National Police Language Services Update – December 2022

A new PAIT scheme update has just been published. This update covers, amongst others: Procurement Update PAIT Go Live PAIT List Continuation of PAIT (T) beyond March 2023 Reminder regarding Confirming Qualifications/experience PAIT Specification Table Social Media Posts Publicising Your PAIT Number The update provides key information for interpreters and translators on how to become…

Alphabet Soup: Who’s Who in the World of Linguist Membership Bodies

If you’ve spent any time looking into the interpreting industry in a bit of detail, you will have noticed that when it comes to organisations and associations, it’s literally ‘acronym city’. This can be particularly confusing for linguists who are new to the industry, although we do often face questions on this topic from experienced…

5 Ways To Look After Your Mental Health As a Freelance Linguist

The ‘feast or famine’ way Get used to this phenomenon, which inexplicably governs most of our freelance working life. You are either snowed under with work, or waiting for that e-mail to drop in your inbox. Most of the time, there is no inbetween. As frustrating as this may be, know that the phase you…

International Translation Day 2022

A Brief History Ever since the inception of the United Nations, translators have played a great role in bringing all 51 founding nations on the same page. The U.N. recognizes the work of professional translation as an art and a trade. Translators uphold the charter of the United Nations and deserve global appreciation. Through the resolution…

Telephone Interpreters: The Unsung Heroes of the Language Industry

Without a doubt, when we think of a high-profile case involving an interpreter, there are a number of likely scenarios that we picture. The court interpreter, whose services help put a nasty piece of work behind bars for a long time. The police interpreter, whose interview with a prolific offender makes it onto national TV.…

Second Jobs: A Trend That’s Here To Stay. So What Will YOU Do?

The Times recently ran a very interesting article under the headline ‘Working 9 to 5 then 5 to 9 — using a second job to beat inflation’. The main message? ‘The number of people with multiple jobs has reached its highest level for 23 years.’  Surprising? Not really. Anyone who’s been following the (or any) news over…

Introducing…Jose!

Meet the great team of experts that create and deliver our live CPD events! We’d love for you to meet our wonderful CPD trainers – a group of immensely talented individuals, professionals in their field, and most importantly – really lovely, relatable people, who are an absolute pleasure to work with! They possess years of…

ISL – Proudly Partnering with ICQ

We are pleased to announce our partnership with I Can Qualify (ICQ). ICQ is an Awarding Organisation that offers accredited interpreting and translation qualifications, which are delivered by ISL. Why do you need an Awarding Organisation? Awarding Organisations (AO) are also called Awarding Bodies. All accredited vocational qualifications in England must be approved by The…

Introducing…Martyn!

Meet the great team of experts that create and deliver our live CPD events! We’d love for you to meet our wonderful CPD trainers – a group of immensely talented individuals, professionals in their field, and most importantly – really lovely, relatable people, who are an absolute pleasure to work with! They possess years of…

Introducing…Agnes!

Meet the great team of experts that create and deliver our live CPD events! We’d love for you to meet our wonderful CPD trainers – a group of immensely talented individuals, professionals in their field, and most importantly – really lovely, relatable people, who are an absolute pleasure to work with! They possess years of…

Interpreting for the Police – Aide Memoire

What is the one single most important element of the interpreting process? Is it the briefing? The dictionary? The note-taking? All of the above? What about the introduction? In all levels of interpreter training, we learn about the importance of an interpreter’s introduction. It serves many purposes – sets the tone, allows you to state…