The demand for Public Service Interpreting (PSI) in Europe has grown steadily over the last few decades. However, for less widely used languages, also known as ‘languages of lesser diffusion’ (LLDs), the balance between demand and supply has been particularly challenging because there are fewer or no trained interpreters for these languages. This shortage of interpreters has led to recent initiatives to train newly arrived migrants as LLD interpreters. Despite the rapid growth of these initiatives, they remain underrepresented in academic research.

This research project aims to contribute to a better understanding of (a) the sociolinguistic context of training migrants as LLD interpreters; (b) the content, organisation and pedagogical aspects of the training and (c) perceptions of different participants (migrants, trainers, end users) in the process. The project adopts a linguistic-ethnographic approach based on qualitative data collection and research methods (e.g. observations, informal and formal interviews, discourse analysis of policy documents and training materials), occasionally complemented by quantitative data (e.g. participant satisfaction surveys).

Data collection will be framed within the EU-WebPSI project (https://www.webpsi.eu) that organises video-remote PSI training for migrants in reception centres across three EU countries (Belgium, France and Greece). The data will be gathered and analysed using a participatory and multi-actor approach to examine how training trajectories are best designed, adapted and implemented to meet the specific needs of all the participants involved (trainees, trainers, supervisors and end users), while also exploring these participants’ experiences throughout and after the training process.