Online Court Interpreter Training
Become a Spanish/English Court Interpreter
Court interpreters provide a vital link between various parties to a court proceeding who may not all speak the same languages. If you want to use your language skills to help ensure fair and equitable court proceedings, this 100% online course will train you for a career as a Spanish/English Court Interpreter. Key topics include legal and technical terminology and court protocols.
Job Outlook for Spanish/English Court Interpreters
Spanish/English Court Interpreter FAQs
WHAT DO SPANISH/ENGLISH COURT INTERPRETERS DO?
Interpreters facilitate legal communication between Spanish and English speakers. They ensure clear and correct understandings of legal passages, testimony, arguments and other legal proceedings.
WHAT LEVEL OF LANGUAGE FLUENCY IS REQUIRED FOR SPANISH/ENGLISH COURT INTERPRETERS?
In order to guarantee confidence in their services, Spanish/English interpreters must be fully fluent in both languages. In addition, they must be able to interpret dialogue quickly and accurately as it flows in the sometimes-heated legal environment. This course includes an interactive lab that trains you to interpret court cases as if they were taking place in a real court.
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A COURT INTERPRETER AND A TRANSLATOR?
Generally, interpreters work with spoken conversations and translators work with written documents. In a court of law, the interpreter works with the flow of spoken dialogue and commentary. A legal translator would work with the case documents to provide written language translations.
Course Objectives
Prerequisites and Requirements
You must speak English and Spanish fluently. There is no requirement regarding formal education in either Spanish or English. However, you must be able to speak English and Spanish without any hesitations.
Curriculum
INTERPRETING CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS IBegin by learning about arraignment, pre-trial hearings, preliminary hearings, criminal terminology, trials, sentencing, and progress reports.
INTERPRETING CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS IIUnderstand probation violation hearings, colloquialisms, simultaneous techniques, consecutive techniques, criminal offenses in state jurisdictions, and how to interpret laboratory practices.
INTERPRETING CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS IIICover misdemeanors in state court, felonies in state court, waives and plea forms, DUIs, domestic violence, drug terminology, and drug possession cases.
INTERPRETING CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS IVLearn firearms, fingerprint, gang, juvenile court, and children's court terminology. You'll also cover typical court proceedings for misdemeanors and felonies.
SIGHT TRANSLATION FOR COURT INTERPRETERS IUnderstand the principles of localization, re-structuring technique, equivalent legal structures, and interferences.
SIGHT TRANSLATION FOR COURT INTERPRETERS IIComplete the course by learning about style in delivery, exam-taking techniques, transferring low, regular, and high documents into the opposite language, formal criminal and civil vocabulary, and interpreting lab practices.
Nestor Wagner
Nestor Wagner is a certified Court and Medical Interpreter who has been teaching interpreting courses since 1990. He has the highest pass rate of certified court interpreters in the nation. He has published several books in the interpreting community. Mr. Wagner is involved in the examination process for Immigration Interpreters and Analytical Linguists. He participates as speakers in national and international conferences on Criminal, Civil and Immigration Court terminology, advanced interpreting skills, and localization in the transfer of legal and non-legal terminology. Mr. Wagner holds a master’s degree from the University of Washington.
Registration and Enrollment
This course is open enrollment. You may enroll and start anytime.
Register for Fall