linguist’s story – March ’25

Every month, we get to know a bit more about one of our linguists. This month, meet Qiufu Wang, an interpreter and examiner, working in Mandarin.

Tell us about the work you do for TLS.  

I work for TLS as a Mandarin interpreter, Mandarin examiner, and do exam paper creation and piloting for the examination team.

What’s been your favourite project?

My favourite project has been exam paper creation. It involved lots of research, creative thinking and creative approaches to achieve tasks. I’ve learned a lot and developed new skills.

What has been your biggest challenge?

My biggest challenge is probably when I was interpreting some mental health sessions, when clients talked about the unbelievable and horrible things that happened to them when they were young. As a mother, I usually get very emotional afterwards.

Can you tell us about a time your work has made a difference to someone’s life?

I’m proud of what I do as a professional interpreter and examiner, because I make a difference to someone’s life each day. One typical case is a lady whom I interpreted for with her weekly mental health sessions, face to face. She was very depressed, unhappy and had suicidal thoughts. She was frustrated trying to express herself because of her limited English. She was very worried about being fired at work because she was often misunderstood. Through my professional interpreting, careful wording and accurate interpreting, she began to trust me after the first session. She then asked for me for the rest of her sessions. Eventually after a couple of months’ sessions, she was happy and gained confidence. I feel I made a difference to someone’s life.

Tell us something interesting about you

I’m a Chinese woman who’s been living in the UK for more than 20 years. As a linguist, I’m always fascinated to meet people from different backgrounds and cultures. I enjoy travelling around the world, especially small places that are not popular with tourists, to experience the local culture and people.