Mock Conference on the Basics of First Aid

On December 21, 2020, the Caspian High School of Translation hosted a conference in the well-known and beloved mock conference or staged conference format. The event was dedicated to a very important and relevant topic of first aid.

The partner of the conference was the Astrakhan regional branch of the Russian Public Organization “Russian Red Cross Society”, whose representatives not only spoke at the event, but also conducted training for MA students on the basics of first aid a week before the conference. Thanks to the knowledge gained, it was much easier for the students to make reports on such topics as first aid in case of airway obstruction, first aid delivered to an unconscious person, etc.

While 1st year students shared what they learned about first aid as speakers for the event, simultaneous interpretation of such challenging topics into English was provided by 2nd year MA students, who had the opportunity to put their medical vocabulary to the test.

Kristina Makovei, a 1-year MA student, shared her impressions on the conference: “The familiar form of the mock conference was somewhat different at the preparation stage, because all the participants had real training and learnt how to provide first aid. The mock conference itself made it possible to consolidate this knowledge. The participants did not just listen and practice skills, they told how to provide first aid themselves. At the same time they worked out the vocabulary in English”.

Natella Usacheva, a second-year MA student, shared with us the difficulties the interpreters faced in the booth: “Of course, this mock conference was different from the previous ones. First of all, it is a rather complicated topic, which we have only recently become familiar with. Secondly, the terminology was complicated: body parts, names of bones and degrees of burns were not an easy task for an interpreter. Of course, the fact that we knew the topic quite well helped a lot in interpretation and selection of terminology. Thirdly, it was not just an ordinary training conference with students and trainers. Anna Kinarova, Head of the Training Center of the Astrakhan branch of RRC, took part in the event. She did not only assess students’ knowledge in this field, she also evaluated the interpretation and selection of terms in English. Of course, it made us a little more nervous and we tried even better. Not only were we, the interpreters, anxious. I am sure, the first-year MA students were nervous as well because they were the speakers. They had to present the information they learned during the training correctly”.