ELEMENT

PERFORMANCE CRITERIA

1. Clarify assignment requirements

1.1 Identify and confirm assignment requirements with client, including conditions of engagement, physical work environment and performance expectations.

1.2 Confirm attributes of team, physical work environment and performance expectations with other team members.

1.3 Negotiate agreed approach to achieve best quality and safest outcomes.

2 Prepare as a team

2.1 Consult as a team to obtain background materials and establish interpreting process.

2.2 Analyse physical work environment and collaborate on required adjustments.

2.3 Seek briefing to assess linguistic requirements and address technical concerns.

2.4 Introduce team to discourse participants and explain role and process of interpreting.

3 Undertake team assignment

3.1 Implement agreed interpreting process and monitor time.

3.2 Rotate interpreting according to industry standards and in line with situation and established techniques.

3.3 Provide appropriate support to other team members.

3.4 Monitor other team members' delivery, and prompt and feed in an appropriate manner to facilitate and enhance colleague and team performance.

3.5 Accept prompts and feeds in a manner that does not compromise delivery.

4 Evaluate team performance

4.1 Discuss performance with team members in a confidential setting and in a professional and constructive manner, and evaluate problems encountered and effectiveness of assignment in line with client requirements.

4.2 Consider and implement adjustments to improve future process and outcomes.

Required skills

discourse management skills to:

switch with team colleague in a manner that does not interrupt communication

interpersonal skills to:

negotiate conditions of engagement with clients

reach agreement with team members on the conditions and requirements of assignments

interact with colleagues in a supportive and collaborative manner

work effectively with colleagues to achieve effective outcomes

literacy skills to:

prepare required background material and resources on subject and context in an agreed and consistent format

produce records of key information, for self and others in team or tandem interpreting

organisational skills to

prepare and administer resources and documentation relating to assignment

apply codes of practice and other legislative requirements to work processes

problem-solving skills to:

intervene in matters of occupational health and safety to maintain integrity of output

address factors that may compromise effective performance working in teams

change conditions to enhance communication flow

research skills to collaborate with team members in sourcing and sharing information specific to assignment

self-management skills to:

mentally order information for message transfer

interpret in a professional manner

seek debriefing and support where required

technology skills to use office equipment and information and communications technology for team interpreting purposes

Required knowledge

professional techniques and protocols for team rotation

relevant codes of ethics

communication techniques that facilitate interpreting process in team

team feedback and evaluation techniques

language structure, dialects and idioms in source and target languages

legal requirements, professional procedures and guidelines, ethical practices relating to interpreters, including confidentiality and privacy requirements

limitations of work role, responsibility and professional abilities within team relationship and dynamics

modes of interpreting and techniques for managing mode switches

OHS and risk management principles and practices to ensure team physical safety and comfort

research methods to collaboratively undertake intense assignment-specific preparation

strategies to assist retention of information and recall of source messages in a consistent manner

The Evidence Guide provides advice on assessment and must be read in conjunction with the performance criteria, required skills and knowledge, range statement and the Assessment Guidelines for the Training Package.

Critical aspects for assessment and evidence required to demonstrate competency in this unit

In addition to integrated demonstration of the elements and their related performance criteria, look for evidence that confirms the ability to interpret in collaboration with one or more other interpreters as part of an interpreting team or in relay, observing each other's work and providing practical support to achieve effective communication. This includes:

applying professional and industry standards for team interpreting

maintaining occupational health and safety standards

negotiating agreement on terms and conditions of assignment with team colleagues

collaborating with team members on research, language requirements and actual work setting

applying agreed techniques for rotating with team

monitoring and supporting team members

using constructive feedback in evaluation of team members' performance

Context of and specific resources for assessment

Evidence for assessment of this unit of competency will make use of scenarios, case studies, experiences and, where possible, examples of interactions with colleagues and clients which illustrate a range of skills and strategies for interpreting as part of a team.

Resources for assessment include:

a range of occasions for observation of candidate interpreting in teams

research material demonstrating evidence of team collaboration

information from team feedback and evaluation

Evidence will be provided from a range of real or simulated team interpreting assignments and from questioning in real and scenario settings.

The range statement relates to the unit of competency as a whole. It allows for different work environments and situations that may affect performance. Bold italicised wording, if used in the performance criteria, is detailed below. Essential operating conditions that may be present with training and assessment (depending on the work situation, needs of the candidate, accessibility of the item, and local industry and regional contexts) may also be included.

Conditions of engagement may include:

attributes of team assembled for assignment, including:

size

experience

gender

skills set

preparation required, including:

past and current documentation

existing glossaries

rehearsals

briefing and evaluation requirements

administrative details, such as:

remuneration

accommodation

travel

working conditions, such as:

breaks

interpreting modes

Physical work environment may include:

seating, positioning and other logistical arrangements

environmental factors, such as:

amplification

lighting and visibility

ventilation

Attributes of team may include:

compatible skill levels

relay interpreter

tandem interpreter

unqualified relay person

familiarity with subject matter

language direction

potential conflicts of interest

Interpreting process may include:

role definitions and sharing, including:

sharing prior knowledge and precedents

skills matching

role of lead interpreter, with responsibility to:

obtain and allocate papers and background material

arbitrate conditions of engagement and OHS issues

assume overall responsibility for team performance

methodology, including:

allocation of interpreters to speaker or signer

allocating times for each interpreter

contingencies

language direction

support processes, such as prompting techniques and cues

agreeing signs and expressions or terminology

monitor colleague interpreter delivery, and step in as necessary

mentoring

briefing and evaluation

Linguistic requirements may include:

dialectic characteristics of individual discourse participants

confirming and clarifying terms

discussing roles

content level of discourse

idiosyncratic language use

environmental constraints

Technical concerns may include:

method of delivery

audio-visual (AV) media

environmental issues

seating and positioning arrangements

timing of breaks

impact of support technology and processes

line of sight

need for relay

Established techniques for rotating interpreters may include:

giving and receiving cues for role switch

switching roles at scheduled and unscheduled times

switching roles in a manner that does not compromise delivery

Appropriate support may include:

remaining actively aware of discourse

filling in during breaks

signalling when support is needed

watching for cues

providing feedback during assignment breaks

keeping records that are meaningful to colleagues

explaining switching and prompting to parties

handing over to other interpreter after prescribed length of time

alerting other interpreter to be listening or watching, ready to switch

pausing discussion to brief incoming interpreter

prompting colleague to support your interpreting, i.e. taking and using a prompt, and advising style of prompting you prefer

ensuring colleague comfort

Prompting may occur in the event of:

omissions

transfer errors

comprehension failure

vocabulary, acronyms and jargon

name signs

numbers or dates

proper nouns

speaker deviating from text

colleague fatigue or distress

Feed may include:

identifying ambient noise

missed signs or words

spatial cues

tracking written support material

Appropriate manner may include:

keeping records of information for colleagues

looking up dictionaries or glossaries

pointing to reference texts or diagrams

searching the internet

signing to colleagues