Tag Archives: alumni

NTNU Event in Taipei

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On December 18, 2011 the MIIS event at the NTNU (National Taiwan Normal University) event in Taipei, Taiwan was a success! It was hosted by Marsha Chou and the keynote speaker was Jason Yeh. The event was titled: “What can I do with my 2 languages? An interdisciplinary approach to cross-cultural understanding. ” Thanks to the alumni speakers Ruby Lai (10), Ted Lynch (09), Jodie Lee (09). Additional thanks was given to Lawrence Hsu (2010) for helping with refreshments, and for Irene Chen for reserving the auditorium.

 

MIIS Professors and Alumni Present at CFI Annual Conference

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Professors Laura Burian, Jacolyn Harmer, and Julie Johnson presented at the CFI (California Federation of Interpreters) Annual Conference in San Francisco on October 21. CFI is a professional association and labor union advocating for the interests of the legal interpreting profession. The attendees were primarily California certified and registered court interpreters wanting to enhance their professional interpreting skills.

Professor Burian presented a session on effective Mandarin/English consecutive note-taking strategies. Professors Burian and Harmer jointly presented on segmentation as a technique for controlling décalage in simultaneous interpretation. Professors Harmer and Johnson jointly presented on deliberate practice for Interpreters seeking to enhance their expertise.

MIIS Alumna Katharine Allen (Spanish T&I, 2008) presented on how interpreters can leverage 21st century technology as well as effective consecutive interpretation note-taking strategies for formal testimony and informal dialogue.

MIIS Alumna María Cecilia Marty (Spanish T&I, 1995) offered the following workshops: Hands-on Transcription / Translation and  Monitoring Your Simultaneous.

 

 

Training of Trainers for the Health Care Interpreting Profession

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Image courtesy of TAPIT / TAMIT

In June of this past summer, MIIS Alumni Katharine Allen and MIIS Associate Professor Holly Mikkelson traveled to Nashville, Tennessee to teach trainers in the health care interpreting profession. The course was sponsored by TAPIT (Tennessee Association of Professional Interpreters and Translators), MING (Medical Interpreter Network of Georgia), and TAMIT (Tennessee Association of Medical Interpreters and Translators), all of whom assisted in promotion of the event.

Holly and Katharine instructed trainers on assessment, creating materials for courses, and technology use in their profession. A portion of the training focused on utilizing new web technologies as well as the use of iPads and smart phones, allowing for the use of cutting-edge technology in the interpreting profession.

A full review from TAPIT can be viewed in their quarterly newsletter.

MIIS Alumni Interpret at the Latino Student Recognition Ceremony

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On June 2, 2011 MIIS alumni Luis Daniel Salazar and Amanda Townsend helped interpret at the Monterey Peninsula College 10th Annual Latino Student Recognition Ceremony. The event lasted 2 hours and included a speech by Keynote Speaker Simon Salinas, a Monterey County Supervisor. MPC sends special thanks for helping their students succeed!

MIIS Alumni as English Language Fellows in Afghanistan

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Jaala Thibault (right) with an Afghan guard.

Jaala Thibault (MATESOL ’07) and Tara Bates (MATESOL ’07) are getting settled in Kabul, Afghanistan this week, where they will serve as the only two U.S. State Department English Language Fellows in the country this year. “Being selected as an English Language Fellow for the State Department is one of the most prestigious positions a recent MA graduate in TESOL or TFL can achieve,” says TESOL Professor Kathleen Bailey.

The two women will be sharing a Kabul apartment under the supervision of the Asia Foundation, a Central Asian nonprofit organization that has been working in Afghanistan since 1954. Jaala met her students at Kabul Education University for the first time on September 22 and says “The students are really eager to get their classes with me underway, and the faculty is excited to use me for a million projects.” She jokingly adds that she must have some Afghan blood in her background because everyone she meets addresses her in Dari, and some people even refuse to believe her when she says she is American. “From a security standpoint all of my Afghan friends say I am lucky to look like an Afghan!”

Jaala has started blogging about her experience in Afghanistan at www.jaalachronicles.blogspot.com

Annual MIIS Alumni ATA Conference Reception

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Pre-Dinner Alumni Mixer

In conjunction with the 51st Annual Conference of the American Translators Association

Friday, October 29, 2010

5:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m.

