6. Learners' assessment

The learner's assessment is normally carried out by traditional mechanisms, since tests and exams can be automated by using the VLE only in few cases, such as in closed questions exercises. Usually, automated methods are more suitable for checking knowledge. In such cases the verifications or the points given to each question and the final results and report can also be sent automatically to learners.

We basically use formative assessment with a prompt feedback. But the VLE allows learners some forms of self-assessment as a complement to instructor assessment. For example, the portfolio and the results of the questionnaires may give learners a hint of where they are on their way to the learning objectives.

Whenever a score is presented after an online exercise, the assessment can be made only after first attempt, for the most recent one, for the best one or as an average of all of them. If learners know they will only have the first attempt assessed, they will try very hard because they are not able to improve their grade. The most recent attempt will be usually the same as the best one, which does mean that learners' motivation will be kept up. The "average"-solution may have learners trying several times to do the exercises which encourage them to train more often and to memorize and consolidate more efficiently.

In relation to the communication activities, assessment will focus on the analysis of frequency and quality of intervention and the degree of participation in the common knowledge construction during the teaching-learning process.

Overall, it is important for instructors to remember that assessment influences the way learners perceive what they have to learn, building pathways of wrong and right, better and worse, top and poor quality, and so on. In that sense, this is not only assessment of but also a learning process and self-assessment. That is why realistic and objective assessment criteria adapted to professional life, but also prompt feedback and individual advising, are so important for motivating a personal lifelong learning process.

Finally, learners may use a reciprocal evaluation of performance such as in teamwork activities or in forums, either individually or as peer groups, so that they achieve skills related to translation evaluation, revising, quality assurance, and self-criticism.

7. Achievements and limits of pedagogic technology

As translator trainers don't usually use formal textbooks in their classes, the presented suggestions can help them to create activities for themselves by downloading texts from the Internet and integrating them in exercises using the tools of a virtual platform like Moodle. Our examples showed how this can involve learners more in their own teaching-learning process, and, as a consequence, how they can become more responsible and the main agents of that process. The use of ICT permits us to overcome time and space barriers, to design new methods and instruments of teaching, tutoring and evaluation, preserving at the same time a personalized approach. Nevertheless, challenges remain. First, the use of new technologies needs to be learned and mastered first, not only the instructors but also by their learners, before they can be applied correctly and to everyone's benefit. Therefore they need technical and pedagogical advice that should be organized by the university itself. But there is also a need for a change of the traditional roles, which is not easy. First of all, because it requires a change of mind in order to make learners conscious of their own responsibility in achieving the necessary knowledge which is no longer presented to them in a comfortable and compact way by the instructor; now they have to construct their own personal learning process. The instructors also have to accept that their role is a new one, and that there is a shift from information facilitators to tutors and guides. These changes are not always easy and need time and patience to allow for adaptation. On the other hand, the VLE requires investment in staff and equipment as well as in maintenance and training, which focuses on the economic aspect which is not always considered or solved in a satisfactory way at institutional levels. Furthermore, young learners do not always master ICT, which is contrary to what is often assumed.

We have to add to the aforementioned difficulties that many learners are reluctant to work in teams. This has to do with the different learning strategies each one prefers, with lacking interpersonal competences, but also with refusing to share their own successes with the other components of the group, as well as to suffer the consequences of the other ones' failures.

Nevertheless, the increasing importance of the electronic communications and tools for translators, as well as of teamwork and social abilities, should lead us to rethink our teaching models and to integrate electronic tools and collaborative learning not only as means, but also as an objective in translator training. Furthermore, the inclusion of a VLE like Moodle motivates learners and engages them more in their own learning process. Besides, autonomous learner-learning and assessment or collaborative learning and working in activities that can be carried out outside the classroom strengthen the learner's autonomy.

In the area of translation studies the development of more interactive materials for self-study is needed. Computer-based testing for translation is very difficult to imagine, but not necessarily impossible. There are already some European projects that stress this aspect. Finally, the strong shift in learning habits to a more visual culture should lead translation pedagogy to include more visual resources such as videoconferencing and video streaming. We are also still waiting for the development of adequate learning games and good simulations that could bring professional environments and situations nearer to learners.

References

Barrett, H.: <http://electronicportfolios.org/> [accessed: 2007/07/16].

Boyle, T. 2000. Constructivism: A Suitable Pedagogy for Information and Computing Sciences? Procs. of 1st Annual Conference of the LTSN Centre for Information and Computer Sciences, Heriot-Watt, Edinburg, August 2000.

