Unit of competency details

Release 

TP Version 

Comments 

3

PSP12V1

Unit descriptor edited.

2

PSP04V4.2

Layout adjusted. No changes to content.

1

PSP04V4.1

Primary release.

Elements describe the essential outcomes of a unit of competency.

Performance criteria describe the performance needed to demonstrate achievement of the element. Where bold italicised  text is used, further information is detailed in the range statement. Assessment of performance is to be consistent with the evidence guide.

1. Receive and analyse source message 

1.1 Confirm that setting, context, parties and expectations are consistent with client requirements , assignment agreement and interpreting protocols .

1.2 Attend actively  to source utterance, applying strategies to support retention and recall and adjusting physical position to optimise sound reception and visual cues.

1.3 Apply subject and context knowledge to anticipate purpose and intent of source and strategies used to develop ideas.

1.4 Identify and record key information  using mnemonic strategies.

1.5 Identify relationships between linguistic and non -linguistic elements , and analyse cultural and other factors affecting meaning.

1.6 Identify limits to addressing problems of understanding or recall and confirm understanding  where appropriate in a manner that does not compromise effective delivery .

2 Transfer message to target language 

2.1 Recall information from notes and other mnemonic devices.

2.2 Use rhetorical techniques to transfer the communicative intent  into the target language in a timely manner appropriate to audience and setting, and reflecting speaker's characteristics .

2.3 Recognise and address issues in message transfer  associated with the setting, language and concepts.

2.4 Monitor interpreting process to identify when it is necessary to seek assistance or withdraw from assignment

3 Evaluate interpreting performance 

3.1 Evaluate performance in line with issues encountered, assignment requirements and code of ethics.

3.2 Determine personal impact  of assignment and identify need for debriefing.

3.3 Consider process improvement strategies.

This section describes the skills and knowledge required for this unit.

Required skills 

• communication skills to:

• confirm understanding of source message
• transfer messages effectively from source to target languages
• use rhetorical techniques to transfer communicative intent in a timely manner

• interpersonal skills to:

• ensure behaviour and presentation are appropriate to monologue setting and cultural conventions
• interact with people from a range of social, cultural and ethnic backgrounds and with a range of communication needs
• work with parties with a range of experience and awareness of interpreting protocols and expectations

• interpreting skills to achieve competent message transfer, including to:

• adapt embedded cultural concepts for correct transfer
• conceptualise and express general and predictable information in target language, maintaining impartiality
• include non-verbal cues in message transfer
• manage problems of equivalence
• reproduce factually and linguistically accurate content
• use basic strategies to retain and recall messages
• produce decipherable notes of key information
• use technical, language, research and basic public speaking skills to ensure cohesive and faithful delivery of messages

• language skills to achieve competent performance:

• application of correct structures, grammar and syntax to achieve coherent delivery
• clear pronunciation
• correct use of common idiom, collocations and slang
• recognition and use of a range of general and context-specific registers
• recognition of common metaphors and similes and implied meaning
• vocabulary based on general knowledge and specific to context

• literacy skills to prepare required background material and resources
• organisational skills to:

• arrange work environment suitably
• prepare and administer resources and documentation relating to assignment
• complete required preparation

• problem-solving skills to address problems in delivery
• research skills to source background information relevant to assignment
• self-management skills to:

• mentally order information for message transfer
• use mnemonic strategies to recall information
• interpret in a professional and impartial manner
• withdraw from assignment where necessary

Required knowledge 

• broad general knowledge of cultures and societies of both English and LOTE participants
• broad general subject and context knowledge, including of community domains
• relevant codes of ethics
• concepts of meaning-based message transfer
• communication techniques that facilitate interpreting process
• cultural knowledge, including cross-cultural perspective of communication and behaviour to:

• determine cultural concepts and cues embedded in language
• transfer cultural concepts without compromising communicative intent of target message
• use culturally appropriate message delivery

• feedback and debriefing techniques
• legal requirements, professional procedures and guidelines, ethical practices and business standards relating to interpreters, including:

• privacy and confidentiality requirements
• duty of care
• impartiality

• limitations of work role, responsibility and professional abilities
• OHS and risk management principles and practices to ensure own physical safety and comfort
• research methods to source subject and context knowledge relevant to assignment
• source and target languages to achieve competent message transfer
• basic strategies to assist retention of information and recall of source messages

The Evidence Guide provides advice on assessment and must be read in conjunction with the performance criteria, required skills and knowledge, range statement and the Assessment Guidelines for the Training Package.

Critical aspects for assessment and evidence required to demonstrate competency in this unit 

In addition to integrated demonstration of the elements and their related performance criteria, look for evidence that confirms the ability to interpret from a source language to a target language in general monologue settings, preserving the communicative intent of the source language, including:

• applying interpreting and English and LOTE skills required to achieve competent message transfer and competent performance
• using strategies and techniques to effectively deliver and preserve the communicative intent and maintain impartiality
• using interpersonal and communication skills to interpret in a professional manner appropriate to speaker and audience
• using effective rhetorical techniques and methods to reflect the intention of the source
• applying knowledge of the language, conventions, culture and protocols of a range of general and predictable subjects and contexts
• drawing on research, general knowledge and information relevant to the subject
• using basic memory retention strategies
• recognising and resolving transfer problems and transfer errors to assist delivery

Context of and specific resources for assessment 

Evidence for assessment of this unit of competency will make use of scenarios, case studies, experiences and, where possible, examples of interactions with colleagues and clients which illustrate a range of skills and strategies for interpreting in general monologue settings.

