Posts tagged ‘interpreters’
More tips for using interpreters
Using interpreters during a bilingual meeting
On August 21st I had the honor of being part of a bilingual pastor’s meeting. The main agenda was to be awareness about a revival meeting planned for October of this year.
Other ministries had the opportunity to talk about what they do and how this will fit with the revival meeting.
A good majority of the pastors there were Spanish speakers so, a lot of what was being said was translated into both English and Spanish.
I think a few of the people there weren’t used this to. In fact, one of the ministry leaders was asked to start over because she was talking too fast.
5 Tips to be aware of when using interpreters in real-time
1. If someone is interpreting for you, be sure to talk a little slower.
2. Leave some space between sentences for your interpreter to convey what you’ve said.
3. If you have notes you can provide the interpreter, be sure to send them ahead of time.
4. Make sure interpreters have had scripture training in both languages.
5. Be sure to thank your interpreters when you’re done talking or after the meeting.
Lesson
When you start using interpreters there are a few things you can do to make your job and your interpreters job a lot easier. This is all in an effort to clearly talk about God’s message clearly and effectively.
Take some time to review these tips and implement them in your multicultural church.
What are some other ways we can help interpreters be more effective?
Share your story and your life…
Sincerely,
Peter Park
Blogger/Worship Leader/Speaker
peterpark@redemptionboulevard.com
(800) 453-3284
More blogs related to interpreters:
Church interpreters and training
Interpreters aren’t enough
© 2010, Peter Park. All rights reserved.
Church interpreters and training
It wasn’t until my visit to the Russian Evangelical Baptist Church that I realized that language interpreters needed additional training along with other volunteers, especially when we’re striving to bridge the gap between cultures and generations.
And I don’t mean that in a bad way. Worship leaders and worship team members need just as much training in a multicultural church.
Sermon notes for language interpreters
I remember one of my friends at a bilingual church saying how important it is to have the sermon notes before you. Now I realize many pastors are working on their sermons late into Saturday night and, in some cases, early Sunday morning.
But just like I like having what scriptures the pastors will be speaking on to prepare the music portion of the service, your volunteer language interpreters need those too.
At the very least it will give them an idea of which passages to look up ahead of time, so they’re not stumbling over their words.
This is what I experienced a little of when I went the Russian church. He couldn’t keep up with the pastor so, it seemed like he skipped over a bunch of stuff.
I was able to get the main points of sermon, but I had to really concentrate on what the Russian interpreter was saying.
What else do your volunteer language interpreters need?
1. As I mentioned above, the sermon notes would be great to have ahead of time.
2. Any scriptures the pastor will be highlighting would also be great to have.
3. Constant practice and training.
4. Have a bible study for your volunteer language interpreters in both languages.
What is your church doing to train your language interpreters? What else have you found helpful to do for your volunteers and your congregation?
Share your story and your life…
Sincerely,
Peter Park
Blogger/Worship Leader/Speaker
peterpark@redemptionboulevard.com
(800) 453-3284
Other blogs related to language interpreters:
Using interpreters?
Interpreters aren’t enough
© 2010, Peter Park. All rights reserved.
Visit to the Russian church – Part 3
Worship/Music
This church didn’t have your latest Chris Tomlin songs translated into Russian. In fact, it was pretty traditional.
The worship team consisted of a choir, a choir director, and a piano. We primarily sang traditional hymns. The congregation sang with the choir on most of the songs, but there was a few times when we sat and listened to them sing.
It was kind of refreshing, actually. I think sometimes in the churches I’ve been the expectation is for everyone to be singing all the time. As if this is what corporate worship is supposed to be.
But singing isn’t the only way to worship. We can worship God in silence, in prayer, or on our knees…right? Why limit ourselves?
Bilingual
I was surprised at the beginning of the service when my friend handed me a headset. She told me there would be someone who would be translating the service.
Her husband told me after the service that there were better interpreters than the one we had that day. He told me that there was a couple who translated the service very well because they knew both the Russian bible and the English bible very well.
I didn’t realize this would have such a huge effect on the translation process, but it does make sense. It’s like interpreters who need to know medical or technical words for the workplace.
What does your worship team consist of? Do you consider your service traditional or contemporary or both?
How does your church bridge the generation gap? Interpreters? A bilingual PowerPoint?
Share your story and your life…
Sincerely,
Peter Park
Blogger/Worship Leader/Speaker
peterpark@redemptionboulevard.com
(800) 453-3284
© 2010, Peter Park. All rights reserved.