Wladimir Padilla Silva

Lecturer in Spanish and Translation & Interpreting Studies
(TRIN403, TRIN404, TRIN405, TRIN409, SPAN301, SPAN302, SPAN312/412, SPAN405)

Wladimir Padilla Silva is a lecturer and certified interpreter who brings over 15 years of experience in translation, simultaneous and consecutive interpreting, and cross-cultural communication across Chile, Brazil, Australia, and Aotearoa New Zealand. His work bridges the worlds of academia and professional practice, with a strong commitment to breaking language barriers and empowering minority communities through inclusive communication.

A proud member of Simultaneous Interpreters New Zealand (SINZ) and the NZSTI Canterbury Branch Committee, Wladimir is a NAATI Certified Interpreter (CPI and CI in Spanish and Portuguese). His professional experience spans community, legal, and healthcare interpreting, as well as conference, whispered (chuchotage), remote, and over-the-phone interpreting. He is passionate about preparing the next generation of interpreters to thrive in a rapidly changing linguistic and technological landscape.

In his teaching, Wladimir developed the Plant Analogy™, a pedagogical model that views interpreters as living systems that grow through layered roots of voice, cognition, empathy, and ethical resilience. This approach nurtures students’ awareness of both their linguistic and emotional ecosystems, fostering long-term professional and personal growth.

Before joining the University of Canterbury, Wladimir taught at the University of Brasília in Brazil. His teaching and research now focus on paralinguistics, prosodic features, and ethical decision-making in community interpreting, alongside the ethical and creative use of Artificial Intelligence in translator and interpreter education. He is particularly interested in how Audiovisual Translation (AVT), AI-assisted CAT tools, and voice and dubbing technologies can enhance engagement, accessibility, and real-world readiness for students.

He believes that language education is not only about communication, but about connection, empathy, and empowering others to be heard.