My name is Van Za Lian. I was born in Chin state, Myanmar and migrated with my wife to Australia through Malaysia as a Refugee. 
I’ve lived in Melbourne for 13 years and have been working as a Chin Hakha interpreter at LanguageLoop for just over 4 years. It’s been the most rewarding job I have ever done. One of my friends encouraged me to become an interpreter so I enrolled in an interpreting course at RMIT and completed it in 2015.
What I love most about being an interpreter, is helping people to communicate and understand each other. I also love meeting different people, learning their stories and helping them out every day. I always need to remind myself that my role is to facilitate communication between two parties and allow both parties to understand one another.
I believe that to be a good interpreter, it is important to keep learning, punctuality and adhere to the interpreter Code of Ethics. Conveying the right message between the Professional and non-English speaker is also very important for a good interpreter. I also believe that having a friendly attitude with both parties makes me a good interpreter too. It’s very important to keep that balance between being professional and having a friendly attitude.
I’ve accomplished a variety of jobs across many different types of assignments including medical, legal, community services, mental health, and many others. I learn new things every day from my job and often receive positive feedback and compliments from professionals for my interpretation. When I’m not working or at the weekend, I enjoy spending time with my family.
Finally, I would like to thank Language Loop for giving me the opportunity to become one of their interpreters. Because of this Interpreting job I am learning continually, contributing and improving all the time. I appreciate all the interpreting jobs given to me and I’ve always tried to give my best to every job.
Interested in becoming a LanguageLoop interpreter or translator like Van Za Lian? Find out more including how to apply or email us at apply@languageloop.com.au.