Part-time courses for adults

Public Service Interpreting - Health

This course is designed to support bilingual students in the development of the skills, knowledge and understanding required to work as public service interpreters in health settings.

It is a specialised course designed to cover in more depth and further develop the topics taught in the 'Professional Conduct in Public Service Interpreting' module and we strongly recommend that students complete that module before enrolling on this module.

They should be familiar with the Chartered Institute of Linguists (CIoL), the National Register of Public Service Interpreters (NRPSI) and the Diploma in Public Service Interpreting examination (DPSI).

The course offers guidance on preparation for the Health pathway of the Diploma in Public Service Interpreting (DPSI) examination run by the Chartered Institute of Linguists, but students who are not planning to sit the DPSI examination are also welcome.

For further information on sitting the DPSI examination, please go to the Diploma in Public Service Interpreting course page on the School of Modern Languages webpages.

The course is taught in English. You should be able to understand and express complex ideas using correct grammar, spelling and punctuation and have a good grasp of idiomatic English. A native English speaker should be able to understand your spoken and written English without difficulty.

If you are a native English speaker then the same applies for the other language(s) that you intend to use for public service interpreting.

If you are not able to read and / or write your other language you can still take the course but you will not be able to sit some parts of the DPSI exam and gain the full qualification.

You should let the tutor know at the start of the course.

Students will need to have access to IT facilities as the course relies on their use of Cardiff University email and Learning Central (the CU Virtual Learning Environment) for announcements from the tutor and access to course materials and information.

Learning and teaching

• Students will be guided to apply the main principles of professional conduct for public service (PS) interpreters and the Impartial Model of Public Service interpreting to working in various Health related scenarios and settings.
• The skills required by a public service interpreter will be demonstrated and practised.
• Students will be guided to research terminology, develop a continuously expanding glossary of specialised terminology and practice the skill of paraphrasing.
• Practical issues related to working as a public service interpreter in health settings will be outlined and discussed.

Coursework and assessment

Students are generally expected to spend an average of four hours of additional study time for each hour they spend in the classroom. In this course they will be guided to use Learning Central in order to undertake relevant reading and research and practice oral and written tasks between lessons.

This will include researching terminology that will feature in written tests and practical work in the classroom like sight translations and role plays.

For this course the assessments consists of short written tests throughout the course and oral bilingual work towards the end of the course.

To award credits we need to have evidence of the knowledge and skills you have gained or improved.

Some of this has to be in a form that can be shown to external examiners so that we can be absolutely sure that standards are met across all courses and subjects.

There is also a minimum attendance requirement of 50% of the lessons.

The most important element of assessment is that it should enhance your learning.

Our methods are designed to increase your confidence and we try very hard to devise ways of assessing you that are enjoyable and suitable for adults with busy lives.

Reading suggestions

The pages and resources related to the Diploma in Public Service Interpreting (DPSI) and The Linguist magazine, both from the Chartered Institute of Linguists website.

The Code of Conduct for the NRPSI (National Register of Public Service Interpreters).

Other relevant resources will be posted on Learning Central during the course.

Library and computing facilities

As a student on this course you are entitled to join and use the University’s library and computing facilities. Find out more about using these facilities.

Accessibility

Our aim is access for all. We aim to provide a confidential advice and support service for any student with a long term medical condition, disability or specific learning difficulty. We are able to offer one-to-one advice about disability, pre-enrolment visits, liaison with tutors and co-ordinating lecturers, material in alternative formats, arrangements for accessible courses, assessment arrangements, loan equipment and dyslexia screening.