The fourth edition of Translation school was held from April 22nd till May 10th. The courses took place from 6:30pm till 9:30pm. I mention these details to emphasize the dedication of participants as well as lecturers (translators, ATP Moldova members). It is not easy to attend courses after work. Perhaps, everyone was enthusiastic about these courses: lectures wanted to share their knowledge and participants wanted to strengthen their translation skills. It was a very good collaboration.
This year, for the second time, the courses were held with the support of the translation bureau IntArtDesign, the partner of the Association of Professional Translators that was in charge with logistics and selection of participants. As a lecturer, I want to note that the selected group of participants was very successful from all aspects. Firstly, the number of participants was optimal (18 persons), secondly, the majority of participants had translation experience. This ensured constrictive work and active participation.
The participants proved they were very interested in the provided information. We are glad we could meet their expectations. Here are some quotes on the courses course’s evaluation: ”I will improve my self confidence and will accept oral translations without fear”; ”Taking notes was a very useful exercise and I will apply it in my activity”; ” I learnt new things that will be helpful in the future”; ”I will take into account all advice and recommendations received before accepting a contract”; ”The courses taught me how to make simple phrases in English in order to restore the meaning from Romanian”; ”I will manage to make more quality notes in order to restore exactly the speaker’s message ”; ”I got to know people with valuable experience that inspired me to study deeply the translation domain”; ”There were many practical exercises that showed how to work and react in different situations”.
Regarding the practical exercises, mentioned above by one of the participants, this year we introduced different activities such as working with printed occasional brief speeches of different public figures from political and economic life of Moldova and radio prints in English. Simultaneous translation became the key moment of the course. Many participants had an opportunity to practice simultaneous translation in a cabin for the first time. Our invited lecturer, Inesa Coman, together with Olesea Bodean, ATP Moldova member, managed to encourage the participants to practice simultaneous translation. These experienced translators shared many techniques, remedies and practical exercises that can help translators to improve their own skills.
The module ”Written translation” was not less interesting, because it is practiced by people of many other professions than just translators. Sergiu Conovca, the representative of IntArtDesign company, an ATP Moldova partner, spoke passionately about translation techniques assisted by ”Word fast” and ”Trados”. I am convinced that some of the participants already introduced these methods in their translation activity; it helps to greatly simplify written translation.
The Association of Professional Translators of Moldova will consider all recommendations of the course’s participants. One of the requests was to organize additional trainings in specialized domains such as medicine, IT, law, etc. Many participants asked to hold courses more frequently and some of them want to continue the course. These comments correspond to ATP Moldova intentions for the future that proposes to organize specialized courses in a particular domain. We hope that these plans will be implemented in the nearest future. So far, I would like to express my gratitude and appreciation to Elena Bivol, Eleonora Rusnac, Natalia Conovca, Olesea Bodean, Elizaveta Onofreiciuc and to our guest Inesa Coman for their valuable contribution to this course implementation.
Eleonora Rusnac
President ATP Moldova