Pa. Code tit. 204, pt. VII, ch. 221, subch. 4, sch. C

Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 50, December 14, 2024

Schedule C - Oral Proficiency Examination

Content of the Full Oral Proficiency Examination.The full oral proficiency exam consists of three parts: simultaneous interpretation, consecutive interpretation, and sight translation. For languages in which there is only an abbreviated exam, one or more of these segments has not yet been developed.

1. Simultaneous interpreting.The interpreter listens through headphones to a recording of a simulated attorney's opening or closing statement to a judge or jury, a judge instructing a jury, or the crossexamination of a witness. The interpreter interprets aloud what he or she hears over the headset. This mode of interpreting simulates many situations interpreters encounter in courtrooms while interpreting for defendants during procedural hearings and trials. The statement is approximately 800 to 850 words in length, is recorded at an approximate speed of 120 words per minute, and is about seven minutes long.

2. Consecutive interpreting.The interpreter interprets English language statements into the foreign language and foreign language responses into English. In consecutive interpreting the interpreter must wait until the speaker finishes the utterance before beginning to deliver the interpretation. This is the appropriate type of interpreting for non-English speaking witnesses, and other question-and-answer situations involving limited English proficient persons. The segments are pre-recorded and the interpreter may ask to have two of the segments repeated.

3. Sight translation.The interpreter is asked to interpret one document from English into the foreign language and another from the foreign language into English. Each document is approximately 225 words in length and the interpreter is allowed six minutes to interpret each document.

Languages for which there are Full or Abbreviated Oral Proficiency Examinations.

1.Full examination: Arabic, Cantonese, Filipino (Tagalog), French, Haitian Creole, Hmong, khmer, Korean, Mandarin, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Vietnamese

2.abbreviated examination: bosnian/croatian/serbian and Turkish

Oral Proficiency Interview and Versant Spoken English test for Languages in Which There is no Full or Abbreviated Oral Proficiency Examination.

Oral proficiency interviews were developed by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) for evaluating the language communication skills of speakers of foreign languages and are administered by Language Testing International (LTI). There are over 50 languages available and the interpreter must perform at the superior level to pass. The interpreter travels to a location with secure access to a phone line and, after providing a valid picture ID and other verifying information, the interpreter is placed in a room where the interview is administered over the telephone. The results are reported to the interpreter certification Program (ICP) and the interpreter.

Candidates must also pass the Versant Spoken English language test. This test evaluates the spoken English skills of non-native speakers. It is administered in the same manner as the oral proficiency interview. Candidates must travel to a secure location where, after verifying their identity, they take the test online on a computer. The 15-minute test is automated and the candidate's responses are recorded in six areas: reading, sentence construction, vocabulary, fluency, pronunciation, and overall comprehension. The minimum passing score is 47.

Administration of Oral Proficiency Examinations.

1.Full oral proficiency examination.Interpreters in languages for which there is a full oral proficiency exam will first be given the simultaneous part of the examination. After passing the simultaneous part, they will sit for the consecutive and sight portions at a subsequent date. The consecutive and the sight portions of the examination must be completed within one year from the date on which they took and passed the simultaneous portion. Interpreters will be allowed to carry forward the score of any portions they have passed for a maximum of two years. The same version of the examination can be taken a maximum of two times and the examination cannot be repeated more than once in a six-month period.

2.Abbreviated oral proficiency examination.Interpreters in languages for which only an abbreviated examination exists will be given the simultaneous portion first, if there is one. If no simultaneous part exists, they will take whatever portions are available, either the consecutive part, the sight part, or both. The scores of any portion passed can be carried forward for a maximum of two years. The same version of the examination can be taken a maximum of two times and the examination cannot be repeated more than once in a six-month period.

Retaking Part of the Oral Proficiency Examination.

Interpreters who fail the simultaneous part may retake the examination . However, they must wait six months in order to practice and develop their skills before attempting to retake the examination. If after passing the simultaneous part the interpreter fails either the consecutive or the sight portions, they must retake and pass whichever part they failed within one year. This is because interpreters must pass all three parts of the oral proficiency examination within one testing cycle, which consists of two years. The testing cycle requirement is not triggered until the interpreter passes the simultaneous portion.

Interpreters of languages for which there is only an abbreviated oral proficiency examination must also complete the remaining parts within one testing cycle after passing the simultaneous part, if there is one. If no simultaneous part exists, the interpreter must take whatever parts are available within one testing cycle. The testing cycle requirement is not triggered until the interpreter passes at least one part of the available parts of the oral proficiency examination that are available.

register of interpreters for the deaf (rid), the Texas Board of Evaluation of Interpreters (BEI), or National Association for the Deaf (NAD) Certificates for Legal Interpretation.

* Specialist Certificate-Legal (SC-L)

* Combined Certificate of Interpretation and Transliteration (CI/CT)

* Comprehensive Skills Certificate (CSC)

* National Interpreter Certification (NIC)

* Certified Deaf Interpreter (CDI)

* Conditional Legal Interpreting Permit-Relay (CLIP-R)

* Individual CI or CT

* NAD V Master

* NAD IV Advanced

* BEI Court Interpreter Certification

Interpreters with a Court Interpreter Certification from BEI must comply with all qualifications and requirements for either hearing or deaf candidates listed in BEI Handbook Section 4.2.1 (Qualifications and Requirements for Court Interpreter Certification). Seehttps://www.hhs.texas.gov/.

Pa. Code tit. 204, pt. VII, ch. 221, subch. 4, sch. C

The provisions of this Schedule C amended November 22, 2021, effective 1/1/2022, 51 Pa.B. 7415.