Interpret Simultaneously Online! The Virtual Booth for Remote Simultaneous Interpreting

Have you been asked to perform simultaneous interpreting online? Remote simultaneous interpreting (RSI), is the new hot skill. The pandemic made it a necessity.

Yet many interpreters struggle to perform it. Most often, two interpreters are needed for RSI assignments. Conference interpreting offers dedicated platforms specifically designed for RSI, but many community, business and educational interpreters today use the Zoom interpretation feature. In other cases, a hybrid solution involves another web conferencing platform (such as Webex or GoToMeeting) that brings in a second audio line for interpreting, often over the phone.

These solutions leave out a crucial component: the “virtual booth.” This booth is a necessity for interpreters who work in teams of two or more.

What is a virtual booth? It’s a back channel where interpreters working in pairs can communicate with each other behind the scenes. They monitor each other’s interpreting, cue each other for when to switch and come in as needed if their partner needs help.

A virtual booth can be set up in various ways, including:

• A video call over a mobile phone.
• A second video meeting app opened on your computer screen.
• Logging into the meeting (on Zoom) on a separate device to monitor your partner’s interpreting.

This course will show you how to set up your virtual booth and communicate with your partner. It will also compare these three approaches and discuss their pros and cons.

Feedback from our participants:

"Wonderful class! Katharine did an outstanding job at welcoming and working with all attendants and making sure we all left with a better level of confidence that this can be done."

"Excellent organization, pre-course communication and delivery of the course!"

"This was a great course. I learned a lot."

Instructor: Katharine Allen, MA Founder, Words Across Borders

Class Schedule: June 18, 2022 (Saturday)

Timetable: 12:00-5:00 p.m. ET (9:00 a.m.-2:00p.m. PT) with a break from 2:00-3:00 p.m. ET (11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. PT)

CEUs: 

• Certification Commission for Healthcare Interpreters (CCHI): 4 CE hours
• International Medical Interpreters Association: 0.4 IMIA/NBCMI CEUs
• American Translators Association: 4 ATA CEPs
• Maryland Court Interpreter Program: 4 CE credits

Learning Objectives

By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:

1. Set up three different kinds of virtual booths for remote simultaneous interpreting.
2. Communicate with their partner before and during the virtual booth encounter.
3. Determine the pros and cons of different kinds of virtual booths, depending on the kind of meeting and the platform used.

Target Audience:

• Anyone planning to perform remote simultaneous interpreting online who wants to learn about virtual booths.

Technical Requirements:

• Desktop or laptop computer (recommend i5 processor or above) with webcam (The course may not be taken on a tablet, phone or other small device.)
• Second device, such as a smartphone or tablet, so that participants can practice some of the steps involved in setting up their virtual booths
• Zoom (Updated Version)
• Chrome or Firefox (Updated Version)
• Quality headset with boom mounted microphone 
• High speed internet (minimum 5 mbps upload/10 download) 
• Ethernet cable (Must connect computer directly to router. Minimum quality CAT6)*
• Ethernet to USB adapter (if needed)*
• External Monitor*

*Recommended but not required

Additional Technical Requirements:

The purpose of this class is to learn how to set up virtual booths and PRACTICE them. In order to make that possible, you must attend class with the following:

• Headset with boom mic (The headset should be one that plugs into your computer.) 
• Earbuds / airpods
• Mobile phone with video call ability
• Whatsapp downloaded to your smart phone AND on your computer (Download here)
• A way to prop your phone next to your computer so you can easily interact with a video call.

During the class, you will be paired with another participant to be your "booth partner." You will be asked to share your mobile phone number with that participant.

One of the virtual booth options we will practice requires you to log into Zoom from your computer AND from a smart phone. Please make sure you have the Zoom app installed on both.

In other words, come prepared to work with several different kinds of technology. The course instructor will walk the class through each set up step by step, but if you attend without the required technology at hand and without a solid internet connection, you will not be able to fully participate.

This course is limited to 20 participants. Once the course has reached capacity, those interested will be added to a waitlist in the order in which their inquiry is received.

Disruptive Behavior Policy

In order to uphold the collaborative nature of our online training programs, Cross-Cultural Communications reserves the right to remove any participant for abusive or aggressive behavior, spoken or written, towards CCC staff, trainers or other participants. We recognize that the past year has been difficult for everyone. However, our participants, trainers and staff have the right to a safe and respectful learning and working environment. We thank you for your understanding.

Training Participant Information Release

By registering for our live online training programs, you agree to allow Cross-Cultural Communications, LLC to share your contact information with participants in the same training session for purposes of creating a collaborative online training experience for all participants. Should you have concerns or not wish to have your contact information shared by CCC, prior to the training session please email info@cultureandlanguage.net.

Cross-Cultural Communications records its live online training sessions for quality control purposes. Recordings are not shared with anyone outside of the organization or training session.

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