Court Interpreter Oral Exam Study Resources


General

The Oral Exam has three sections which cover the three modes of interpreting most often used in courts: sight translation, consecutive, and simultaneous. This page provides some resources that cover each of the sections. The overviews in each section will give you some general information about the modes of interpreting as well as some exercises. Each section also has some materials that you can use.

Be sure to read these documents which will tell you what you can expect from the test:

Sight Translation

Overview
The guide below will give you an overview of what sight translation is and give you some exercises you can use to improve your skills: Practice Materials
There are a number of court documents and forms online that you can use to practice your sight translation. Some of the resources below come from other states and may differ from the documents you will see in Washington Courts

Language Neutral Materials

English Documents

Language Specific Materials

  • California (Chinese, Korean, Spanish, Vietnamese)
  • Massachusetts (Arabic, Cape Verdean Creole, Chinese, Haitian Creole, Khmer, Portuguese, Russian, Vietnamese)
  • Michigan (Arabic, Chinese, Hmong, Korean, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, Spanish, Vietnamese)
  • Minnesota (Chuukese, Lao, Karen, Khmer, Russian, Vietnamese)
  • Ohio (Arabic, Chinese French, Russian, Somali, Spanish)
  • Pennsylvania (Arabic, Chinese, French, Haitian Creole, Italian, Khmer, Korean, Nepali, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Vietnamese)
  • Rhode Island (Portuguese, Spanish)
  • Washington (Chinese, Korean, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog/Filipino, Vietnamese)

Consecutive

Overview
This guide will give you an overview of what consecutive interpreting is and give you some exercises you can use to improve your skills. Some of the exercises work best with a partner to practice with. There are some audio resources that you can use on your own below.

Language Neutral Practice Materials
The audio files below are 2 examples of direct examinations of a witness. Both participants speak English. There is a short pause after each utterance where you can pause the recording and practice your interpreting.

You can use these scripts to practice your interpreting. Try to find a partner who can read out the parts out loud.

Language Specific Practice Materials
The links below are audio files with their corresponding scripts.

Arabic Korean Mandarin Spanish

Simultaneous

Overview
Language Neutral Practice Materials
The files below are audio files you can use to practice you simultaneous interpretation.

Videos Resources

There are a number of websites online where you can find videos that can help you practice interpreting. Celebrity trials, and news sites, are just a few of the areas you can search for on sites like YouTube. You can even find videos with instruction on court interpreting. Some specific site you can look at are below.

Federal Court Videos
A number of recordings of federal court proceedings are available.

Uscourts
The Federal Judiciary has some videos on their YouTube channel, including some hearings that contain a lot of legal terminology.

Speechpool
This website has videos of speeches on a variety of topic uploaded by users to help interpreters practice simultaneous and consecutive interpreting. It requires you to register, which is free. For certified languages it has videos in English, Arabic, Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian, French, Russian, and Spanish.

Michigan Interpreter Techniques Videos
A series of videos demonstrating some proper and improper techniques of court interpreting.

Interpreter's Gym
The Interpreter's Gym is an account on SoundCloud created by Stephen Sanford, a Legal Interpreter Instructor at Boston University. This channel offers Simultaneous and English Consecutive track lists that can be done in either mode. It also includes Portuguese consecutive tracks.

Ted Talks
This site hosts videos of talks and lectures on a variety of technical, political, and topics of almost every variety.

Fundamentals of Language Access Module from New Mexico Administrative Office of the Courts
Training modules giving an overview of interpreting in state courts and language access services.

Vocabulary and Legal Terminology

Court Procedure and Vocabulary (American Bar Association)

Common Court Room Phrases

Vocabulary Builder

Legal Idioms

Nolo
This site is a dictionary of legal terms in plain English.

Links to Other Resources

Interpretation and Translation Resources for the Criminal Justice System
Law and technology resources for legal professionals.

Washington State Law Library
The law library has some general books about court interpreting and also specific materials for interpreter training, such as ACEBO. You can borrow items from the Law Library through your local library.

National Center for State Courts
The National Center for State Courts created and maintains the oral and written exams. There website includes practice Exam Kits and also has more information about how the tests were created and how they are rated.

Washington State
The Washington State Court Interpreter Program also has this website with additional resources.

National Association of Judiciary Interpreters and Translators (NAJIT)
A national organization of interpreters and translators working in the legal field. They provide a number of resources that are useful for court interpreters.

Northwest Translators and Interpreters Society (NOTIS)
A national organizations of interpreters and translators working in the legal, medical and other fields. They provide and link to a number resources, including classes.

Education Providers

There are a number of organizations the businesses that provide opportunities for interpreter skills-building. The list below is not exhaustive and you can find others online. The classes offered vary in how often they meet, the cost, whether they are live or recorded, whether they are online or in-person, and their topics.

Washington State Businesses and Organizations:
     Arcos Institute
     Northwest Translators and Interpreters Society

National Businesses and Organizations:
     American Pie Seminars
     De la Mora
     Interpretrain
     Southern California School of Interpretation
 

Privacy and Disclaimer Notices Sitemap

© Copyright 2025. Washington State Administrative Office of the Courts.

S3