From Student to Instructor: A Full Circle with Glendon MCI
September tends to be a busy month, and this year is no exception.
This back-to-school season means something special for me, as I am joining the crew of the Master of Conference Interpreting (MCI) program at Glendon College, York University as a part-time instructor for conference interpreting courses between Mandarin and English starting this September. This was the program that minted me into the professional interpreter that I am today, with a top-notch lineup of instructors from Canada, the United States and the EU. What an honour to be joining the team!
In this video, I spoke as an alumnus about my experience studying at the Glendon MCI program and how the program prepared me for an exciting career as a freelance conference interpreter. The video is in Mandarin, with English subtitles available.
In the interpreting training community, most institutions agree that first-hand experience as a practicing interpreter is a prerequisite for one to teach well. Few have talked about how teaching also helps one become a better interpreter. In the past few years, I have felt strongly that teaching enabled me to become a more competent interpreter—more reflective about the linguistic patterns that I encounter, and more conscious of polishing and using my own interpreting skills the right way.
Me and my three classmates from the 2016-17 Mandarin cohort of Glendon MCI, when we decided to stay late in the interpreting lab for a debriefing session after interpreting a mock conference together.
That feels like yesterday!
To quote Confucius, learning without thinking is useless, and thinking without learning is dangerous. Being an instructor at one of the most challenging interpreting programs in North America will certainly challenge me to think harder and learn better.
I am sure that the school year ahead will be a fruitful journey of mutual learning for me as much as it is for the students.
Rony Gao is a prize-winning conference interpreter, certified translator and communications consultant based in Toronto and serving clients worldwide. He is a member of AIIC and regularly provides consecutive and simultaneous interpretation services for the Government of Canada, international organizations and global leaders in business, technology and academia.
