Using Language Interpretation in your meeting or webinar

Users that would like to include interpreters in their meetings or webinars now have the ability to enable Language Interpretation. This allows the host to designate up to 20 participants as interpreters on the web portal or during a Zoom session. 

When the meeting or webinar starts, the host can start the interpretation feature which will allow the interpreters to provide their own audio channels for the language they are translating to. Attendees can then select the audio channel to hear the translated audio in their language of choice, as well as the option to mute the original audio instead of hearing it at a lower volume in their chosen language.  

Cloud recordings of interpretation sessions will record the original audio of the meeting or webinar, as well as the translations. Local recordings of interpretation sessions will record any audio the person recording can hear, but not multiple audio channels.

Notes:

This article covers:

Prerequisites for using Language Interpretation

Interpretation relay (selecting another interpretation channel)

Notes:

How to add language interpreters to meetings or webinars

  1. Sign in to the Zoom web portal.
  2. In the navigation menu, click Meetings.
  3. Click Schedule a Meeting.
  4. Next to Meeting ID, select Generate Automatically. This setting is required for language interpretation. 
  5. Next to Interpretation, select the Enable language interpretation check box.
    Note: If you previously selected the Enable language interpretation by default check box at the account, group, or user level, this check box will already be selected and enabled as a default setting for all scheduled meetings.
  6. Enter the information for your interpreters.
    The languages you select for interpreters will create audio channels for those languages in your meeting, but not all of these channels have to be used in the meeting.
    Note: The pre-assigned interpreters must be signed in to the account associated with the chosen email address. If they are not signed in with that email address when joining the meeting or webinar, they will not be recognized as an interpreter; however, the host can manually assign them to be the interpreter in the meeting. 
  7. Click Save.
  8. To modify the list of interpreters, click Edit.
  9. Click Save when you are finished.

Note: This process is similar to enabling language interpretation for webinars. In the navigation menu, click Webinars, then click Schedule a Webinar; follow Steps 3-6.

How to start Language Interpretation in meetings or webinars

Note: Language interpretation cannot be initiated or managed when using the Zoom mobile app. Participants joining from the Zoom mobile app can only listen to interpretation audio channels and view interpreted text.

  1. Sign in to the Zoom desktop client.
  2. Start or join a meeting.
  3. Once your meeting has started, click Interpretation in the meeting controls.
    You can add or remove interpreters from this menu if necessary.
  4. Click Start to begin the interpretation sessions.
    After the host clicks Start, the interpreters will receive a message that they have been assigned a language.

    Note: The pre-assigned interpreters must be signed in to the account associated with the chosen email address. If they are not signed in with that email address when joining the session, they will not be recognized as an interpreter; the host however can manually assign them to be the interpreter in the meeting. 
  5. Interpreters and attendees can now click Interpretation in the meeting controls and select a language channel.
  6. An interpreter in the channel will hear the original meeting audio which they can translate. Interpreters only have access to the language channel they have been assigned to. Participants in a language channel will hear the translated audio and also the original audio at a lower volume.
    Note: The original audio volume will return to 100% 8 seconds after an interpreter has stopped speaking.
  7. To end the interpretation session(s), the host must click Interpretation  in the meeting controls.
  8. Once the Language Interpretation window opens, the host can click End to stop the sessions.
  9. The host can also click Manage Language Interpretation to make changes to the interpreter settings during a session. 

How to manage your language interpreter role

As a language interpreter, you can only broadcast to one language channel at a time. This eliminates unnecessary language crossover and helps reduce confusion. You can switch between the native audio channel of the meeting and the interpretation audio channel you have been assigned to. 

Note: You can only join language interpretation from computer audio. You cannot use the dial-in or call me phone audio features.

Once a meeting host assigns you as a language interpreter, a window will appear, notifying you of which language you are responsible for:

  1. Sign in to Zoom desktop client.
  2. Join a meeting that you have been assigned as an interpreter by the host.
  3. Click OK to accept the language you have been assigned to interpret.

How to switch audio channels as an interpreter and use interpretation relay

To switch between audio channels during the meeting:

  1. Click the language of the audio channel you want to broadcast to.
  2. Speak in the language of the audio channel you are broadcasting to.

As an interpreter, you are listening to the main audio channel by default, but you can change the audio channel to listen to another interpreter. This is known as an interpretation relay.

This is useful when you don't understand the main language channel and need to interpret from another available language. For example, you may not understand the English spoken in the main channel, but do understand French. You can instead listen to the French interpretation channel and translate that into the language you were assigned to interpret for. 

To change your incoming audio feed to another language interpretation channel:

  1. Next to Listening in, click the drop-down menu. 
  2. Select the audio channel you want to listen to. 
    By default, Main audio is selected. 

Note: Interpretation relay requires version 5.9.6 or higher. 

How to listen to Language Interpretation

  1. In your meeting/webinar controls, click Interpretation . 
  2. Click the language that you would like to hear.
  3. (Optional) To hear the interpreted language only, click Mute Original Audio.

Notes:

  • You must join the meeting audio through your computer audio/VoIP. You cannot listen to language interpretation if you use the dial-in or call me phone audio features.
  • As a participant joining a language channel, you can broadcast back into the main audio channel if you unmute your audio and speak.

Web client

  1. In your meeting/webinar controls, click Interpretation. 
  2. Click the language that you would like to hear.
  3. (Optional) To hear the interpreted language only, click Mute Original Audio.

Notes:

  • You must join the meeting audio through your computer audio/VoIP. You cannot listen to language interpretation if you use the dial-in or call me phone audio features.
  • As a participant joining a language channel, you can broadcast back into the main audio channel if you unmute your audio and speak.

Android | iOS

  1. In your meeting controls, tap the ellipses more-button.png.
  2. Tap Language Interpretation. 
  3. Tap the language you want to hear.
  4. (Optional) Tap the toggle to Mute Original Audio.
  5. Click Done.

Notes:

  • You cannot listen to language interpretation if you use the dial-in or call me phone audio features.
  • As a participant joining a language channel, you can broadcast back into the main audio channel if you unmute your audio and speak.