Resources for assessment include:

• opportunities to observe and question candidate interpreting in a range of general monologue settings
• examples of personal glossaries and memory aid resources
• examples of documentation of client requirements and conditions
• examples of debriefing and self-evaluation opportunities taken by candidate

The context for assessment might include simulations of general monologue settings, and ideally will include observations conducted in real interpreting settings. Evidence for assessment should be gathered to demonstrate a range of experiences in interpreting in general monologue settings in a range of fields in the community and business domains.

The range statement relates to the unit of competency as a whole. It allows for different work environments and situations that may affect performance. Bold italicised  wording, if used in the performance criteria, is detailed below. Essential operating conditions that may be present with training and assessment (depending on the work situation, needs of the candidate, accessibility of the item, and local industry and regional contexts) may also be included.

Requirements  may include:

• source and target languages
• location or environment
• required equipment and resources
• work conditions, such as:

• continuous hours to be worked
• need for tandem, team or relay interpreting
• required breaks
• sight lines and visibility
• timing of monologue
• using public speaking aids and equipment

• purpose
• context and subject
• expectations and intended or desired outcomes
• target language delivery
• risk management considerations
• briefings
• research and preparation, including identifying sources of information

Protocols  may include:

• briefing participants
• explaining purpose and process, including:

• pausing utterance when at own limits of recall
• rotating interpreting when team interpreting, according to industry standards and situation'

• information management appropriate to monologue
• requesting party details, such as names and titles
• professional and operational protocols for presentations

Attend actively  may include:

• applying strategies to support retention and recall, including recording key information
• maintaining concentration and focus
• seeking repetition and clarification
• note speakers gestures, facial expressions and body language
• applying subject and context knowledge to anticipate purpose of discourse
• deconstructing

• complex syntax
• lexically dense content
• formal register

• identifying strategy being used to develop ideas
• noting verbal and non-verbal cues

Linguistic and non -linguistic elements  may include:

• colloquial and idiomatic language
• idiosyncratic language use
• discourse markers
• ellipsis
• register
• vocabulary based on general knowledge
• voluntary and involuntary pragmatic features of speech, such as:

• inflection and tone
• nuance and intensity of feeling
• stress and pitch

• voluntary and involuntary prosodic features of speech, such as:

• hesitation
• pauses and silence
• rhythm

• body language
• eye contact
• facial expressions
• gestures and posture

Key information  may include:

• basic facts, including:

• numbers, dates and times
• personal details, such as names, titles and addresses
• key content words

Confirming understanding  may include:

• checking communicative links
• referring to dictionaries or glossaries
• seeking clarification
• retaining and recalling utterances of sufficient length to ensure delivery is accurate and coherent

Effective delivery  may be:

• accurate and cohesive
• appropriate to discourse, including:

• language that suits audience
• culturally appropriate verbal and non-verbal behaviour
• deconstructing complex syntax, high lexical density and formal register
• paraphrasing unfamiliar vocabulary, idiom and abstract concepts
• shortening lengthy utterances
• slower than normal rate of speech

• appropriate to setting
• timely

Communicative intent  may include:

• choosing between literal transfer and the communicative intent of idiomatic expressions
• deconstructing complex syntax, dense lexical content and formal register
• exercising judgement of embedded cultural concepts
• identifying and using common idiomatic expressions
• identifying and using loan words or signs
• incorporating implied meaning in message transfer
• informal and spoken register in the active voice
• maintaining logical sequence of source utterance
• paraphrasing unfamiliar vocabulary, idiom and concepts
• recognising and conveying implied meaning
• recognising common metaphors and similes
• reflecting speaker characteristics
• syntactic simplicity
• terminology appropriate to context
• transferring cultural cues, such as laughter and euphemism
• using correct common collocations
• using general standard of expression, style and register
• verbalising non-verbal source language elements

Reflecting speaker's characteristics  may include:

• using appropriate language to maintain affect
• verbalising non-verbal source language components
• using similar rhetorical and public speaking techniques
• reflecting speaker's prosodic features in target language
• maintaining impartiality

Issues in message transfer  may include:

• transfer errors such as omissions, additions or changes that occur as a result of:

• misinterpreting, or not transferring sensitively
• jargon
• cross-cultural differences
• lack of common context

• transfer problems, include:

• elliptic, fragmentary or ambiguous source utterances
• lack of equivalents
• need for paraphrasing
• unknown terms

Personal impact  may include:

• performance stress
• factors affecting interpreter impartiality
• occupational health and safety
• factors affecting interpreter personal safety or comfort, including:

• cultural or societal dilemmas
• stressful interpreting situations