Overseas, translation services are not as widely available as they are in the United States, particularly in some Asian countries where diversity is not very high in race or language. This can especially be a problem for students studying abroad. For this reason, one university in China has created a volunteer translation team for the school hospital to help sick students with translation issues.
320 Students Need Translation Help
At Xiamen University, there are over 320 foreign students, and only a few of them speak Chinese competently enough to get by on their own. Translation problems can usually be dealt with, but when it comes to medical emergencies or sick students, the problems are not as easily resolved. Most of the doctors and nurses in the school hospital don’t speak English, and they can’t provide the necessary Chinese translation.
To solve the problems, a group of students on campus have formed a volunteer translation team to specifically help the campus hospital speak with foreign students. They don’t quite offer professional translation, but they do have enough English to provide the much needed services and make interaction between foreign students and the medical staff easier.
About a hundred students make up the volunteer translation group, and more are joining. Two student translators are on duty every day during the hospital hours.
Source: Whats on Xiamen