Looking back a year later, I feel even more strongly about the benefits of using work samples for assessment. My idea in sharing this was that interpreters and students of interpreting could assess my work for their own benefit. Someone I knew accused me of narcissism and mocked me for “bestowing my work upon the world for their edification,” but that’s exactly what it’s for. Our professor in our current Assessment for Interpreter Educators course suggested several interpreting samples for us to watch on YouTube and assess using a freewrite. One of the beauties of the process is that you can say exactly what you think and feel without hurting the feelings of the person whose work you’re assessing, because you’re not even talking to the person; you’re just writing to yourself. (Ultimately the goal is to use non-evaluative language to reflect what you saw in the work, but the freewrite is an uncensored expression of your observations.) This was the kind of thing I had in mind when I shared this sample of my interpreting & transliterating. I don’t want feedback on this sample for myself, but I kind of love the idea of your assessing it on your own or in a classroom or study group. Maybe I’m not a narcissist but rather an exhibitionist; no matter. Love it, hate it, like it, dislike it, agree with it, disagree with it, learn/teach what to do and what not to do… talk to yourself or talk amongst yourselves.
As an assignment for the Master of Arts in Interpreting Studies at Western Oregon University (WOU MAIS), I completed a videotaping of myself spending about 20 minutes interpreting a source text I had not heard before: Simon Lewis’s talk “Don’t take consciousness for granted,” at TED.com. There is an interactive transcript that you can view by following the link.
I would like to think this is not a sample of my best work, but I am humble enough to accept that there are times when this is the best I can do with such an unfamiliar topic and fast pace.
Here are some facts about me and the circumstances under which this sample was recorded:
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