Mock Conference at the Caspian Higher School of Interpreting and Translation Attended by an International Expert
It is no secret that the classes at the Caspian Higher School of Interpreting and Translation are as close to real work of translators and interpreters as possible. One of such real-life formats, regularly implemented within the educational process, is a mock conference. The idea of such conferences is that students independently draw up a plan of speeches on the topic, set by their teacher, and “cast” specific roles: someone gives a speech in Russian, English or another foreign language, someone takes on a role of moderator and makes sure that the event is held according to the programme, and, most importantly, some students work in the interpretation booths and hone their CI skills. The rest of the students who are not involved in other roles act as “clients”, and it is particularly valuable when we manage to invite real native speakers of foreign languages to such events, which increases the importance of interpretation a lot.On May 31, Prof. Bruce Leimsidor from Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, a renowned expert in the field of international migration law who was paying a visit to Astrakhan State University that time, attended another mock conference at the Caspian School. Prof. Leimsidor made a speech and shared his opinion about the European Parliament elections and the migration situation in the EU; he also answered some questions of our MA students on the topic of migration and, together with the teachers of the Caspian School, gave a detailed feedback on the students’ interpretation.
The participation of such a guest in the CI class maximally brought the working conditions of our students to a real interpreting situation because Mr. Leimsidor does not speak Russian and depended on the quality of the students’ performance. The professor himself said that the interpretation was at a high level; he also stressed that he was pleased with the students’ presentations, as well as with their interest in the topic under discussion.