Investigating the Gap between Simultaneous Interpreter Training and Iraqi Market Needs

After the war in 2003, interpreting became one of the most prominent professions in Iraq. Huge numbers of interpreters were recruited to facilitate communication between military troops and reconstruction international corporations on the one hand and the Iraqi public on the other. Moreover, there was a gradual high demand for interpreters in the market to cater for the needs of the rapidly increasing foreign direct investment in many fields such as the oil industry. However, interpreter training programmes offered by Iraqi universities and several independent institutions remain as poorly designed as they have always been: they fail to meet the requirements of such social and global changes. The present study evaluates simultaneous interpreting training in Iraq. It calls for the revision, renewal, and continuous update of curricula and teaching methodology to suit the critical challenges posed by the digital modern market. It also suggests a number of possible workable solutions to improve interpreter training such as devoting well-trained teaching staff, offering specialized training programmes for the would-be interpreters, raise programme standards and the integration of technology into teaching.