Court Interpreter Training and Certification Process

 

 

In order to become a certified court interpreter an individual must complete the following steps:

 

Step One:  The Orientation Workshop

 

The two-day orientation workshop is a prerequisite to the written screening exam, as well as the skill-building workshop and the certification exam.  The workshop includes the following topics:  

 

Step Two:  The Written Screening Exam  

The written screening exam is a prerequisite to the optional skill-building workshop and the certification exam.  The exam consists of two parts.  The first part includes multiple-choice questions on general language proficiency, court-related terms, and ethics and professional conduct.  To pass this part of the exam, a candidate must answer 80 percent of the questions correctly. 

The second part of the written screening exam consists of multiple-choice questions in the foreign language, including grammar, word usage, and reading comprehension.  To pass this part of the exam, a candidate must answer 70 percent of the questions correctly.

The written screening exam is constructed to measure entry-level knowledge that a minimally competent person entering the court interpreting field would need, including:  English general vocabulary, common words and phrases likely to be heard in court, the typical progression of cases through the court system, provisions of the code of professional responsibility, and foreign language proficiency. 

 

Individuals who are unable to pass this exam should consider attending classes at a college or university to enhance their proficiency in one or both languages.  The time frame within which you can register to retake the written exam is one year.  Passing this test does not mean that an individual is a “certified” or “approved” court interpreter.

 

 

Step Three:  Optional Skill-Building Workshop (Spanish language only)

 

The six-day skill-building workshop gives participants one-on-one time with experienced faculty, as well as intensive practice in the three modes of interpreting. This is an optional workshop designed to assist participants in their preparation for the certification exam.

 

Step Four:  Certification Exam

 

The Administrative Office of the Courts, through its membership in the Consortium for State Court Interpreter Certification, has access to certification exams for the following languages:

  

Arabic Korean Russian
Cantonese Laotian Somali
Hatian-Creole Mandarin Spanish
Hmong Portuguese Vietnamese

  

An individual may sit for the certification exam one time in a calendar year.  The certification exam consists of an oral exam on simultaneous interpreting, consecutive interpreting, and sight translation.  If a candidate passes all three sections with a 70 percent or higher, he or she becomes a certified court interpreter in the state of Idaho.

 

If an individual passes only one or two sections of the certification exam, he or she will not be required to retake those sections for a period of two calendar years.  During that time, the candidate may sit for the section or sections of the exam that he or she did not pass.  If the candidate is unable to pass all three sections of the exam within the allotted time, the candidate will be required to retake all three sections of the exam regardless of whether or not the candidate passed a section in a previous testing cycle.

 

If a candidate passes two sections of the exam, but not the third, the Program Manager may, at his or her discretion, permit the candidate to retake the portion he or she did not pass within the same calendar year.