How to enable language interpretation on Zoom?

Activate “Language interpretation” on your Zoom settings (see first image below) and enable “interpretation” when scheduling a Zoom meeting/webinar (see second image below). That is how you allow simultaneous interpreters to join your online event and help you communicate in other languages. (Click here to check out our how-to videos on YouTube)

On Zoom settings page do this:

 

When scheduling a meeting do this:

You can also set language interpretation a default feature so that you will not forget it when scheduling your Zoom meeting.

language interpretation by default on zoom meetings

Enabling sign language view on Zoom Meetings

We recommend that you enable this view because it allows sign language interpreters to work in pairs and gives them a dedicated floating popup pane on the Zoom meeting screen. If you do not want to watch it, you can minimize that window. At Dragoman, we added Turkish sign language, Arabic sign language and international sign language on to the default sign language options (ASL, BSL, etc.). You may also make it a default feature for every Zoom meeting if sign language interpreting is a frequent requirement.

Enabling sign language interpreter view on Zoom meetings

You can also visit this page for further details on assigning sign language interpreters on your Zoom meetings.

Important tips

Make sure to download Zoom app on your computer and always update your Zoom app to the latest version. This will help you minimize error and bugs.

Train your internal team, panelists and keynote speakers on how to use key features of Zoom, i.e. video settings, microphone settings, virtual backgrounds, recording, stream, and so on.

Schedule at least one rehearsal and test everything works just fine.

If you are going to use captions, check their visibility on Zoom screen.

If you are hiring sign language interpreters, make sure their video is clear and background is solid.

 

Sound quality is the greatest enabler and also challenge for interpreting

Sound quality of the speakers is crucial to assure high quality simultaneous interpreting. Encourage if not require all panelists to use external microphones built for audio conferencing.

Organizing a great event and hosting it smoothly takes much more than just a few clicks. You need reliable partners who know their job.

 

How can Dragoman help you with language interpretation?

Dragoman is a leading interpreting agency for Zoom meetings and webinars of any size and for any language combination. Our team has joined over 3000 Zoom meetings after the pandemic and that is no coincidence. Over 500 global brands trust us.

Our office can provide you with some of the very best conference interpreters from dozens of countries and in over 100 languages. We constantly test and vet our resources not only for their experience and interpreting skills, but also for their online-readiness. It is critical that interpreters work on decent computers, use broadband internet and high-quality headsets.

Zoom has become an essential part of our lives during the global lockdown. Families, friends, teachers, schools, government agencies and private corporations are using Zoom on a daily basis.

 

Which Zoom subscriptions support simultaneous interpreting?

If you have a paid Zoom account, you can add simultaneous interpreting to your meetings in as many languages as you want. Zoom has 9 built-in languages. You need to add ‘custom’ languages to your instance on your admin panel. At Dragoman, we have 48 interpreting languages enabled on Zoom including Kazakh, Arabic, Uzbek, Kyrgyz, Vietnamese, Turkish, Azeri, Montenegrin, Serbian, Croatian, Cantonese, Romanian, Ukranian, and more. These are most commonly requested by our clients. Technically there are no limits although Zoom support pages mention limitations on number of languages and interpreters.

48 interpreting languages on Zoom meetings

Make sure to download / update to the latest version of Zoom for full functionality.

Advanced settings of Zoom can be tricky and if you are not feeling comfortable, just drop Dragoman interpreting team a line to request professional assistance.

Benefits of online events with simultaneous interpretation are obvious:

  1. Quick setup, user friendly interface
  2. Everybody uses Zoom
  3. Interpreters can learn it easily
  4. Your meetings become more inclusive
  5. Live on-screen captioning (automated or manual)
  6. Possibility to add a sign language interpreter
  7. Available on both desktop and mobile
  8. Advanced security settings
  9. Interactivity
  10. Record your conferences in multiple languages
  11. Add captions
  12. Live stream to YouTube and Facebook
  13. Polls and detailed statistics
  14. Stable audio and video quality
  15. Available at the comfort of your home or office
  16. Can be organized as a hybrid event where some participants gather in a venue while other join Zoom online

Key requirements:

  1. Broadband internet – minimum 5 megabits per second
  2. Very good computer – a PC with i7 or Macbook Pro
  3. High quality, conference grade, noise-cancelling headset microphone
  4. Back-upplan (a second computer, a second internet connection and a second headset)

Limitations of Zoom:

  1. Interpreters can hear their colleagues only when they select a different output channel, which is not ideal for monitoring purposes
  2. Interpreting remotely, alone in a home-office requires more mental effort than joining a session physically.

Thanks to new technologies, scientific conferences can now be organized in multiple languages at a fraction of a regular on-site convention. Since interpreters do not need to travel, hiring better interpreters in so many languages is much easier. Chinese, Arabic, Turkish, Serbian, Japanese, Hindi or Vietnamese at ease.

Zoom is currently the most popular app that enables simultaneous interpreting. Webex also offers simultaneous interpreting functionality.  Microsoft Teams allows language interpreting for meetings and townhalls, but not for live events. However, Teams does not always offer a consistent experience. Please make rehearsals with language interpretation enabled before scheduling a teams event.

Check our articles and videos on how to add simultaneous interpretation to Webex.

Dragoman team is trained and qualified to interpret using these apps. Our conference interpreter colleagues regularly update themselves on novel technologies.

Remote simultaneous interpreting is not a replacement of on-site interpreting as much as video conferencing is not a true alternative of a professional event organized in hotels or conference venues. However, many organizations have adapted to the new-normal and now it feels much easier to organize an international webinar in only a matter of days, if not hours.

The future is going to by hybrid meetings, where some attendees will be joining in person while others connecting via Zoom (or Teams, etc.). Here are our guidelines for successfull hybrid events.

Kindly find our YouTube Play list on enabling language interpretation adding simultaneous interpreters to Zoom, recording in multiple languages and more:

Warning: This article describes human interpreting performed by professional interpreters. Zoom also offers AI captions and translated captions which is an automated service and it does not involve human linguists. AI may produce good enough results for recorded videos an on very clean sound resources. Do not assume that AI interpreting can replace professional interpreters at your corporate meetings or international summits. This article was updated on August 24, 2025. For latest news and futures of Zoom and language interpretations, please contact Dragoman offices.