In a few weeks, Spanish language court interpreters, who passed the written portion of the exam, will have an opportunity to start the year 2020 as federally certified court interpreters.
Because of all the problems the designation of an unfit exam administrator entity by the Administrative Office of the United States, and to meet deadlines and a time schedule, exam applicants face an opportunity never seen: Those who just passed the written exam earlier this year can take the oral portion of the exam in December instead of having to wait for two years as others had to. This will give them not just the opportunity of having the most prestigious certification in the American court interpreting world, but also the great advantage of joining the federally certified court interpreter ranks in a year when a historically low number of people passed the exam during the summer, no others will be eligible for certification until 2021, and no new interpreters had been certified in over four years. With interpreter caseloads growing in many districts, and Spanish court interpreter cases becoming common practice in parts of the country where in the past they were rarely required, passing the certification exam this time could represent a great opportunity to meet the courts needs while earning a decent leaving.
It is also a tremendous opportunity for those who took the test a few months ago and failed. Instead of having a 2-year wait, these colleagues can take advantage of the practice and study they did for the summer exam, continue studying now that they have an exam mindset, and correct the things that went wrong last time, and build on top of those that went well. There is additional motivation: They are in a unique situation that allows them to take the exam even when they just came short a few weeks ago. This, and that there will be new certified Spanish court interpreters, thus more competition, if they sat out this time and wait until 2021, should be enough to convince anyone to try for the certification this year once again.
Finally, another group of colleagues failed in the past, and after a few years, have come back and try it.
We also have the group of colleagues victimized by the fiasco of 2017 who passed on the summer exam to get ready for December. Colleagues in these group feel they were wronged by the system and are coming back to show friend and foe they deserved the certification the last time, and they deserve it now.
Because we understand the uniqueness, and because we recognize you all, and your different motivations, Javier and I have put together another FCICE Spanish federal court interpreter certification exam workshop at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte in November. Come and join us for three and a half days of theory, exercises, and tips on how to take and pass the exam. Even if you took the test before, come and see how we break it down and analyze it for your benefit; practice with exercises you will find nowhere else, written and prepared by real attorneys and court interpreters who know how to make the fictional cases as real as the ones you will interpret once you get certified. Also, we offer you a unique session where we show you how to protect yourself from incompetent proctors and inappropriate actions and inactions by the Administrative Office of the Courts. Please navigate the website to discover exact dates, program, costs, and enrollment process. We have even included a section suggesting hotels near campus. It is important you enroll soon because the workshop may be cancelled if there are not enough people signed in, or you may be left out because we will run out of places if you take too long. We hope to see you in Charlotte in November!
FCICE Exam Workshop 