International Institute of Practical Psychology

International Institute of Practical Psychology

Faculty of Translation

(Riga, Latvia)

Self-Assessment of Programme for Professional Training

Profession: Translator/Interpreter

Contents

Introduction

I. General part

II. Organisation of the Professional Training Process

1. The plan of studies – syllabus

2. Linguistic competence

3. Annotations of the subjects of studies

4. Examples of programmes

5. Checking knowledge and skills

6. Instructors

7. The analysis of the instructional work

III. Practice

IV. Materials and Technical Equipment

V. The Work with Entrants

International Institute of Practical Psychology

Faculty of Translation

(Riga, Latvia)

Self-Assessment of Programme for Professional Training

Profession: Translator/Interpreter,

Translator-desk clerk (№ 2444-03 and 2444-10)

(acc. to the Nomenclature of Professions of Latvia Sūtījums ?95-1)

Introductory Part

Owing to the increasing contact of Latvia with foreign countries and Latvia’s impending inclusion in European Union there is a growing need in the Republic for specialists – translators and interpreters in various fields (education, science, culture, etc.).

Judging by the information obtained on the basis of statistic data throughout Latvia, the demand for specialists is in the following fields:

1. The work of translators and interpreters as desk clerks in offices (written and oral translation): approximately 5000 people.

2. The work as interpreters – tourist guides at touris agencies: approximately 150 people.

3. Conducting foreign language clubs and classe at pre-school institutions: approximately 550 people.

4. Organization and conducting of individual classes: more than 800people.

5. Translator’s work at publishing houses: about 1000 people.

The translator’s profession is acquired also in tackling private problems (marriage, scientists careers’ and the like), which defies statistical recording.

The Translators’ Faculty was set up in 1994 to train professional translators desk clerks for work in various fields: in the sphere of education, business, tourism, and social institutions. The duties of specialists-translators and interpreters may include oral and written translation, writing synopsis of specialists texts (in one’s specialty), letter correspondence, and liason. Specific features of training at the Faculty are:

• professional and academic training linked and coordinated,

• orientation of mastering the language in the sphere of communication,

• psychologizing.

The specific features of the Faculty are:

• foreign languages are studied in a professional context,

• emphasis is laid on independent work in the Center of Language Resources,

• studying languages is carried out in the development context of the student’s personality.

I. The Aims and Tasks of Professional Training:

1) The development of professional skills that are needed for the interpreter (interpreter-desk clerk) to carry out his or her professional activities. We have worked out the following model of a specialist:

1

7 2

6 3

5 4

During the training of specialists-interpreters we picked out seven aspects of professional competence:

1. Competence in general culture.

2. Linguistic competence in the native language.

3. Linguistic competence in a foreign language.

4. Competence in the culture of another country, the language of which the student is studying.

5. Academic competence connected with the research work.

6. Professional competence assuming the knowledge of the subject matter to be translated in the process of work.

7. Competence of character that reflects the skill to communicate, self-regulation in the conduct of one’s emotional state.

The seven factors of successful professional activities are an indispensable and sufficient foundation for the structure of the work of interpreters, interpreters-desk clerks. The students are oriented to self-certification of their professional training in correspondence with the seven aspects of the model described.

2) Provision of conditions for the acquisition of the students’ academic knowledge in the field of literature, linguistics, the science of culture, psychology, etc.(See p. 33).

3) The development of cognition abilities that enable independent acquisition of knowledge as well as the skills of self-certification, self-control and mutual control.

For the implementation of this aim the following tasks were formulated, some of which have already been carried out, others are being solved through the process of work.

1) The development of new working programmes on the basis of up-to-date methods of teaching the living languages in European countries considering the recommendations of the Living Languages Center (Gratz, Austria) functioning under the aegis of the European Council. In the programme emphasis is laid on oral speech (self-presentation), oral and written translation of the literature in specialties “psychology”, “pedagogy”, “linguistics”, “economics”, “law”. The work in this direction is in constant progress.

______

* Here and further the footnotes refer to the documentation kept in the Training Center of the Translators’ Faculty, at 12 Gogoļa Street, and the material presented in the document if the pages are indicated.

