6 Tips to Study for the European Union’s Interpreting Accreditation Test
Do you dream of interpreting for the European Parliament, the Commission, or the Court of Justice?
You probably know you need to pass the EU accreditation test first!
Read on to learn more about the test and discover our top tips to become accredited with the European institutions.
1. Check if you qualify
The EU institutions hire interpreters who work with the 24 official languages of the European Union.
They also hire interpreters with non-EU languages, co-official languages spoken in member states, languages of candidate countries, and sign languages. Here, we’ll focus on how you can get accredited if you work with the EU’s official languages.
Each year, the EU updates its list of desired language profiles (PDF). To be invited to sit the test, you’ll need to offer a language combination from that list. This might involve working from various passive (“C”) languages into your main (“A”) language, or working from your main language into a second language (“B”).
Do you speak American English, Latin American Spanish, African French, or Brazilian Portuguese? Don’t worry! Non-EU citizens can work as freelance interpreters.
However, you generally will need a degree in interpreting or extensive conference interpreting experience.
You can find a full list of requirements and testing dates and apply for the exam on the EU’s dedicated website.
2. Know how the EU accreditation test works
The first step is an online screening exam, where you’ll be tested on one consecutive speech and one simultaneous speech in a language pair chosen by the Selection Board.
Since the test happens online, make sure to follow our suggestions for looking and sounding good in remote settings: use a good headset or standalone microphone and headphones, plug in a cable instead of Wi-Fi, and work from a quiet space.
Once you pass the screening test, you will be invited to another online test using the same web-based testing tool. This time, you will be asked to give one 6-minute consecutive interpretation and one 10-to-12-minute simultaneous interpretation in several of your language pairs, which will be chosen by the Screening Committee. (You’ll know which of your languages are being tested before the screening and accreditation tests.)
All speeches are recorded in advance. They cover a variety of topics, including current affairs and politics, science and technology, and pretty much anything that you might find in a news article in EU countries. (For my most recent exam - to add Portuguese to my language combination - the speeches touched on Portuguese football teams, a well-known hacking scandal in Portugal and Angola, and the new rates for public transportation in Lisbon.)
Once you’re accredited, you can take Language Addition tests to expand your language combination. For example, I applied with passive French, Spanish, Catalan and Italian, was tested on French and Italian, and added Spanish, Catalan, and Portuguese later.
3. Find practice speeches
The best way to practice for the EU accreditation test is to use speeches specifically designed for that purpose.
Luckily, the European Commission has put together an excellent resource: the Speech Repository.
The Speech Repository features over 4,500 video speeches, with 3000+ designed by EU interpreters for training and the other 1000+ taken from conferences, parliamentary debates, press conferences, and other real-world settings.
All speeches are searchable by difficulty, use (simultaneous or consecutive), topic, keywords, and language. Plus, the metadata includes key terminology to help you familiarize yourself with the subject before you dive in.
Speeches are available in all 24 official EU languages as well as Albanian, Arabic, Cantonese, Mandarin, International Sign, Macedonian, Russian, Serbian, and Turkish.
Should you really go through all the speeches in the Speech Repository, don’t despair - there’s more material out there! You’ll find plenty more tips in our blog post, The 5 best places to find interpreting practice speeches.
4. Practice the right way
Successful practice isn’t just about rote interpreting. It’s about practicing regularly, reviewing your performance, identifying issues and developing the skills to overcome them.
Start by establishing a schedule that allows you to practice consecutive and simultaneous in each of the language combinations you’ll be tested on.
You don’t have to practice every language and every modality every day - don’t wear yourself out! Instead, strike a balance and work on each language combination and technique regularly. (I recommend 3-4 one-hour sessions per week.)
Before each practice session, decide on a specific skill you’d like to work on. Then, grab your practice speech and a recording device and dive in!
The simplest way to record yourself is by using an audio recording or voice memo app on your computer or smartphone. For more bells and whistles, check out Just Press Record for iPhone or Easy Voice Recorder for Android.
If you’d like to record two-channel audio so you can listen to the speech in one ear and your rendition in the other, download Audacity, a free piece of software which runs on Windows, Mac or Linux. (You can learn all about how to use this tool in our Audacity for interpreters webinar.) If you’re an interpreting student at an EU university, the SCICRec tool (for Windows, Mac, or Linux) will let you record your interpretation and listen back to dual-channel audio, too.
Log your progress as you listen to your interpretation. (You can use our free feedback forms. 😉) This will help you identify positive trends and areas for improvement.
To avoid overwhelm, don’t try to listen to everything you interpret. Instead, listen carefully to a short segment of your rendition - multiple times if necessary!
Circling back to speeches you’ve already worked with makes for a great warm-up and is an excellent confidence-booster - especially just before the exam.
Finally, be consistent. If you’re strapped for time, interpret just a single speech and listen to part of it - or set aside the recording and come back to it the next day.
(If you’d like to take a much deeper dive into how to record dual-track audio, identify what skills to work on next, create a learning plan, auto-generate and analyze transcripts of your practice sessions, log your progress, and avoid burnout, check out The Interpreter’s Practice Toolkit!)
5. Learn the EU lingo
As you study for your exam, make sure to learn how the different EU institutions work and how to refer to different EU bodies in your languages. As a starting point, read up on the European Commission, European Council, European Parliament, and Court of Justice of the European Union.
Learn the names of the political parties and government bodies from the countries where your languages are spoken in your target language. (Is it the “Senate”? “House”? “Chamber of Deputies”? “Constitutional Court”?)
Keep an eye out for nicknames, like referring to La Farnesina (the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs) or L’Hexagone (France).
Familiarize yourself with basic European geography, too. For instance, learn the names of major cities, regions, and geographical features (like major rivers and mountain ranges) in your target language. (A few examples from my languages: Italy’s Puglia region is called Apulia, Holanda is the Netherlands - not Holland, and La Manche is the English Channel.)
Struggling to keep track of all this new information? Build a glossary of key EU terms in your working languages and create flashcards to practice these terms. To learn how, check out the techforword insiders webinars on these topics, Intro to tech-savvy terminology management and Learn vocab in a flash.
6. Polish your language
If you’ve sat accreditation tests at different institutions or with different selection boards, you might have gotten the impression that the speeches and assessment criteria vary.
Our (subjective) impression is that the examiners - EU staff interpreters - look for accuracy and polish, especially in your main language. Render the content faithfully - and do it with pizzazz! Throw in appropriate idioms while producing a smooth, natural rendition of the speech.
You passed! Now what?
Once you pass the EU accreditation test, you’ll be put on the interinstitutional list and you can work for all EU institutions, including the European Commission, European Parliament and Court of Justice of the European Union.
But that doesn’t mean it’s time to stop practicing!
Of course, start by taking a little break and celebrating. You earned it! 🎉
And before your first contract with one of the EU institutions, why not head back to these resources and brush up on the vocabulary that will help you shine on your first day in the booth?