School of Professional Translators of Moldova, 5th Edition

The 5th edition of the School of Translatorsincluded 11 persons. Not a very big number. This small number is both good and bad. It was good because we could work more intensively with the persons participating in the course. It was bad, because the Association has not yet learned to do promotion and advertising, a fact explaining the small number of participants. The 5th edition of the Professional School of Translators comprised of all first time participants, the majority of them already professional translators working in the field or intending to do so in the near future!

I decided to dedicate this article,in particular,to the things mentioned by participants in their evaluations.  It was encouraging that the participants appreciated the work of lecturers, our colleagues from the Association: the undersigned Eleonora Rusnac, Elena Bivol, Natalia Conovca, Olesea Bodean, Elizaveta Onofreiciuc,Veaceslav Musteaţă and Aliona Artiomov. Many thanks to these enthusiasts, who contributed to the success of the training course.Among the most highly appreciated issues were the following: note taking techniques, techniques of editing and paraphrasing messages, information about contratnegotiation, practical advice and sources of information on written translations, presentation CAT tools, working with MemoQtool, practicing simultaneous translation from the booth, etc.

Here are some quotes from the evaluations of the Training Course:

• "It is an extraordinary initiative to organize seminars for professionals. I hope you will also organize other trainings on interesting and useful subjects";
• "After this training course I became more excited to become a translator!";
• "The Guide on Style, rules of quality translations were absolutely unknown to me before this professional training course";
• "I liked the simultaneous interpretationmodule and the interpretation from the booth has been very useful for me";
• "Written translation module has exceeded my expectations. I learned a lot of new information and useful tips. "

However, do not think that the evaluations were just appreciation of trainers. There was also constructive criticism, and hence very useful for us. For example we were told that:

• sometimes we were boring; that some of us should speak more slowly and explicitly;
• that some aspects of the organization of the school should be improved;
• that sometimes we say well-known things with regard to some advice and translator behavior, etc.

Below, I will refer to several comments and recommendations useful for the members of the Association, that will be helpful in organizing future training courses.

Almost all participants mentioned theusefulness of practical exercises. They expressed a willingness to pay more attention to this aspect. This issue wasmentioned with reference to all 3 modules: consecutive interpretation, written translation and simultaneous interpretation.

A wish, expressed in several evaluation papers, referred to the need for feedback from trainers. Considering the fact that most participants have already been working as translators, they would like feedback from the trainers. They proposed recording the translations made by the participants and analyzingthem in detail. I consider this is a very good recommendation.

It was also suggested that theory should be accompanied by many practical examples, and I agree with this idea, though all translators - lecturers referred to their own translation/interpretation experience. It seems that we have to think over the modality how we will do this.  So, dear future trainers start collecting examples to illustrate theoretical aspects.

The participants of the Training Course suggested several topics for future editions of the School of Translators, such as:
    

• exercisesfor memory improvement;
• specialized translation in certain fields such as medicine, economics, law;
• skills for interpersonal communication and relationship building;
• psychological aspects and overcoming stress in translation, etc.

Once again,I draw the attention of my colleagues to start preparing materials for the next edition of the School of Translators. I assure you that your participation inthe School will bring you great satisfactionand  content.By preparing good translators/interpreterswe will ensure a pool of reliable colleagues, in booth  simultaneous translation or good partners in verbal interpretation.     
   
Eleonora Rusnac,

President ATP Moldova

P.S.: See also the article referring to the 5th edition of Translators' School on: http://ong.md/index.php/news/3361/61/S-a-incheiat-cea-de-a-cincea-edi-ie-a-colii-Traducatorului-Profesionist
Elldor. Info "The fifth edition of the School of Professional Translators has ended"