How to Use:

1. Download the sheet
2. Enter the start date in mm/dd/yyyy format
3. Enter the start time in hh:mm:ss AM/PM format
4. The sheet will then show you how many bottles of formula a day will be tube fed.

In our recent experience, we found a Mandarin speaking nutritionist explaining the complicated process of tube feeding to an Indonesian caretaker. The nutritionist explained all the requirements and how to implement the feeding schedule, but it’s a lot of information for the caretaker to take in all at once! Especially since the caretaker wasn’t immediately familiar with the process.

It can be overwhelming and hard to keep all this complicated information in mind and immediately know what the exact amount to feed or how to move forward. Fortunately, that’s where interpretation comes in handy! By breaking down the complex process into a schedule template the caretaker can understand and find it easy to deal with.

Interpreters help to simplify ideas. For something like tube feeding schedule which can be confusing, we as interpreters have applied the interpretation philosophy and made an easy-to-understand template.

Interpretation is about breaking down ideas making them easy for others to understand. Thanks to interpretation, not only is the challenge that language barriers pose solved, but also information becomes clear through interpretation. Isn’t it interesting to see how interpreters process information and make things easy for the target audience?

Individualized Education Program Meetings

School is a common experience that a lot of us have. For some, though, it’s not that simple of an experience. Imagine you’re having trouble keeping up in school and not learning at the same rate as others. What can you do? Sometimes doing your best can only take you so far. This is where IEPs come into play.

IEP is a legally binding process.

Individualized Education Programs are a very involved and careful process that involves not only the student, but their parents, and their teachers too. As you might be able to imagine, it’s important that everyone is able to understand each other for such a delicate and important process!

For interpreters, helping to interpret IEP meetings is a rewarding line of work that they actively look forward to. Seeing the smile on the child’s face or the parents’ face when they know that careful attention is being paid and that they can flawlessly communicate with each other without the barrier of language is a great feeling!

While there’s no set formula for the perfect interpreter, all our interpreters agree that experience plays a significant role.

Pedro and Noemi suggest that it typically takes about a year for interpreters to feel comfortable working in special education.

Familiarize yourself with the terminologies and the entire IEP process thoroughly so that you’re fully prepared for what’s to come!

It’s even better if you have a collection of examples ready to share, making it easier to explain and clarify information for parents.

Interpreters Need to possess comprehensive knowledge of the school system and more!

Susy specifically emphasizes the need for interpreters to possess comprehensive knowledge of various aspects, including the school system, resources of the school district, expectations of teachers, staff, and therapists, understanding the background of the family and the list goes on!

To do so, we recommend maintaining close ties with local school districts, which allows you to have a deeper understanding of the ever-evolving systems and resources. Following up with current standards is crucial!

Interpreters Need to have some knowledge of autism and speech development

Autism traits and speech development vary widely, so staying informed and updated on these topics proves immensely beneficial in delivering effective interpretation services. As Flower says, autism is a spectrum, so it is overall best to have some knowledge of it, otherwise someone who is not familiar with certain autism traits and/or the lack of speech development will probably be taken off guard.

Interpreters Need to take notes and/or ask the speaker to pause so they may interpret efficiently.

Interpreters must interpret the core message, and as such must take notes and/or ask the speaker to pause so they may interpret efficiently. While it’s true that interpreters usually bring out the core message, they also try to retain as many of the details and nuances as possible when interpreting for a speaker.

In order to do this, it’s important that the speaker doesn’t speak for too long so that the interpreters can be sure to repeat everything that they said in another language.

The job of an interpreter is to facilitate communication to the point that it’s almost as if the two sides are talking to each other. As such, omitting details is not something that interpreters try to do.

Interpreters Need to interpret in a register that the parents can understand!

Full inclusion refers to the total integration of a student with disabilities into the regular education program with special support. In full inclusion, the student’s primary placement is in the regular education class. However, the student can leave the class to receive related services such as speech or physical therapy.

For some interpreters, one challenge they find is that the language of the IEP’s various pathologists is sometimes at a register far above the level of understanding of the parents.

If that happens, the interpreters should try asking for permission to interpret in a register that the parents could understand.

Also, with COVID-19, the introduction of non-native English-speaking speech and language pathologists, may add another complexity in between IEP meetings.

