Developing and Evaluating Digital Training Materials for Interpreting in Refugee Transit Zones: Insights from Students and Novice Interpreters

The increase in migration to Europe over the last decade has spurred a growing demand for interpreting in reception and public service situations. Language mediation in such contexts often relies on untrained interpreters. Interpreter education and awareness-raising, both among interpreters and users of interpreters, are thus important steps towards quality assurance and professionalization. This contribution presents findings from a multi-step user study among interpreting students and novice practitioners. The participants evaluated the usefulness of digital training resources developed in the Erasmus+ project ReTrans (Working with Interpreters in Refugee Transit Zones). Semi-structured interviews provided valuable insight into the strengths and weaknesses of these resources, particularly regarding key aspects such as confidence-building, the balance between theoretical content and practical applicability, and overall usefulness.