By Lorena Pike, MA, CCI
On Friday, October 24, 2025, I arrived in Boston early in the morning. I was expecting very cold weather, and Boston certainly lived up to that expectation. From the airport, I took public transit to downtown Boston and walked to the conference venue. From the get-go, the place was extremely nice, it felt cozy and alive, full of people attending the conference. I went to the registration desk, after asking for quick directions, checked in, got my badge—with a speaker ribbon—and went to the exhibition hall. There, I came across a few familiar faces, including Tina Peña, Dr. Laurence Jay-Rayon Ibrahim Aibo, past ATA Educators Division Administrator, and John Arroyave, Cross Cultural Communications Director. It was a very encouraging start to the conference for me.
The keynote session opened with refreshing and thought-provoking remarks by Yves Champollion, who reminded us why language—and those who work with it—remains central to human history. Rather than framing technology as a threat, the keynote invited us to understand its possibilities and limitations, reinforcing the enduring role of translators and interpreters as bridges between cultures, knowledge, and time.
It was then time for the afternoon sessions, where many presentations were lined up for what proved to be a very interesting and enriching experience. Several presentations geared towards educators immediately piqued my interest. I attended Weber State University Professor and ATA Educators Division Administrator Isabel Asensio’s session titled “Empowering Future Interpreters: Harnessing Metacognition for Vocabulary Mastery in University Courses.” In this session, Isabel touched on a subject that is near and dear to many language and T&I professors and instructors: how to encourage vocabulary retention in our students. She asked attendees what issues we, as faculty, have seen most often when it comes to this topic. The answers varied, including fossilization in heritage speakers, poor terminology retention, and challenges related to automated translation and AI. Isabel then outlined how metacognitive strategies—particularly project-based learning—combined with modern learning tools, including artificial intelligence applications, can offer an innovative and effective approach to strengthening vocabulary acquisition and overall language proficiency. The session provided practical, classroom-ready ideas while encouraging instructors to rethink how intentional reflection and guided use of technology can support deeper, more durable learning for future interpreters.
Next, I attended the exciting, lively, and encouraging session by faculty colleague Miguel Angel Jimenez Crespo (Rutgers University) that invited translators to rethink expertise in the age of AI. Miguel shared survey results showing that many translators are already using AI primarily as a source of inspiration rather than as a replacement for human decision-making. By dissipating the myth of “superhuman” performance, the session highlighted the uniquely human skills that define expert translators—judgment, contextual awareness, ethical reasoning, and creative problem-solving—qualities that current AI systems cannot replicate. The discussion was refreshing and empowering, leaving the room energized and reminded that, far from being obsolete, professional translators remain the true superhumans in an AI-assisted future.
To close off the afternoon, Fatima Maria Cornwall (court interpreter and Boise State University faculty) and Diana Arbiser (court interpreter and ATA-CT) presented a very interesting proposal on how can universities and colleges can collaborate with governmental agencies to provide real-life, practical translation and/or interpreting training in their session titled, “Academia Meets Real World: Collaborations between Interpreters and Translators in Classroom Settings.” Fatima explained how she was able to secure funding to initiate a practicum program for translation students at Boise State University, where they provided translation services for a nonprofit organization. Diana Arbiser served as the proofreader and mentor, providing feedback on the students’ translation work. It was an exciting example of how collaboration can bridge theory and practice in translation and interpreting studies. Fatima also coordinated mock trials in which students role-played judges, defense attorneys, district attorneys, litigants, and interpreters, giving them a real taste of what interpreters may face in professional settings.
After the Friday sessions, celebrations, divisions’ dinners, meetups with new and longtime colleagues took place, filling the hotel lobby with energy and excitement. I enjoyed a lovely evening with my colleagues Michele and Carol, debriefing the sessions we attended over marvelous Boston clam chowder and tasty mimosas.
Saturday came around, and breakfast didn’t disappoint either. I ran into old friends and met new ones, including a translator who traveled all the way from Korea to attend her very first ATA Annual Conference. I hope she gets hooked and comes back every year. As Saturday’s sessions got underway, I presented “Identifying Speakers of Mexican and Central American Indigenous Languages 2.0: Strategies for Spanish Interpreters In and Out of Court,” a revamped version of my 2016 ATA Conference session. This presentation addressed ethics for court interpreters, language access, due process, and language justice for Indigenous language speakers. Although the session was not geared specifically toward educators, it offered valuable insights into issues that interpreting instructors could incorporate into their curriculum to better prepare future interpreters for real-life situations encountered in medical, community, educational, and legal settings.
The next session I attended was also very refreshing as it covered a very important topic for many interpreters: team interpreting. Interpreting instructors and professors could easily incorporate role-play activities similar to those presented by Chantal Portillo, PhD, and Richard Hall in their session titled “Co-Interpreting in Teamed Assignments: Strategies for Promoting Accuracy and Completeness.” In this session, Portillo and Hall took team interpreting to another level, demonstrating how genuine collaboration can ensure both completeness and accuracy. It was a lively, dynamic, and highly engaging session, with Chantal exemplifying how this approach can greatly benefit interpreted encounters. In one real-life example, Chantal explained that—being from a different Spanish-speaking country than the witness—she heard the witness say she was hearing the sound of a “dulce” rattling around in her purse. Chantal initially interpreted dulce as “pastry,” which seemed odd in context. Her teammate, sitting close by, recognized the regional language difference and discreetly whispered to Chantal: “I think the witness means caramelo (candy).” This interpretation made far more sense—a hard candy rattling in a purse rather than a pastry. Thanks to this quiet intervention, Chantal was able to correct her rendition on the record seamlessly and in a timely manner, ensuring accuracy without disrupting the proceeding. This example perfectly demonstrated how regional language variation can create confusion—and how a second set of trained ears can prevent meaning from being lost.
I also presented “Teaching Implicit Bias Awareness in the Interpreting Classroom: Recognizing and Addressing Language-Based Assumptions,” a session centered on helping interpreter educators surface implicit bias before it affects accuracy and ethics in practice. A key classroom example involved the word paleta, which can reasonably refer to a frozen treat, a paddle, a pallet, or even a shovel, depending on regional usage and context. Rather than selecting the meaning that “sounds most likely” based on personal or cultural assumptions, the scenario illustrates the ethical necessity of pausing to clarify meaning. This example intentionally mirrors the collaboration and co-interpreting dynamics discussed in the Portillo and Hall session, where meaning is negotiated through teamwork and communication rather than assumed. The presentation emphasized teaching students to recognize uncertainty, ask neutral clarifying questions, and rely on collaboration as safeguards against language-based bias.
All in all, the sessions geared toward educators were refreshing, informative, educational, and inspirational. I learned a great deal from faculty colleagues who strive to bring into the classroom the tools students need to succeed in a new professional world—one full of uncertainty and surprises. I left ATA66 with renewed confidence that the interpreting and translation professions have a bright and steady future. I look forward to more engaging and encouraging sessions next year. See you in San Francisco!