Introducing Ms Tran Ngo who is an essential ingredient to the success of the SALT degrees rolling out in Vietnam. We are so fortunate to have such a highly skilled and experienced interpreter/translator!

Employed by our partner – the Medical Committee of Netherlands Vietnam (MCNV) – in the US AID funded project to establish masters and bachelor degrees in Vietnam, Ms Tran provides interpreting/translating support mainly for the Masters in Speech and Language Therapy (MSALT) at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Ho Chi Minh City, although does some work in the bachelor degree in Danang University of Medical Technology and Pharmacy as well. Ms Tran commenced work for MCNV in November 2019.

Ms Tran has quickly mastered all the specialised terminology required for translating speech and language therapy lectures and teaching materials. Lecturers have praised her work as an interpreter in lectures and practical classes, moving smoothly between English to Vietnamese and back to English, which makes teaching in Vietnam possible for the Australian lecturers who are teaching in the SALT degrees. Ms Tran’s capacity to listen in English, make a few key word notes, and then commence interpreting into Vietnamese during a pause shows her phenomenal memory! She also seamlessly interprets the students’ Vietnamese into English for the lecturers. She does this for 6-8 hours a day, week after week.

Interpreting in a face to face setting such as a classroom is hard enough, but since COVID-19 prevented face to face teaching in both the MSALT and the Bachelor in SALT in Danang, Ms Tran has been interpreting for lecturers via Zoom. This is even harder than face to face interpreting – the effort of listening with constant breakups in the signal, and a lack of body language and facial expression makes interpreting an even more challenging and tiring task. Nonetheless, Ms Tran has continued to do this with skill, good humour and grace. THANK YOU, Ms Tran!