Pages in topic:   [1 2] >
DPSI exam- oral/ interpreting practice help needed
Thread poster: Luke Mersh
Luke Mersh
Luke Mersh  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 08:21
Spanish to English
Jan 13, 2015

Hello everybody.

I am really looking for some advice on practicing the oral part of the DPSI exam.
I have 3 years remaining to resit this part, but as yet I have not been able to practice.

The problem is that it has been a long time since it practiced last and have not found a good method to start-
I have past papers/ scripts to read from , but when I tried from cold , I didnt like my voice and I was a bit stuttery.

I do not have anybody in my f
... See more
Hello everybody.

I am really looking for some advice on practicing the oral part of the DPSI exam.
I have 3 years remaining to resit this part, but as yet I have not been able to practice.

The problem is that it has been a long time since it practiced last and have not found a good method to start-
I have past papers/ scripts to read from , but when I tried from cold , I didnt like my voice and I was a bit stuttery.

I do not have anybody in my family or neighbors who can help me.

I need to build up my confidence and then my speed for the exam.

I had though of translating one of the past paper scripts and then reading from there, as I had already translated it , to build my confidence and keep repeating it till the text became memorized and to also increase my speed.
Then move onto another paper and perhaps do it but without the text being translated.

Please advice.
All help much appreciated
Collapse


 
Luke Mersh
Luke Mersh  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 08:21
Spanish to English
TOPIC STARTER
help and ideas needed Jan 13, 2015

I am looking for some advice on my previous post.
Methods for practicing consecutive and simultaneous interpreting by oneself.

many thanks


 
Elena Bocharova-Booth
Elena Bocharova-Booth  Identity Verified
Belgium
Local time: 09:21
English to Russian
+ ...
Interpreter Training Resources Jan 14, 2015

Dear Luke,

Am I right in understanding that it is consecutive interpreting that you seek to master?

Below is a link to a collection of interpreter training resources compiled by professional interpreters and trainers (aimed to prepare for work at international institutions, so - very high level): http://interpreters.free.fr/consec.htm. Plenty of tips and materials.
... See more
Dear Luke,

Am I right in understanding that it is consecutive interpreting that you seek to master?

Below is a link to a collection of interpreter training resources compiled by professional interpreters and trainers (aimed to prepare for work at international institutions, so - very high level): http://interpreters.free.fr/consec.htm. Plenty of tips and materials.

On the consecutive interpreting there is an excellent book by Andrew Gillies: http://www.amazon.com/Notetaking-Consecutive-Interpreting-Translation-Practices/dp/1900650827. (It is also perfectly suitable for those with English B). Nothing but common sense and lots of useful tips, also helps to structure one's individual training.

Ask a family member to listen to you (in your language A or B) and give opinion on how you actually sound and what could be improved (intonation, clarity of diction, whether your voice is too high or too low, etc.). Ask someone to read to you a newspaper article, take notes and then interpret from your notes. Ask your listener for his opinion on your delivery. If your family members are unable to spare 10 min a day, record yourself. Find audio/ videos online, listen and take notes, then record yourself reading back from your notes and assess your delivery. Start with texts in your native language (A into A), then move to interpreting into the target language (B/C into A). After a couple of days go back to the old text and see how well you can interpret it again. The whole method is very well described and structured in A. Gillies's book.

Equipment: I use my smartphone's voice recorder and a laptop for playing source videos/ audios.

Do not be bothered by the fact that you will basically memorise the text you are working on. You will remember all the terminology, your every successful solution found and will be comfortable with the tempo.

Good luck!
Elena
Collapse


 
Luke Mersh
Luke Mersh  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 08:21
Spanish to English
TOPIC STARTER
dpsi exam help Jan 14, 2015

Dear Elena.
It is both Consecutive and Whispered(simultaneous) too.
many thanks


 
Luke Mersh
Luke Mersh  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 08:21
Spanish to English
TOPIC STARTER
DPSI help Jan 14, 2015

Dear Elena, I live only with my mother, and she does not speak Spanish.
So I am the only one who can carry out this, or not?


 
Luke Mersh
Luke Mersh  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 08:21
Spanish to English
TOPIC STARTER
dpsi exam help needed Jan 15, 2015

Elena Booth wrote:

Dear Luke,

Am I right in understanding that it is consecutive interpreting that you seek to master?

