The EMT Translator Trainer Profile Competences of the trainer in translation Yves Gambier & Nike K. Pokorn, OPTIMALE Training session, Tallinn 19-20th 2013
Competences In 2009: competences for professional translators, experts in multilingual and multimedia communication In 2012: competences for translation teachers/trainers (training as a sub-component of a wider conception of education).
Group Effort Daniel Gouadec Federico Federici, Nike K. Pokorn, Yves Gambier Kaisa Koskinen, Outi Paloposki, Dorothy Kelly, Michaela Wolf, Alison Beeby Dorothy Kenny OPTIMALE EMT board, EMT network
The Document the competences that translation teachers/trainers should possess or acquire throughout their professional career; a continuous process a proposal for discussion and, if appropriate, adoption by the members of the EMT Network.
General Reference Framework training courses for teachers/trainers may vary depending on the needs and profiles of the particular target groups (e.g. language teachers, professional translators, TS academics or subject-field experts (lawyers, engineers, etc.)) careful attention must be paid to institutional and local contexts.
Not Prescriptive Translation teachers/trainers should acquire the competences proposed in each of the five areas and meet the fundamental requirements specified The proposal does not prescribe how, when or where The competences are not presented in order of importance a teacher, a translator, a TS scholar, a course designer
The Competences and Requirements
Competences Fundamental Requirements Field Competence Interpersonal Competence Organizational Competence Instructional Competence Assessment Competence
Fundamental Requirements Academic qualification (e.g. formal requirements depending on national regulations) Relevant professional practice (e.g. work experience in translation) Appropriate teacher training (depending on national regulations: either as a formal qualification or additional teacher training) Knowledge of Translation Studies scholarship and research relevant for any course taught
Field Competence Ability to perform any task assigned to the students according to the quality standards required in professional practice Knowledge of the professional field including: Translation-related professions Constraints of translation projects (e.g. time/budget/qualities) Domains of specialization in translation-related professions Market requirements Operating procedures and tools used in professional translation TS scholarship and research relevant for the course Foreseeable development of the professions Translation-service provision competence (see Appendix): Knowledge of the existing standards and specifications Ability to critically analyze these standards and specifications Ability to perform the tasks and sub-tasks involved in the translation-service provision
Interpersonal Competence Ability to integrate into a teaching team and work as part of a team Ability to identify, adopt, apply and critically assess a code of professional ethics in translation Ability to teach students how to apply and critically assess codes of professional ethics in translation Ability to establish suitable learning environments for students Ability to manage time and resources
Interpersonal Competence Ability to teach students time and resource management Ability to manage stress Ability to teach students how to manage stress Ability to take decisions and justify them Ability to train students in decision-making and how to prioritize Ability to take into account all the relevant constraints depending on the situation, and explain them clearly (specifications, deadlines, budgets etc.) Ability to introduce students to the relevant constraints depending on the situation (specifications, deadlines, budgets, etc.)
Organizational Competence Ability to understand students needs and expectations in relation to the overall programme Ability to design a translation-training curriculum or understanding of the rationale for an existing translationtraining curriculum Ability to articulate the learning progression assumed by the programme (e.g. as manifested in the order in which modules are taught) Ability to design a course syllabus or understanding of the structure of an existing course syllabus especially in relation to the EMT competences benchmark Ability to update the programme or a course in anticipation of and in response to changes to the profession
Instructional Competence Ability to specify the tasks to be performed in relation to each course or module component Ability to explain the learning objectives of the subjects taught Ability to break down the educational components into tasks and sub-tasks (e.g.: terminography, document mining, quality control) drawing on the relevant theoretical knowledge Ability to encourage students to become aware of the challenges and issues involved in the task and sub-task in the relevant field(s), e.g. drawing on the relevant theoretical knowledge
Instructional Competence Ability to draw up a lesson plan by integrating TS scholarship and research relevant into teaching: Ability to create a list of all the tasks relevant for a given lesson and organize them in terms of priorities, sequences, time available and overall syllabus Ability to create the course or module materials Ability to create content and choose the appropriate teaching method (e.g. virtual learning environments, seminars, tutorials etc.) Knowledge of the findings of translation didactics and the ability to integrate them into training (e.g. ability to use appropriate methods for teaching and learning)
Instructional Competence Ability to incorporate the process and outcomes of relevant TS research and scholarship Ability to use existing professional and specialist tools and integrate them into training Ability to motivate students Ability to encourage students to develop: precision, a focus on quality, curiosity, learning strategies, and their ability to analyze and to summarize Ability to encourage students to develop a critical approach during the execution of tasks Ability to stimulate reflective thinking (i.e. selfreflexivity)
Assessment Competence Ability to define assessment methods and criteria to evaluate each task relevant to the course Ability to assess students entry level Ability to assess student s level of attainment (competences they have acquired and competences they lack in relation to the EMT benchmark) Ability to evaluate a curriculum, syllabus and lesson as a self-reflective practitioner, re-assessing practices, knowledge, and competences at regular intervals Ability to adapt to the results of the evaluation of a curriculum, syllabus and a lesson
References Colina, Sonia (2003) Translation Teaching: From Research To The Classroom, New York/San Francisco: McGraw Hill. Consortium for Training Translation Teachers (CTTT) Project Papers, Available from: http://isg.urv.es/cttt/cttt/research.html Gouadec, Daniel (2002) Profession : traducteur, Paris: La Maison du Dictionnaire. Gouadec, Daniel (2007) Translation as a profession, Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company. Kelly, Dorothy (2005) A Handbook for Translator Trainers: A Guide to Reflective Practice, Manchester: St. Jerome, Kelly, Dorothy (2008) Training the Trainers: Towards a Description of Translator Trainer Competence and Training Needs Analysis, TTR: traduction, terminologie, redaction, 21(1): 99-125. Available from http://www.erudit.org/revue/ttr/2008/ v21/n1/029688ar.pdf Macquarie University Postgraduate Diploma in Translation and Interpreting Pedagogy, http://www.ling.mq.edu.au/postgraduate/coursework/tip/pdtip.htm
Appendix: Translation-provision service tasks and sub-tasks (see Gouadec 1994) Finding and getting business Negotiating Specifying the translation project File management Managing quality Planning (time, finance, resources) Choosing tools and aids Assigning tasks Optimizing use of resources Quality assurance of the process
Appendix: Translation-provision service tasks and sub-tasks Preparing the material for translation and setting it up Translation Analysis Information mining Document management Terminography Transfer Indexing Quality control systems Proofreading Revision Tests, on-line Q&A Assessment and response to feedback