FROM ON-SITE TO ONLINE AND BACK AGAIN: INTERPRETER TRAINING AT ISCAP BEFORE DURING AND AFTER THE COVID19 PANDEMIC

The pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 has changed our way of life as a society, affecting many professional sectors. In this sense, educational institutions in general were also forced to change their teaching methodologies and strategies. From the outset, there was a need to transfer curricula designed for in-person teaching to a fully online model. Particularly in the case of interpreter training at ISCAP-Porto Polytechnic, which requires a significant practical component in laboratory and simulation environments in professional settings (auditoria, meeting rooms, etc.), this transition unexpectedly deemed impossible several specific features of two interpreting course units precisely with these characteristics. However, having followed the evolution of videoconferencing technologies for over a decade, the authors, as teachers of the course unit Teleconference and Remote Interpreting, were already experienced in using this type of tools for teaching interpreting. This contributed positively to the rapid adaptation of a teaching model for the various interpretation courses, allowing for the virtually uninterrupted continuation of teaching activities in synchronous classes. Classroom activities continued under these circumstances until the end of the academic year 2020-2021, returning to in-person teaching in the following school year. This paper will discuss various constraints caused to interpreter training by the measures implemented by the Portuguese health authorities to combat the pandemic and how attempts were made to mitigate any damage to the objectives defined in the teaching-learning process in interpreter training. The results of two surveys conducted among students will be presented, focusing mainly on expectations and ways of overcoming difficulties caused by a teaching model adapted to these unexpected circumstances. In retrospect, we will show which methodologies adopted during the pandemic can now be applied in the classroom, thus enhancing the range of tools, resources, activities and teaching methodologies available after the return to in-person teaching.