Below is a link to a collection of interpreter training resources compiled by professional interpreters and trainers (aimed to prepare for work at international institutions, so - very high level): http://interpreters.free.fr/consec.htm. Plenty of tips and materials.

On the consecutive interpreting there is an excellent book by Andrew Gillies: http://www.amazon.com/Notetaking-Consecutive-Interpreting-Translation-Practices/dp/1900650827. (It is also perfectly suitable for those with English B). Nothing but common sense and lots of useful tips, also helps to structure one's individual training.

Ask a family member to listen to you (in your language A or B) and give opinion on how you actually sound and what could be improved (intonation, clarity of diction, whether your voice is too high or too low, etc.). Ask someone to read to you a newspaper article, take notes and then interpret from your notes. Ask your listener for his opinion on your delivery. If your family members are unable to spare 10 min a day, record yourself. Find audio/ videos online, listen and take notes, then record yourself reading back from your notes and assess your delivery. Start with texts in your native language (A into A), then move to interpreting into the target language (B/C into A). After a couple of days go back to the old text and see how well you can interpret it again. The whole method is very well described and structured in A. Gillies's book.

Equipment: I use my smartphone's voice recorder and a laptop for playing source videos/ audios.

Do not be bothered by the fact that you will basically memorise the text you are working on. You will remember all the terminology, your every successful solution found and will be comfortable with the tempo.

Good luck!
Elena


Dear Elena
Thank you for your reply.
My concern is the following:
I live alone with my mother in Portugal in the country- we have no neighbors.
My mother can not speak Spanish, only I can speak and read Spanish.
I have 3 years left to resit the oral part of the exam and with nobody to practice with but myself it is very difficult.
I am struggling to find a good method for practicing my oral Spanish.
The exam as you may or may not know consists of consecutive and simultaneous(whispered) interpreting and only having some past papers to practice with makes it extremely difficult.
I was wondering if you could provide any other thoughts.
PS- I am not doing conference interpreting , just medical.
regards


 
tietzes (X)
tietzes (X)
Japanese to German
+ ...
practice Jan 15, 2015

You can practice by yourself with audio/video recordings of speeches, radio broadcasts, interviews, podcasts and so on. You can record yourself to evaluate your performance. "Shadowing" is also a valuable exercise you should implement. You can actually start by the latter to "prepare" your brain (to listen and speak at the same time).

The most important thing is to practice every day. A conversation with a Spanish speaker once in a while leads to nothing and is not enough.
... See more
You can practice by yourself with audio/video recordings of speeches, radio broadcasts, interviews, podcasts and so on. You can record yourself to evaluate your performance. "Shadowing" is also a valuable exercise you should implement. You can actually start by the latter to "prepare" your brain (to listen and speak at the same time).

The most important thing is to practice every day. A conversation with a Spanish speaker once in a while leads to nothing and is not enough.

There are great books about interpreting exercises, about note-taking etc. Just google a bit.

PS: I didn't read Elena's post, sorry. She has already pointed out what I tried to say.

[Edited at 2015-01-15 08:11 GMT]
Collapse


 
Alice Crisan
Alice Crisan  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 08:21
English to Romanian
+ ...
. Jan 15, 2015

Try this site, it is designed for all those who wish to get more help in simultaneous or consecutive: www.speechpool.com and also have you tried TED, which is full of speeches, a bit longer but you can have the transcript and record yourself and make comparisons. Don't worry if you are unable to catch up, all you need is persistence. After a couple of attempts you'll find it easier, but don't give up, keep doi... See more
Try this site, it is designed for all those who wish to get more help in simultaneous or consecutive: www.speechpool.com and also have you tried TED, which is full of speeches, a bit longer but you can have the transcript and record yourself and make comparisons. Don't worry if you are unable to catch up, all you need is persistence. After a couple of attempts you'll find it easier, but don't give up, keep doing it day by day and record yourself. You'll see the change soon after.Collapse


 
Luke Mersh
Luke Mersh  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 08:21
Spanish to English
TOPIC STARTER
dpsi exam help Jan 15, 2015

Dear Alice.
Thank you for your reply.
I have indeed looked at speech pool, but I found little in the way of healthcare and medical.

I will have a look at TED( what is the website address?)

I really need to make the effort this time.
I only have 3 yrs remaining to resit the exams.


