New Zealand: teaching interpreting and translation courses at three New Zealand universities during the unexpected lockdown

The COVID-19 pandemic hit Aotearoa New Zealand on 28 February 2020 with the first case identified in the country. The government announced an “Alert Level 4” lockdown less than one month later on 25 March. The interpreting and translation courses offered at Auckland University of Technology, the University of Canterbury, and the University of Auckland, hence, required rapid responses to make adjustments to the curriculum. This chapter is a reflection on those challenges from the perspectives of the lecturers. This chapter points out specific difficulties encountered in lecture delivery during the Level 4 Lockdown (The New Zealand government announced a system comprising of 4 “alert levels” with Level 4 involving the strictest stay-at-home orders), particularly issues derived from the platform and software used in the courses, and influences from the real world to the virtual lecture rooms. The chapter also aims to offer insight into those challenges and potential preparedness, as well as indicate some unexpected benefits resulting from the lockdown to the design of interpreting and translation courses in the future.