How many languages do you speak? Do you ever wonder how global leaders understand each other during international conferences? In this talk, Laura Burian, Gabriel Guillen, and Jacolyn Harmer share their language learning stories with a group of interpreters demonstrating simultaneous interpretation.

Jacolyn Harmer, born and educated in the UK, earned her BA in French/German at the University of Bradford before training as a conference interpreter at the European Communities (now European Union) in Brussels where she served, initially as a staff interpreter and then as a freelancer for international institutions and the private market. Professor Harmer joined the (then) Monterey Institute of International Studies’ Graduate School of Translation & Interpretation faculty as a full-time translation and interpretation professor in 1985, combining teaching with her freelance professional practice. Her clients have ranged from heads of state and government to medical missions in the global South. She earned her Master of Advanced Studies in interpreter training from the University of Geneva in 2003 and has since designed and contributed to interpreter trainer programs worldwide.

Gabriel Guillen is a seasoned practitioner and researcher in the field of language learning and technology. He created the first community of blogs dedicated to the interchange of languages back in 2007, and recently founded Team Tandem (Recicle.org), connecting Spanish and English learners in Monterey County. His own doctoral dissertation centered on online intercultural exchanges and the use of language learning social networks in the context of hybrid language education. At MIIS, Gabriel teaches content-based Spanish courses focusing on social entrepreneurship and the use of media in the Hispanic world. His teaching has been recognized with the Excellence in Teaching Year Award from the UC Davis Department of Spanish & Portuguese and the HOPE Award from the Southern Methodist University.

Laura Burian is Dean of the Graduate School of Translation, Interpretation, and Language Education and a professor of Chinese/ English translation and interpretation. After graduating from the Institute’s Chinese Translation and Interpretation program in the 1990s, Dean Burian moved to China where she first served as an Assistant Director of the Duke Study in China Program, then became an in-house Chinese/English translator/interpreter/legal assistant in the Beijing office of a New York law firm, and then became a freelancer. She maintains a dynamic portfolio of high-profile translation and interpretation clients in both the public and private sector. Dean Burian is also deeply engaged in school service, having served two terms as a Faculty Senate President, and is a frequently invited guest speaker at conferences, workshops, and seminars worldwide.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx