Are you preparing for a NAATI interpreting test or considering a career as a professional interpreter? This practical four-week course is designed to help aspiring interpreters develop and strengthen the core skills required for interpreting assessments and professional practice. Through practical exercises and simulated interpreting tasks, you will develop skills in active listening, memory, note-taking, reformulation, accuracy, register and terminology management. You will also explore common interpreting challenges, effective self-correction techniques and strategies for preparing confidently for assessment. The course is suitable for participants working across different language pairs and focuses on transferable interpreting skills rather than teaching a particular language. Participants will have opportunities to practise their interpreting skills, reflect on their performance and receive constructive feedback.

This course provides independent skills development and preparation support and is not affiliated with or endorsed by NAATI.

DELIVERY MODE

Face to face

COURSE RESOURCES

• Course materials will include tutor-developed worksheets, interpreting practice exercises, simulated dialogues, note-taking activities and terminology-building resources.
• Students will also be directed to relevant publicly available NAATI resources, including information about interpreting credentials, test formats and professional standards.
• NAATI: www.naati.com.au
• Additional practice materials and recommended readings will be provided during the course where appropriate.

COURSE OUTLINE

Week 1: Understanding Interpreting & NAATI Preparation

• Role of the professional interpreter
• Overview of interpreting assessment and expectations
• Accuracy, completeness, register and meaning
• Common interpreting errors and how to avoid them

Week 2: Listening, Memory & Note-Taking

• Active listening and information analysis
• Memory and recall techniques
• Effective note-taking methods and symbols
• Practical listening and interpreting exercises

Week 3: Interpreting Techniques & Problem-Solving

• Reformulating meaning rather than translating word-for-word
• Managing terminology, numbers and unfamiliar information
• Self-correction and maintaining fluency
• Practice with simulated interpreting scenarios

Week 4: Practice, Feedback & Test Preparation

• Simulated interpreting tasks
• Identifying individual strengths and areas for improvement
• Constructive feedback and self-evaluation

LEARNING OUTCOMES

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

• Apply core interpreting techniques to short interpreting tasks.
• Listen actively and identify key meaning, intent and relevant details.
• Use memory and note-taking strategies to support accurate interpreting.
• Convey meaning accurately while maintaining appropriate register and tone.
• Recognise and avoid common interpreting errors, including omissions, additions and unnecessary changes to meaning.
• Apply strategies for managing terminology, numbers and challenging information.
• Use appropriate self-correction techniques while maintaining fluency.
• Evaluate their own interpreting performance and identify areas requiring further development.
• Approach interpreting practice and NAATI test preparation with a structured, realistic preparation strategy.