TDLR classes will continue so as not to lose the provider slot Berkana now holds in Texas and the many friends we’ve made of the state’s LCIs. When the TDLR LCI Advisory Committee decides how it will implement the new interpreter law in Texas (by 9-1-10), Berkana will reevaluate and decide how it may best help the two levels of LCIs in this state.
 

Over the years of teaching, Eta has found that people whose general knowledge, and English and Spanish skills are at an adult, postgraduate college level, and who wish to pass the certification/ licensing exam for state court interpreters, can mostly do so on their own, just using the books Berkana Language Center offers for interpreter self-study.
 

It takes a lot of self-discipline and constant study on one’s own for ever to become and remain a top-notch interpreter in the courts or anywhere else. So self-study is a good way for potential interpreters to know if they really want to pursue this career and if they have the self-discipline to study on their own every day. Interpreting means learning new things for as long as you are in this career. New technologies, new words, new subjects – it’s never ending – which is what makes it so much fun and so interesting for those who want to keep up with out quickly-changing world as interpreters or translators.

In the FAQs, on the Berkana web site (www.eberkana.com) please read the article on Bilingualism – And What To Do With Yours. You can print it out and take your time reading it or share it with others – it’s free. Not everyone who is bilingual has to be an interpreter or translator. Every single job that has ever been created is made better by a bilingual person who can do that job in two languages. Interpreting and translating takes years of language studies and then a few more years of studying how to be a good/excellent translator or interpreter. Interpreters and translators need to know their two languages much better than the average adult, bilingual person, as one never knows what someone else is going to say, and we have to be ready for anything and everything.