Hi all,
I’m a translator looking to get into interpretation and thinking about taking an interpreter training course in Tokyo. I’ve researched some programs like Simul but it seems like they’re all aimed at Japanese speakers and focus significantly on developing English ability. I was wondering if anyone here had tried Simul or any other school and, if so, whether or not you would recommend them. I’m looking for something more practical like Simul versus university programs that focus on theory like Temple.
Thanks in advance!
3 comments
I’m not an interpreter, but I’ve hired them numerous times as well as translators. Usually for very specific topics such as in-depth investment banking discussions or legal/compliance.
A few thoughts –
1-You could try an association and see what they suggest. There is JAT for example.
2-Think about your specialty. Tbh, if you don’t have one, you’ll probably need one. Topics like banking, legal, IP, medical/pharma are probably where you’d be in demand. Engineering too but in manufacturing they have so many staff sometimes they throw someone at meetings (very case by case though).
3-Who is connected? I’d think about not just the skill but who can place you after you have the skills.
I’ve hired Simul and I want to say Diplomatt but they were somehow working with Simul. Simul is good with the audio setups. There is Diplomatt Academy so you could look at that too.
FWIW; hope that’s a start.
There is a simultaneous/consecutive interpreting intensive summer course at Okinawa Christian University. I took it many years ago and found it very practical and effective. There were also career opportunities from the instructors, and introductions to “invitation only” weekend courses for interpreters with other promises of work.
https://www.ocjc.ac.jp/2022/06/17/doutu/
One of the best courses in the world for J-E and E-J is at University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia. The course is called Master of arts in interpreting and translation and they train UN level interpreters (simultaneous) with tracks for both English and Japanese native speakers.
I was intending to do this program at one point before I decided that I wouldn’t enjoy interpreting as a job.
[https://my.uq.edu.au/programs-courses/requirements/program/5207/2021](https://my.uq.edu.au/programs-courses/requirements/program/5207/2021)