 

Rialto Cafe

Art Gallery Room

The Courtyard Marriott Denver Downtown

934 16th St., Denver, CO 80202

 

Please join Dr. Renee Jourdenais, Dean of the Graduate School of Translation, Interpretation, Language and Education (GSTILE), at the annual MIIS alumni reception held in conjunction with the ATA conference.  Dean Jourdenais will speak to the alumni about news on campus, and will be joined by Translation, Conference Interpretation, Translation & Interpretation, and Translation & Localization Management faculty and staff.

Complimentary appetizers. Cash bar available.

Please register to attend by October 21, 2010 at http://alumni.miis.edu. Click on the Events button to register online. Additional RSVPs can be submitted via email to alumni@miis.edu or by telephone to 831-647-3557.

Using languages in international development: MIIS alumni and programs featured

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Learning a language can open up a whole new world to people.  Many students pursue language study precisely because they want to get involved in making this world a better place.  International development has always had a strong pull for language students, offering a chance to travel and experience other cultures while doing good.  It is a broad field where one may leverage special interests and knowledge, like health care, law, or business, into a fulfilling exciting career.

MIIS alumni and programs featured by ACTFL

MIIS alumni and programs featured by ACTFL

Language skills are key

A recent “Career Focus” feature article in The Language Educator highlighted the importance of combining language skills, experience living and working abroad, technical expertise in areas such as business and public administration, with characteristics such as being pro-active, self-motivated, adaptable and able to embrace the unexpected.

Jonathan Axtell (MBA, '08)

Jonathan Axtell (MBA, '08)

In addition to discussions of the Peace Corps and other international organizations, a significant section is devoted to detailing various Monterey Institute programs and alumni, including a discussion of our unique language offerings by GSTILE Dean Renée Jourdenais, and photos and stories of alumni in the field:  Jonathan Axtell (MBA ’08), Ravi Dutta (MPA ’09) and Pete LaRaus (MPA ’04).

The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) is dedicated to the improvement and expansion of the teaching and learning of foreign languages, and has more than 9,000

Ravi Dutta (MPA '09) and Pete LaRaus (MPA '04)

Ravi Dutta (MPA '09) and Pete LaRaus (MPA '04)

foreign language educators and administrators as members.

The Language Educator is ACTFL’s newest publication; it provides comprehensive coverage of foreign language teaching and administration, and serves educators of all languages at all levels as a single, comprehensive source of news and information.

Copies of The Language Educator are available in the MIIS library, and ACTFL members can read the full issue online.

Corpus linguistics and concordancing

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This past weekend GSTILE students, faculty and staff attended a five-hour workshop on corpus linguistics and concordancing, presented by Susan Conrad, an alumna of the MIIS TESOL program, and now a faculty member in the Department of Applied Linguistics at Portland State University.

Susan Conrad, corpora and concordancing workshop

Susan Conrad, corpora and concordancing workshop

Susan’s workshop focused on the use of corpora for language teachers, and covered both software programs and web-based resources.

Materials from Susan’s workshop — as well as those from other GSTILE lecture series events — are available in the GSTILE >> TESOL/TFL section of Moodle:  Materials from TESOL/TFL Speaker Series.

Alum to be published in CATESOL Journal

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MIIS TESOL alumna Janine Poreba recently received news that her Applied Linguistics Research (ALR) project will be published in the Winter 2010 issue of the CATESOL Journal.  She writes,

CATESOL

CATESOL

Recently, I dusted off my ALR project (“Negotiation Strategies in Two-Way Conversation Partnerships: Their Use and Usefulness”) and re-read it. I’m working at Santa Monica College, and some colleagues and I are starting a Conversation Exchange Program here, so I wanted to see if I’d uncovered any useful information back in my grad school days. Sure enough, I had, and what’s more, the paper was still interesting to read. I made some changes and submitted it to the CATESOL Journal, and I just found out that it’ll be published in their Winter 2010 issue.

Congratulations, Janine!  And thanks to Kathi Bailey for passing along the news.