Vietnamese Translation & Interpreting

Catalog Description

This Certificate of Achievement program is designed to develop the translation and interpreting skills necessary for service as a Vietnamese-English interpreter in public and private sectors, such as the courts, law firms, medical organizations, state agencies, public schools, and businesses. This program is specifically designed to prepare students to pass the State of California Court Interpreter Certification Exam and the Certification Commission for Healthcare Interpreters Exam. The certificate will be awarded to students who complete all of the units listed under a Certificate of Achievement with a “C” or better.

 Student Learning Outcomes:

1. Demonstrate knowledge of translation theory and practice, and apply skills learned to specific situations encountered in Vietnamese translation and interpreting field.

2. Apply common techniques and strategies to gain advanced interpreting skills to improve accuracy and speed.

3. Implement knowledge and skills learned to further prepare for legal and medical interpreting certification exams.

4. Demonstrate an understanding of linguistic and cultural issues in translation and interpreting from English to Vietnamese, and vice versa.

Based upon environmental scans and interest expressed by the community, the college has projected the following enrollment in the Vietnamese Translation and Interpreting program.

Year	Projected New Enrollment
2022 – 2023	20
2023 – 2024	25
2024 – 2025	30
2025 - 2026	35

This Certificate of Achievement program will prepare students for careers in legal and healthcare translation and interpreting. This program is designed for multi-lingual professionals who are able to speak, read, and write Vietnamese and English fluently.

This program will acquaint students with the various legal and medical settings. Each type of legal procedure and medical procedure is governed by different expectations, protocols, and vocabulary requirements. Students will study the professional ethics of legal and healthcare interpreting and will learn to apply formal rules and standards to specific situations using specialized tools and skills of legal and healthcare translation and interpreting.

 The program prerequisites will be based on fluency in Vietnamese and English and a pre-entrance exam. There will also be a general assessment of college level mathematics, reading, and computer skills. Even though no other courses are required to enter the program, language proficiency at low-advanced level in both Vietnamese and English are necessary. 

This Certificate of Achievement program is designed to develop the translation and interpreting skills necessary for service as a Vietnamese-English interpreter in public and private sectors, such as the courts, law firms, medical organizations, state agencies, public schools, and businesses. This program is specifically designed to prepare students to pass the State of California Court Interpreter Certification Exam and the Certification Commission for Healthcare Interpreters Exam. The certificate will be awarded to students who complete all of the units listed under a Certificate of Achievement with a “C” or better.

Minimum requirements:

1. All applicants must be fluent in English and Vietnamese and have a speaking proficiency equivalent to that of an educated native speaker. Applicants are required to take a bilingual proficiency assessment.

2. It is recommended that all applicants should have completed at least one term of college English.

3. All applicants must submit a Translation and Interpreting application to the Language Arts Division, located in the Roble building, roomRE-206.

4. All applicants must attend an orientation.

Degree Requirements:

The program consists of 8 courses – 24 units.

Course	Title	Units	Year/Semester (Y1 or S1)
TI 042 TI 044	Fundamentals for Vietnamese Translation & Interpreting Vietnamese Sight Translation	3 3	S1 S1
TI 041 TI 045A TI 046A	Vietnamese Grammar for Translation & Interpreting Vietnamese Consecutive Interpreting 1 Vietnamese Simultaneous Interpreting 1	3 3 3	S2 S2 S2
TI 043 TI 045B TI 046B	Vietnamese/English Linguistic Analysis for Translation & Interpreting Vietnamese Consecutive Interpreting 2 Vietnamese Simultaneous Interpreting 2	3 3 3	S3 S3 S3
		24 units	3 semesters

Evergreen Valley College has been offering classes and a Certificate of Achievement in Spanish Translation & Interpreting for years, from one cohort of less than 20 students to currently three cohorts of more than 25 students each. The success of the Spanish T&I is an indication of the growth of the translation and interpreting field. In addition, Evergreen Valley College is located in an area where the population of Vietnamese-Americans is very high. Therefore, offering the Certificate of Achievement in Vietnamese Translation & Interpreting will give the Vietnamese-Americans in the area an opportunity to gain the skills and ultimately find a job in the translation and interpreting field.

The following programs are being offered at other colleges in the Service Area. However, none offer Vietnamese/English. Evergreen Valley College, Spanish Translation & Interpreting De Anza College, Translation and Interpretation in Mandarin UCLA Continuing Education Online, Legal Interpretation and Translation Chinese/English City College of San Francisco, Healthcare Interpreting