Bilingual Proficiency Evaluation
Not every bilingual person is qualified to be a health care interpreter. Interpreting in health care settings demands a higher level of language skills than those that are required in conducting day-to-day social conversations. Within health care settings, interpreters face a myriad of different interpreting conditions and challenges. Interpreting assignments may involve a simple conversation at the reception desk, pre/post surgery instructions that may involve complicated medical terminology or a fast-paced exchange in the frantic environment of an emergency room. Often times, health care interpreters are required to receive complicated information and perform accurate language conversion in a matter of seconds. Competent health care interpreters must possess superior bilingual language proficiency in addition to a strong grasp of medical terminology in English and the target language.
PALS for Health utilizes our language proficiency exam to evaluate a potential interpreter’s proficiency level in English and in the target language(s). The 2.5-hour bilingual exam is administered both orally and in writing, and employs five segments to evaluate potential interpreter for interpreter readiness skills and language proficiency.
Testing Areas
- General Knowledge
- Grammar and Vocabulary
- Medical terminology
- Translation (written)
- Interpretation (oral)
