This article considers multilingual mock conferences as a pedagogical tool in the training of conference interpreters, and examines the case of Heriot-Watt University’s mock conferences. This activity draws on theories of situated and experiential learning by Kolb (1984), Brown et al. (1989), Lave/Wenger (1991) and Kolb/Kolb (2005) and builds up on existing research by Ardito (1999), Kurz (2003), De Laet (2010), Alexeeva/Shutova (2011), Xiangdong (2015).
A study was carried out with M.A. and MSc1 Conference Interpreting students over two academic years. These students take part in weekly simulations of multilingual conferences which bring together all language combinations taught across the programme.
Students were invited to reflect upon this experience and its learning benefits as part of their training. The study was also aimed at fostering a reflection on good practice in training on their part (Sawyer 1994 and Gile 2009, 2013), by drawing their attention to the use of peer-learning strategies (Boud et al. 2001). The mixed-method approach used for this study focuses on students’ perception of the activity, and on the challenges and benefits of taking part in an interpreting task where trainee interpreters do not have a working knowledge of all the languages involved.
