Courses

MCI Year Two: Program of Study

Year One trains students to interpret in three settings — healthcare, court, and conference. In contrast, Year Two focuses exclusively on conference interpreting and is taught on the Glendon campus, in mid-town Toronto, in our beautiful interpreting lab. All courses are 12 weeks in length, and they include 36 hours of contact time (three hours per week). Students in Year Two must complete the following requirements:

FALL COURSES

• INTE 5820 Documentation & Professional Practice I
• INTE 5830 Documentation & Professional Practice II
• INTE 5840 Documentation & Professional Practice III
• INTE 5850 Other Language into English I
• INTE 5860 English Into Other Language I

WINTER COURSES

• INTE 5825 Documentation & Professional Practice IV
• INTE 5835 Documentation & Professional Practice V
• INTE 5845 Documentation & Professional Practice VI
• INTE 5855 Other Language into English II
• INTE 5865 English Into Other Language II

SUMMER COURSES

• Organized Practice Sessions
• Exit Exam

The DPP courses are taught with all language groups together. We spend our time simulating conferences, colloquia, debates and interviews. The focus is on opening our horizons, giving and taking good relay, and learning from one another. As part of the courses, students also gain practical experience by interpreting actual events that are held at Glendon.

The other courses are what their names imply — a chance to drill down and thoroughly explore the challenges of working in a particular direction. A lot of the “heavy lifting” takes place in these courses, and students gain a solid mastery of their working languages through them.

It is possible to be granted advanced entry to the MCI. This means that we admit a select number of individuals directly into Year Two. However, these people are exceptions. They have to have prior experience in conference interpreting specifically, and they have to be able to pass our challenging Transition Exam. This is the gate-keeping tool that everyone has to pass before being allowed into Year Two. During the Transition Exam, candidates have to interpret one five-minute speech consecutively, and one ten-minute speech simultaneously, for each of their language directions (e.g., B to A, A to B, C to A).

Advanced Entry students have a lot of catch-up to do. Often, they have the raw ability to do well on the Transition Exam, but they lack the refined techniques that their classmates acquire in Year One. They have to work very hard to fill in the gaps in their know-how. Indeed, the usual pathway through our program — Year One online, followed by Year Two onsite — offers a smoother and more complete learning curve for future interpreters.