Interpreting training in China: Past, present, and future

In this chapter, we first look at some milestones in the development of interpreting training in China and examine the model of training through the lenses of three paradigms of curriculum development—perennial analytic, practical enquiry, and critical praxis. In the context of the new IT age, we discuss the technological elements to be integrated in the interpreting curriculum and elaborate on the potential of engaging trainee interpreters in corpus-based practical enquiries in the course of their task/project completion. We draw on critical social theories to examine interpreter training and the related ethical issues, an ‘underdeveloped’ area in interpreting practice and training in China. We revisit the recent literature on technology-assisted interpreter training and advance our observations on the implications for interpreter training.