Interpreting Aptitude Examination

The Interpreting Aptitude Examination is designed to assess the candidate’s potential as a prospective student in the Master of Arts Bilingual Legal Interpreting Program. The four-part examination taps the critical abilities that a student must possess in order to master the skills required of a professional interpreter. The examination is administered at the College of Charleston or at another site selected by the candidate. The examination questions and student responses will be tape-recorded.

A. Administration

The examination may be administered one of two places: at the College of Charleston by appointment or it may be proctored by an individual in your area who is associated with an official institution and has agreed to administer the exam. This individual may be affiliated with a teaching institution or work in some other professional capacity. Students must submit the name, phone number and email address of the proctor in the Bilingual Legal Questionnaire section of the Application for Graduate Study. The proctor will then be contacted by the program director and arrangements for administering the exam will be made at that time.

A student may take this examination only one time a year.

B. Description of the Examination

The Examination consists of four parts:

Part I - Listening Skills
Candidates listen to one short passage in English and one in Spanish on the examination tape. Each one is followed by questions based on the passage. Candidates provide oral answers to each question asked in the language of the passage.

Abilities tested: - listening
- comprehension of the language of the passage
- some memory and/or note-taking skills

Part II - Memory
Candidates listen to two short passages, one in English and one in Spanish, on the examination tape. After each passage, candidates are asked to repeat in the language of the passage as many as possible of the units of information presented in the passage, and in the original order of presentation. Note taking is not permissible in this exercise.

Abilities tested: - memory retention
- intelligibility and pronunciation in English and Spanish
- accuracy of expression in English and Spanish

Part III - Shadowing
Candidates hear one passage in English and one in Spanish on the examination tape. Candidates repeat exactly what they hear, as they hear it.
Abilities tested: - aural discrimination
- listening and speaking simultaneously
- the potential to divide attention between two different mental tasks

Part IV - Sight Translation
Candidates are given one written passage in English and one in Spanish. After several minutes of preparation time they are asked to translate each passage orally into the other language maintaining the same level of language as occurs in the original passage.

Abilities tested: - comprehension of written English and Spanish
- oral expression in the other language
- ability to move orally from one language to another on cue
- ability to read and speak simultaneously

C. Duration of Examination

The Examination takes approximately 60 minutes to complete and is recorded on audio tape.

D. Grading Procedures

A three-member panel will grade the Examination. A grade of Pass, Borderline, or Fail will be given to each of the four sections of the Examination. Each section will have a standard scoring method and a pass/fail criterion. The minimum requirement for satisfactory completion of the examination will be the following:
A grade of Pass in Sight Translation and at least one of the following two sections:
Listening Skills and Memory.
A grade of at least Borderline in Shadowing and the remaining section.

Upon satisfactory completion of the General Interpreting Aptitude Examination candidates will be eligible for admission to the program and will be notified accordingly.