Gain Valuable Skills. Help Non-English Speakers Navigate School Systems.

Every school system in America needs interpreters to facilitate communication between non-English-speaking parents of students and school system personnel. However, few educational institutions offer any formal training for this vital profession. To help fill this training void, the University of Georgia has developed this online course with one of the top educational interpreters and trainers in the field.

The Professional Interpreter in Education Certificate program is a one-of-a-kind, highly acclaimed course that will increase your professional knowledge, enhance your career path, and prepare you to better serve non-English-speaking students and their families in your school district. You will leave with a better understanding of the professional protocols for interpreting and the resources and support network you need to help your career flourish in the future.

Snapshot

Format: Online

Hours: 30

Credits: 3.0 CEUs

When: Jan. 6 - Feb. 24

Cost: $849

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  • The roles of school system personnel and the policies
  • Educational terminology
  • The difference between interpreting and translating
  • Procedures that educational interpreters must follow
  • How to apply the Interpreter’s Standards of Practice and Code of Ethics to real-life scenarios you may encounter
  • Roles of interpreters when working with special student populations and their families (such as preschool children, at-risk students, students with disabilities, and Special Education students)
  • How to use consecutive, simultaneous, sight translation and summarization translation modes

Module 1: Introduction to the Field of School Interpretation

  • Describe and understand the background of language access in the educational setting.
  • Recognize the specific roles of school system personnel and the policies and procedures that educational interpreter must follow.
  • Differentiate between the interpretation and translation processes.
  • Recognize the importance of colloquialism, slang, idioms and jargon pertinent to the educational field.

Module 2: Interpreter Standards of Practice and Code of Ethics

  • Demonstrate knowledge of the Standards of Practice and Code of Ethics.
  • Discuss and define the appropriate application of the Code of Ethics to case scenarios.

Module 3: Interpreter Roles

  • Apply the conduit, clarifier, and cultural advisor and advocate roles to case scenarios.

Module 4: Interpreter Modes

  • Compare and contrast the consecutive, simultaneous, sight translation and summarization interpretation modes.
  • Recognize ways to improve and enhance memory skills.

Module 5: Developing Cultural Competence

  • Illustrate the impact of culture in the flow of communication.
  • Identify cultural barriers that the interpreter may encounter in
    the education setting.
  • Recognize school/education perspectives from other countries.

Module 6: Special Education Overview

  • Understand the special education eligibility process.
  • Define the components of an eligibility and individualized education plan.
  • Describe reasonable accommodations and special services that students can receive through the special education program.

Module 7: Special Populations and the Interpreter

  • Define the role of the interpreter when working with preschool children, at-risk students and special education high school students.
  • Review alternative school settings that students can be placed in based on behavioral or discipline needs.
  • Analyze the interpreter’s role and mode of interpretation during a disciplinary hearing.

Module 8: Educational Terminology, Course Wrap-up and Post-test

  • Expand your resources and build school terminology in your native language.
  • Review your knowledge of interpretation in the school setting and assess your learning throughout the course.

Who Should Attend?

Individuals who are bilingual and fall into the following categories:

  • Teachers, staff, administrators of public, private or charter schools, and other education institutions
  • Individuals who work with teachers, staff and administrators of public, private or charter schools and other institutions
  • Interpreters and translators currently employed in educational institutions
  • Independent interpreters
  • Interpreters with other interpreting credentials, such as those who have completed the Spanish/English Medical Interpreter Certificate Program or the Spanish/English Legal Interpreter Certificate Program.
  • Individuals seeking employment in educational organizations
  • Individual seeking their first professional interpreting certificate

Course Information

Course Number: 

0613-016

Course Date: 
Monday, January 6, 2025 to Monday, February 24, 2025
Course Date Info: 

Live online classroom sessions with the instructor will be held on the following Wednesday evenings from 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. ET.:

  • January 8
  • January 22
  • February 5
  • February 19

To complete the course, students must attend all of the live online class sessions. Recordings of classes are available for continued learning, but do not replace attendance.

Course format: 

Online, cohort-based, with asynchronous activities and live online classes.

Course Fee(s): 

$849

Ana Soler, the course author and instructor, is the Chairperson of the National Association of Educational Translators and Interpreters of Spoken Languages (NAETISL) and Founder of SeSo, Inc., a source of qualified and trained interpreters and multicultural family engagement workshops. She completed her bachelor’s degree in Social Work at Georgia State University, her master’s degree in Public Health at Emory University, and is a Ph.D. in Special Education student at the University of Georgia. For over a decade, Ana worked with the largest school district in Georgia as the Language Services and Parent Outreach Coordinator, developing, implementing, and evaluating professional development opportunities for multilingual personnel and supporting schools with interpreter/translator quality assurance.

While working as a Multicultural Program Coordinator for Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Ana assisted with the creation of the hospital's interpretation and translation department. She also coordinated interpreter training for bilingual staff, oversaw cultural competency training for physicians and staff, and provided medical translation quality assurance and guidelines. Ana has authored interpreter training curricula nationally, including the Intercultural Parent and Youth Leadership Program, the Interpretation Academy for Bilingual High School Students, the Arkansas Interpreter in Education Credential Training, a 40-hour course for medical interpreters, and other online courses for the University of Georgia, including the Professional Interpreter in Education Certificate course and the Professional Interpreter in Special Education Certificate course. She remains an active medical and educational interpreter and translator.