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REFLECTIVE DIARY
3.7 WEEK 7
3.8 WEEK 8
In week 8 we started by discussing the things we learned in our visit to the
Magistrates Court. Since we had to split into different groups, this was interesting
because we could learn from the trials that the other groups had visited.
I particularly enjoyed the hearing about the experience that relatedof the first
group that visited the court: tThey were lucky enough to see a trial in which in which
the defendant was Polish and could not speak English well, so he asked for an
interpreter, who interpreted both consecutively and simultaneously and also did a sight
translation. I wish I could have seen an interpreter work in a real life situation.
In addition, since we are participating in a professional practice with real doctors
in week 9, we prepared three different scenarios in which we will have to do both act
both as patients and the interpreter. The patients in these three scenarios have diseases
such as AIDS or cervical cancer, so we researched into these diseases and learnt new
vocabulary that we may have to use in the following week.
Leaving aside the above, I also continued practicing my simultaneous and
consecutive interpreting skills as well as my note-taking skills at home. I must say that
at this point by now my notes are slightly clearer, and I tend to write less words and use
abbreviations and arrows instead.
3.9 WEEK 9
In the general class of week 9 we were divided into groups and tried to challenge
one another. For example, students acting as patients would pretend to cry, talk fast and
be rude to both the doctor and the interpreter. This was useful because the interpreter
had to control speaking time and make sure that communication between patient and
doctor was smooth.
Moreover we went to the N&N Hospital and participated in a professional
practice with real doctors, which was certainly enriching. We learned from the doctors
because it was the first time we interpreted with people who did not know much about
the work of interpreters, and they learned from us because they had never worked with
interpreters. This was also a good practice for the summative exam.
Thanks to this experience I realised the importance of saying the interpreters
statement before starting the interpreting assignment. In factdeed, all the doctors agreed
that it was very useful for them to know how to communicate effectively with the
patients.
Furthermore, they all agreed that the flow of the conversation with the patient
was slower than what they are used to and for this reason they had had to make a greater
effort to ask the right questions.
3.10 WEEK 10
Before I begin to explain what I learned in week 10, I would like to mention
that I tried to practice both simultaneous and consecutive interpreting as often as I could
during the Easter break. Moreover I also focused on improving and finishing my
glossaries.
In week 10, we focused on both assault and domestic violence, which are the
lasts topics we have are required to include in our glossaries. Furthermore, we gathered
some information on witness statements at home and discussed the information we had
found in class.
Since the formative assessment is in week 11 and the summative assessments are
is in weeks 11 and 12 respectively, I really made an effort to practice and prepare as
much as I could. One of my main problems is that I become nervous in difficult high
stress situations like exams, so I hope that nerves do not play a trickget the better of on
me on the day.