How to Get Certified as an Interpreter
- 1). Improve your bilingual skills. Study up on some more field-specific terminology that you may encounter in your interpretation courses. You may also want to learn more idioms, figures of speech, and learn more about the culture of the people who speak the language in which you choose to interpret. This will help you prepare for situations where cultural issues play a large part during an interpreting session.
- 2). Choose and complete a certification training program based on the languages in which you want to interpret as well as the field in which you wish to interpret. You will also learn the ethics and professional standards to become a certified interpreter. Some certification programs are available completely online (including an online final exam) or through other distance-learning methods. Others take place in brick-and-mortar locations, such as college and university campuses. Some training programs, such as those of The National Association for Interpretation, also offer on-site training workshops throughout the country.
The training program will prepare you for the course's certification exam at the end of the course. You can be certified in more than one discipline by taking different exams for the different disciplines in which you want to be certified.
Take the interpreter certification exam offered through your training course. These exams often include written as well as oral sections. You will likely have to pay an exam fee in addition to the program training fee. - 3). If you are an experienced interpreter or are fluent in the languages you wish to interpret, you can take the certification exam without completing a training program. You can get study materials from the National Association for Interpreters.
Certification expires in four years, and re-certification requires that you complete continuing education hours.
Some colleges and universities that offer interpretation training programs include Boston University and San Francisco State University.