 
Alice Crisan
Alice Crisan  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 08:21
English to Romanian
+ ...
. Jan 15, 2015

Dear Luke

Just Google TED, actually is www.Ted.com. You can also try the following link, hope it works:
Recorded conferences or presentations for practising simultaneous ...
interpreting.info/.../recorded-conferences-or-presentations-for-practising-si...

Copy and paste it in your browser, it works.

I used to listen to the webcast on Medline, really interesting and yo
... See more
Dear Luke

Just Google TED, actually is www.Ted.com. You can also try the following link, hope it works:
Recorded conferences or presentations for practising simultaneous ...
interpreting.info/.../recorded-conferences-or-presentations-for-practising-si...

Copy and paste it in your browser, it works.

I used to listen to the webcast on Medline, really interesting and you can also practice sim.

[Edited at 2015-01-15 18:14 GMT]
Collapse


 
Luke Mersh
Luke Mersh  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 08:21
Spanish to English
TOPIC STARTER
dpsi exam help Jan 15, 2015

Thanks Alice.
I will definitely look at TED


 
Diana Coada (X)
Diana Coada (X)  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 08:21
Portuguese to English
+ ...
Luke, Jan 16, 2015

All the resources mentioned above, including Speechpool, are more suitable for conference interpreting practice.

For the PSI field, I would suggest that you go to all the .gov pages you can find in your field and start doing sight translation. It's great practice for terminology.

PSIT, resources for public service interpreters, is also a good website to start with.

If you've taken a preparation course, contact your teacher and/or colleagues, and do practice
... See more
All the resources mentioned above, including Speechpool, are more suitable for conference interpreting practice.

For the PSI field, I would suggest that you go to all the .gov pages you can find in your field and start doing sight translation. It's great practice for terminology.

PSIT, resources for public service interpreters, is also a good website to start with.

If you've taken a preparation course, contact your teacher and/or colleagues, and do practice sessions on Skype. That will help and improve your performance a lot.

Also go to http://dpsionline.co.uk/ and do the revision webinars or the resit courses that are run there every year.

Good luck.
Collapse


 
Luke Mersh
Luke Mersh  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 08:21
Spanish to English
TOPIC STARTER
DPSI help Jan 16, 2015

Diana Coada, PGDip DPSI NRPSI wrote:

All the resources mentioned above, including Speechpool, are more suitable for conference interpreting practice.

For the PSI field, I would suggest that you go to all the .gov pages you can find in your field and start doing sight translation. It's great practice for terminology.

PSIT, resources for public service interpreters, is also a good website to start with.

If you've taken a preparation course, contact your teacher and/or colleagues, and do practice sessions on Skype. That will help and improve your performance a lot.

Also go to http://dpsionline.co.uk/ and do the revision webinars or the resit courses that are run there every year.

Good luck.

Thanks Diana.
my pathway is Healthcare and medical.

The dpsi revision webinars cost a lot of money, I do have past papers.
As I mentioned earlier I have taken the exam and I need to resit the interpreting part and one sight translation only, but really need to make the effort as I only have 3 yrs remaining to resit these.
many thanks


 
Diana Coada (X)
Diana Coada (X)  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 08:21
Portuguese to English
+ ...
Yes, Jan 16, 2015

we know you only need to resit some modules, however, past papers will only get you so far. You need to practice interpreting and ST with **someone there listening to you** so you can have constructive feedback. Practising on your own is not enough.

Also, investing a bit of money to ensure you improve and pass this time is really the only smart thing to do. Otherwise, be prepared to pay for the resit again next year.


 
Luke Mersh
Luke Mersh  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 08:21
Spanish to English
TOPIC STARTER
DPSI help Jan 16, 2015

lol... I agree with you...
but its more than I can afford at the moment.

I was looking for more methods that I can do myself.

I know that having a tutor is the best way, but is costly unfortunately.


 
Pages in topic:   [1 2] >


To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator:


You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request »

DPSI exam- oral/ interpreting practice help needed







Anycount & Translation Office 3000
Translation Office 3000

Translation Office 3000 is an advanced accounting tool for freelance translators and small agencies. TO3000 easily and seamlessly integrates with the business life of professional freelance translators.

More info »
Trados Studio 2022 Freelance
The leading translation software used by over 270,000 translators.

Designed with your feedback in mind, Trados Studio 2022 delivers an unrivalled, powerful desktop and cloud solution, empowering you to work in the most efficient and cost-effective way.

More info »