At the Faculty of Arts, it is possible to use a professionally equipped interpreting booth located in room B2.13. The booth can be used for interpreting at lectures, conferences and other events, but also for training interpreting skills for students. The second booth is located in room G02 and its purpose is primarily for lectures.

Specifications of the interpreting booth

The booth in room B2.13 has two Sennheiser SL Interpreter stations. There is room for four people with the possibility of interpreting in two languages at the same time (only one person can speak at each station at a time, i.e., two speaking persons in total).

All interpreters have a headset (headphones + microphone) available to listen to the sound from the microphones in the hall as well as the sound from the computer or other screened input.

The booth in room B2.13 also enables relay interpreting (indirect interpreting), when the interpreted output from the first station is used as the source for the other station (the second interpreter does not interpret the words of the original speaker, but the words of the first interpreter instead).

Audience in the hall can listen to individual interpreters either using infrared receivers, available in place, or using their own mobile devices with the Sennheiser MobileConnect app installed. For signal reception, we recommend primarily the use of the mobile application.

The instructions for use of the equipment in the interpreting booth are available in place.

Training

If you would like to see a model operation of the equipment in the interpreting booth, use the attached form to contact the E-learning Office staff and ask for consulting and training on the spot.

Use in teaching

The interpreting booth can be also used at classes for training the interpreting skills. Students can try simultaneous interpretation under similar conditions to those that they will encounter in practice.

If you decide to use the booth at classes, we recommend that you keep the following in mind:

• No more than four students can sit in the booth at a time; when working with a larger group, it is necessary to organise activities also for other students.
• The first attempts to interpret in the booth may be discouraging for students; it is necessary to provide a sufficient number of sessions for the students to overcome their initial embarrassment and acquire the necessary skills. Therefore, training should not comprise a single lesson only, but rather a different suitable format, e.g., a one-week intensive course.
• If you want to assess the performances of students, it is possible to connect a recorder to the booth and record the interpreting outputs. In this case, please, contact the E-learning Office staff, using the form, at least one week in advance.
• It is recommended to keep in mind that room B2.13 is frequently used and to plan the classes for less busy periods, such as the exam period or weekends. Also, make sure you book the room well in advance.

Guide

• Using the Interpreting Booth as an Interpreter

This service is provided by Centre for Information Technologies at the Faculty of Arts (CIT FF, MU).