This is why it’s very helpful for interpreters to have native-level strength in English while also being familiar with speech development. It makes communicating with the correct technical jargon much simpler and also easier to simplify everything for parents.

Our favorite moments despite these difficulties

Needless to say, there are so many cherished moments throughout the process, considering how closely interpreters work alongside the family.

Pedro fondly recalls being able to witness students’ progress and growth, or even celebrate their graduation from needing special education services.

Susy shared a heartwarming moment when the principal, who attended the IEP meeting, acknowledged her passion and dedication, which led him to choose her again for the school district meeting.

These accomplishments are truly what made our interpreters feel deeply satisfied and reaffirm the meaningfulness of their work!

Although the latter was played off for laughs, by comparing these two portrayals, we can see the differences between the two interpreters and what separates a professional interpreter from others.

The Interpreter 2005, Political thriller
Starring Nicole Kidman, this movie is about a UN interpreter who overhears people planning an assassination from her interpretation booth after hours. The producers did extensive research on conference interpreting as a profession, and in this movie you can see her portraying the work of a conference interpreter simultaneously interpreting both in the booths and in a meeting between dignitaries. According to IMDB, the movie is the first to have been filmed at the actual UN headquarters.

We see her portraying a professional interpreter with a great sense of responsibility in communication shown in her paying careful attention to the smallest nuances of language. She interpreted accurately despite a personal difference in opinion while at the same time protecting confidentiality.

Lost in Translation 2003, Comedy-drama
Everyone who has seen this movie probably remembers the Suntory commercial scene, where Bill Murray’s character struggles to understand the instructions of a passionate, machine-gun talking director despite having Japanese interpreter present. This scene is possibly the most humorous rendition of an unprofessional interpreter.

We noticed a few qualities lacking in this interpreter that are holding her back from doing a professional job. First, she appeared to have a lack of language ability that left huge gaps in the message she was trying to convey, and showed a lack of sensitivity to the frustration in the client when he was unable to understand her interpretation. The client shows a great deal of discomfort and confusion, there is still a language barrier that needs to be broken down.

Interpreters in Real Life at Monterey Language Services
Monterey Language Services understands what a significance a professional interpreter can make in bridging language gaps. Every day, we successfully fulfill our mission to serve by sending professional interpreters to hospitals, clinics, community public hearing events, and high-tech customer conferences in Silicon Valley. Our customers are always happy to see the power of communication take place in everyday life!

Here is a recent encounter that required the skills of a professional interpreter — a Cantonese medical interpretation at a children’s clinic in Capitola, CA.
– The Interpreter was a certified medical interpreter, CMI and CCHI precisely: Thanks to her professional mindset, the client was fully taken care of.
– Thorough communication between the doctor and patient was facilitated: The interpreter showed her dedication and ensured all messages were fully conveyed. The assignment was originally scheduled for two hours while the actual time spent interpreting was three hours.
–A willingness to serve: although the location was a bit far, the interpreter was willing to drive all the way to the hospital to make sure that someone was there to cover the assignment.

Monterey Language Services strives to provide the highest quality of translation and interpretation services. Please feel free to contact us for a quote.

All the colleagues working at Monterey Language Services are linguistically gifted with world travel experience. Our intern Matthew Stone went to Germany and finished his high school degree and is now a business major at CSUMB. He was interned in Austria and volunteered to help build amphitheaters in Mexico. He has unique experiences in a dozen different countries.

~Monterey Language Services, providing high quality translation and interpretation services in over 175 languages.

A Story by Matthew Stone

When you are a teenager, the world is a big place, especially when you go out to explore it.

I left home when I was 16, heading out to Germany, while knowing no German. Sometimes the hardest thing was simply staying awake, listening to words 24 hours a day when I had no idea. But I stayed because I wanted to be a professional soccer player.

I had spent so many years of my life trying to play in Europe and finally the opportunity had arrived. Nothing could tamper my motivation, not even the language barrier. The frozen fields and gummi platz (German playing surface) that engulfed me for countless hours only added to my passion with its new aura.

So writing to you years later as a college student, do I look back and say I did not achieve my dream? Or did my pursuit of one open up new doors? Because of my desire to play soccer, I now am fluent in German and have been awakened to the world. This has resulted in me traveling around the world as well as picking up an internship in Austria. It was not easy but you never find anything new if you trample the path that has already been worn.