Carswell, A. D. 2001. Facilitating student learning in an asynchronous learning network. Dissertation Abstracts International, 62 (03), 1110.

Carwile, J. 2007. "A Constructivist Approach to Online Teaching and Learning". Inquiry, 12,1, 68-73.

Doolittle, P. 1999. "Constructivist pedagogy". http://edpsychserver. ed.vt.edu/workshops/tohe1999/pedagogy.html [accessed: 2007/08/08].

Duffy, T. M. and Jonassen, D. H. 1992. Constructivism and the technology of instruction: A conversation. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

ePortfolio Portal: http://www.danwilton.com/eportfolios [accessed: 2007/05/16].

Johnson, J. and J. Dyer. 2005. "User-defined content in a constructivist learning environment". A. Méndez-Vilas et al. 2005. Recent Research Developments in Learning Technologies. Badajoz: Formatex. http://www.formatex.org/micte2005/book.htm [accessed: 2007/09/05].

Jonassen, D. H. 1991. "Evaluating constructivistic learning". Educational Technology, September, 28-33.

Kahn, P. H. and Friedman, B. 1993. Control and power in educational computing. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association.

Király, D.C. 1995. Pathways to Translation. Pedagogy and Process. Kent and London: The Kent State University Press.

Mayer, M. 1996. "Is it constructivism?" http://www.sedl.org/pubs/ sedletter/v09n03/construct.html [accessed: 2007/09/05].

Murphy, E. 1997. "Constructivism: From philosophy to practice." http://www.cdli.ca/~elmurphy/emurphy/cle.html [accessed: 2007/08/19].

Mazzucelli, C. 2003. "A student's Europe: The constructivist approach to multimedia learning about integration". European Union Studies Association (EUSA). Biennial Conference 2003 (8th), March 27-29, Nashville, TN. http://aei.pitt.edu/2892/01/131.pdf [accessed: 2007/09/05].

Richards, Sylvie L.F. 2001. "The Interactive Syllabus: A Resource-based, Constructivist Approach To Learning." The Technology Source, July/August 2003. http://ts.mivu.org/default.asp?show=article&id=1034 [accessed: 2007/09/01].

Sherman, L. W. 1995. "A Postmodern, constructivist and cooperative pedagogy for teaching educational psychology, assisted by computer mediated communications". Proceedings of CSCL 95' Conference.

Stacey, E. 2002. "Learning links online: Establishing constructivist and collaborative learning environments". McNamara, S. and E. Stacey (eds.). 2002. Untangling the Web: Establishing Learning Links. Proceedings ASET Conference 2002. Melbourne, 7-10 July. http://www.aset.org.au/confs/ 2002/preface.html.

Lecture 5. Teaching Translation (part 1)

1. Multi-track training program

2. Industrial translation environment

3. Essential Questions to be answered

4. What is Interpretation?

5. Simultaneous and Consecutive interpreting

6. The Main Problems in MA Program

7. Characteristics of a good interpreter

8. Memory development

The massive shifts occurring in the industrial (non-literary) translation profession/industry are rapidly altering the way in which industrial translators operate. So far there seems to be little discussion about a possible need for changes in translator training necessitated by these shifts.

It is difficult at this stage of the process to make hard and fast pronouncements about the direction that might be taken by training programs, but it is possible at least to suggest avenues of discussion

The first difficulty in terms of discussing changes in the current model of translator training is the variety of ways in which translation is practiced. There are professional translators who hold jobs in government or international agencies or in private-sector companies. There are professional translators (probably the majority) who operate as free-lances. There are employees of private-sector companies who are required to translate corporate correspondence and documentation on an ad-hoc basis when the need arises, but for whom this activity is only one part of their job duties.

The second difficulty is that the changes in the profession are creating a divide between (1) translators in the traditional sense of the term (translator-as-writer) and (2) translators whose work is closer to that of copy editors and proofreaders but with the addition of a knowledge of foreign languages and an ability to use computer programs for pre- and post-editing of machine translation (MT) output and for performing the fill-in-the-blanks operations required by computer-assisted translation (CAT - computer-aided teaching) tools.

The need for specialized training for translation copy editors/ proofreaders seems to me particularly acute. My personal experience indicates that many persons currently performing these functions have not the slightest idea of what professional copy editing/proofreading entails, and seem not even to know that there is a difference between the two activities. Many of them are also under the mistaken impression that copyediting means rewriting the translation to conform with their own writing style.

Translators are first and foremost good writers, and while effective writing skills can be and are being taught, good writers and good writing ability reflect to a great extent an inborn inclination and ability and interest. The same holds true for editors and for editing and proofreading skills. In fact, it is a truism in the monolingual publishing industry that because of the existence of these differing inborn abilities, writers tend to be poor editors, and editors tend to be poor writers.