2) Further consolidation of the material basis in the form:

• textbooks, methodical aids for students, training literature (printed matter, audio materials, and video films). At the disposal of students and instructors there are:

* printed matter (textbooks, training means, methodical aids):

4148 units in the main book stock, from them :

1063 units in the Center of Language Resources,

3075 units in the stock of the library;

* audio materials (recordings of radio broadcasts, audio cassettes

for the training courses, etc.): 146 units;

* video cassettes (video recordings of TV programs, video courses of various languages):

72 units in foreign languages,

140 units in the native language of different profile.

Audio and videocassettes, VIFAX, i.e. video fax, are ordered in cooperation with the Centre of Language Resources (L.Pasteur University, Strasbourg, France). For full information see section “List of Training Materials”

• technical means (radio, satellite TV, and video tape recorder). In this respect very perspective for the perfection of the training process, in our opinion, are the established contacts with the Center of Communication of Education and Means of Information (CLEMI, Ministère de l’Education Nationale, Paris, France).

3) Training and methodical aids, methodical recommendations and materials prepared by the instructors of the Faculty to ensure the students’ independent work in the Center of Language Resources.

4) Formation of the teaching staff by inviting the academic personnel to work as well as professional translators and interpreters, instructors for whom the foreign language is their native tongue. Thanks to close cooperation with the French Embassy in Latvia in the presence of Mr.Marc Lam, the cultural attaché, a lecturer from France is starting work at the Institute from September, 1998. Also, a contract will be concluded in the nearest time on cooperation between the International Institute of Practical Psychology (Translators’ Faculty) and the French Agency (Agence Française), Riberac, France), concerning an exchange of students and instructors, organization of joint language courses in Latvia and France.

5) The development of a flexible and efficient management system of the teaching process, quality control of future specialists. (See p. 121, 135)

II. The Contents and Organization of the Training Process

The training of specialists is based on a large-scale academic approach allowing to develop the students’ scientific thinking that is needed for writing course and diploma papers. The main criterion for the quality of professional training is orientation towards the development of professional skills and habits that are necessary in the work of translators.

Documents have been worked out setting the aims and tasks for each of the 10 practices envisaged by the program (written translation, oral translation, methodical and pedagogical aids, games, research, library, organizational, advertising and technical means). We have determined the following general targets. The students should have a chance:

1) to be able to comprehend the problems connected with the communication in a foreign language and the problems of mastering a language,

2) to apply the acquired psychological and linguistic knowledge to efficient communication,

3) to master the new terminology and acquire the specific syntax typical of oral and written translating texts in the specialties of psychology, linguistics, literature, pedagogy, etc.

For each type of practice there are fixed deadlines, the site of occurrence, the contents, the extent and criteria of evaluation. In appraising the results both the conceptual and formal aspects will be considered. (See p. 156)

Contracts are signed on cooperation with external organizations (Latvian Association of Museums and the Jūniks-V tourist agency) where students have the opportunity to undergo the pedagogical and organizational practice. We intend to establish contacts with schools in Riga where the students can pass their pedagogical, methodical and separate organizational practices. Some students pass their translation practice in their offices (if they work in this specialty).

(See p. 162)

In accordance with the concept of practical orientation in training, orientation towards independent scientific research work. Students prepare three course papers and one diploma. This enables the ability to check the molding of the student’s professional skills, his proficiency to acquire knowledge independently, to put forward scientific and research problems, to work with original sources of information. During the whole course of training, emphasis is being laid not only on the very fact of writing the works (the course papers and the diploma work) but also on the change in the structure of mind, regulation of thinking and development of a systemic perception of life acquired as a result of this work. From 1998 students will prepare course papers beginning from the very first year of studies. Thus the course papers and the diploma work merge into one entirety and represent scientific practice (one of the 10 practices envisaged by the syllabus). It is important that writing the course papers and the diploma work by the students be entirely and completely independent. The instructor is only their advisor, but not the leader. To help the students, for this purpose “A Guide in Scientific Work” is compiled.

It is emphasized that the students’ work be independent but also that they acquire the language on the basis of the Centre of Language Resources. The organization of the Centre is founded on the concept advised by the Centre of the European University in Strasbourg with whom we keep extensive contacts. The reasons for its foundation are the following: