learning, but we would remind you that the learning opportunities we create for you have been done so to enable your success, and that by not engaging you may impact your ability to successfully complete this unit. We equally expect that you show respect for the academic staff who have worked hard to develop meaningful activities and prioritise your learning by communicating with them in advance if you are unable to attend a small group interactive session. 

Another dimension of professionalism is having respect for your peers. It is the right of every student to learn in an environment that is free of disruption and distraction. Please arrive to all learning activities on time, and if you are unavoidably detained, please join activity as quietly as possible to minimise disruption. Phones and other electronic devices that produce noise and other distractions must be turned off prior to entering class. Where your own device (e.g., laptop) is being used for class-related activities, you are asked to close down all other applications to avoid distraction to you and others. Please treat your fellow students with the utmost respect. If you are uncomfortable participating in any specific activity, please let the relevant academic know. 


Unit information based on version 2023.03 of the Handbook