[New publication] The Interpreter and Translator Trainer: Volume 13, No.1, 2019
The Interpreter and Translator Trainer: 13 (9)
Link to this issue: https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/ritt20/current
Sight translation in Public service interpreting: a dyadic or triadic exchange?, by
Abstract: Sight translation (ST) has always been considered one of the tasks covered in Public Service Interpreting (PSI). It has been included in handbooks, and it is also a frequent exercise in PSI assessment. However, few studies have analysed how ST is performed in the framework of a triadic interaction. This study is an attempt to redress this gap and is part of a larger experimental research project based on simulations. Five Chinese-Spanish/Catalan interpreters and intercultural mediators were asked to interpret in a series of interactions that recreated meetings between public service providers and Chinese users in social services and education. One simulation included an ST task, which is the focus of this article. It was possible to draw comparisons between the participants in the study because they all had to perform the same ST task under almost identical conditions. The simulations were recorded so they could be transcribed and analysed. Analysis of the data reflects that ST is not monologic, as is often presented in handbooks or assessment exercises, but dialogic, either dyadic or triadic, with meaning being co-constructed orally. The intercultural mediation strategies used by some of the participants in the study are also considered in the discussion.
Material development principles in undergraduate translator and interpreter training: balancing between professional realism and classroom realism, by
Abstract: Material development is one of the most important links in the chain of course design. However, it has received limited attention in the academic context of applied translation studies. This paper proposes a conceptual framework to encourage material development in interpreter and translator education at undergraduate levels. It first justifies the application of two idealistic principles (authenticity and diversity) to reflect market realism, thus narrowing the gap between classrooms and the professional world. For undergraduate T&I programmes, there seems to be an inherent conflict between the need to use diversified authentic texts and the fact that students are not yet competent enough to handle those texts. Classroom realism, for example, students’ level and learning needs, should also be respected. The paper moves on to propose five additional principles (continuity in subject matter, simplification, scaffolding, building, and motivating), striking a balance between professional realism and classroom realism. As a demonstration, an undergraduate sight translation course is used to illustrate how each principle is followed in material development. This work is an attempt to inspire colleagues of translator and interpreter training to formulate their own material development principles that fit in with their teaching contexts.
Professional portfolio in translator training: professional competence development and assessment, by
Abstract: Current European Higher Education Area demands for university degree programmes to focus attention on competence development have brought about the need for effective competence assessment tools. A professional portfolio is one of the tools that may be used by teachers to assess students’ professional competences; besides, it may be used by students to search for a job once they graduate. This article analyses the use of professional portfolios in translator training. Details are given of the contents of the portfolio and the criteria used for assessing the outcome of activities designed to develop professional competence. The results of a survey conducted to find out the students’ and teachers’ opinions on the use of professional portfolios as a new assessment instrument are also shown. The findings show that students have difficulties in defining their professional profile; however, the professional portfolio turns out to have a number of benefits, as it helps students to identify their own general competences and to set future goals, and to become familiar with the market rates and taxation.
Bridging the gap between translation and interpreting students and freelance professionals. The mentoring programme of the Professional Association of Translators and Interpreters of Catalonia, by
Abstract: This paper presents the mentoring programme carried out by Professional Association of Translators and Interpreters of Catalonia (APTIC) based on a multiple-mentoring model. It was offered during the academic years 2015/2016 and 2016/2017 in collaboration with the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and the Universitat de Vic and will continue in the future. The goal of APTIC’s mentoring programme is to let students experience the translators’ and interpreters’ profession from the point of view of freelancers. Each student spends one working day with each mentor. During this day, the student carries out the tasks that the mentor assigns him/her. These tasks are related to translation, interpreting, and proofreading, rates, work ethics, project and terminology management, ergonomics, marketing, and CAT tools, among others. In this paper, the following aspects will be discussed: 1) the benefits of mentoring programmes in general and particularly for future translation and interpreting freelance professionals; 2) the functioning, the contents and the assessment procedure of APTIC’s programme; 3) the results of the pilot test and of the programme offered in the academic year 2016/2017. Our findings show that, at the end of the programme, the students feel prepared to face some of the challenges of the labour market as freelancers.
Directionality in translation and revision teaching: a case study of an A–B teacher working with B–A students, by
Abstract: Directionality has seldom been discussed with regard to the profiles of translation teachers. At German universities, the target language is usually the teacher’s A language. By contrast, in countries whose languages are less widely spoken, it is more common for teachers to work into their B language along with their students. However, A–B teachers educating B–A students are, to my knowledge, very rare except in mixed groups where exchange students from the target culture are present. In this article, I shall report on two experimental translation and revision courses I have recently taught, where the target language was my B language but my students’ A language. I shall begin by setting out the assumptions about translation teaching/learning on which my experiment was based, and proceed to discuss the workings of this approach from both my own and my students’ perspectives. Methodologically, I shall draw on a first-person action inquiry framework with second-person triangulations. Action inquiry, as developed by William R. Torbert, includes a model for accessing the various aspects of a first-person perspective, which will enable me to analyse the experiential consonance and dissonance that characterised my perception of the two courses.