This situation has implications for future translator training, now that translators are currently being asked to perform functions more closely related to editing and proofreading than to traditional translation. Given this situation, it is possible that programs for training industrial translators and translation editors/proofreaders may eventually need to be structured with different tracks for the translating and the editing functions.

Multi-track training program. Translation editors/proofreaders no less than translators need to start with one or two basic language-pair-specific "introduction to X-to-Y translation and translation editing" courses introducing them to the process of translating, and editing translations of, a wide range of general (e.g. newspaper and magazine articles), personal (birth, marriage, and death certificates, academic records, etc.), commercial, legal, technical, scientific, and medical materials. After completing these basic courses, learners might then be able to select a specialization track or tracks.

Learners who are in corporate jobs that include a certain amount of translating might best opt for taking advanced specialized courses in translating commercial, legal, technical, scientific, and medical documentation, depending on their personal interests and the types of careers or companies in which they are employed. There seems thus far to be little use of CAT and MT programs in corporate settings, given the relatively limited need for translations in these settings.

In addition to thorough training in CAT and MT operation, aspiring translation editors/proofreaders need both general editing/proofreading courses and specialized courses in the editing/proofreading of machine output and of translations done by human translators.

The situation is somewhat more complicated for learners interested in a career as professional translators. The translation companies, the middlemen of the industry, now demand that translators be proficient in CAT operation skills. There is also increasing use of MT, on the theory that even if the product requires human pre- and post-editing, MT is faster and less expensive than using professional human translators ab initio. This means that in addition to translating, translators are now often required to perform the functions of editing/proofreading/CAT-MT operation, a situation that is likely to continue for quite some time.

Until the need for more specialization becomes generally recognized, determining the appropriate mix of required and elective courses for these jack-of-all-trades learners (how much emphasis on specialized translation courses? on CAT-MT operation courses? on editing/proofreading courses?) may prove difficult. Ideally, translators would focus on advanced specialization courses in translation. The current realities of the industry, however, would seem to require a mixed track, at any rate for industrial translators who want to earn a living in the industry.

All tracks could benefit from introductory courses in accounting, banking, the various sciences and technologies, and the medical sciences, depending on individuals' interests and job requirements, and in basic terminology research using both hard and on-line resources. For all tracks, it is not possible to over-emphasize the importance of continual reading and continuing education in one's specialization(s) in order to stay abreast of new developments and terminology.

This appears to add up to very lengthy training. It seems to me that the ideal program would consist in a combined B.A. + M.A. in Translation Studies, i.e., a program of approximately six or seven years in length. Real-world considerations militate against this. How many college freshmen are already so sure of their career orientation (and their financing) that they can commit themselves to such a program? How many career-changing adults with jobs and families, and retired adults thinking about translation as a way of supplementing their pensions and Social Security, have the luxury of time and money for such a lengthy program? What is the likelihood that the Ukrainian Government, for all its occasional recollections on the importance of training Ukrainians in foreign-language proficiency (in the military/political-need languages du jour), will take translation and translator training so seriously as to allocate funds for their advancement?

I think the most likely scenario is that changes in the training of industrial translators will come about gradually, incrementally, and on an ad-hoc basis, meaning that for some time to come, various types of training programs will continue to co-exist with self-training, the fragmented offerings of the manufacturers of CAT and MT programs, continuing education courses, and weekend seminars organized by translators' associations. In the meantime, serious exchanges and discussion of the subject among translators, translator associations, and academic and corporate providers of training might help to move us more speedily toward an effective outcome.

In the new era of industrial translation environment in which we industrial (i.e., non-literary) translators are now operating, translated text has moved from paper to a screen, and much of it comes forth, ready made, from the storage yard of computer memory, needing only to be edited and supplemented to fit a particular context.

In this new era, there is likely thus to be less need for the translator-writer of the past, and an increasing need for skilled copyeditors and proofreaders (with project management skills as well) of computer-produced material who have in addition some knowledge of other languages and good computer skills. This global change will require changes in how the translation profession is presented to candidates interested in pursuing translation as a career, and changes in how they are educated and trained.

It is axiomatic in the publishing industry that for various reasons writers often make poor editors and proofreaders. Career counselors and academic advisement personnel for translator education programs will need to present an accurate picture of the opportunities offered by the new-era industrial translation profession so that candidates focused on translation-as-writing can be made aware of their need to develop other types of skills, while computer specialists, fact-checkers, proofreaders, and copyeditors who possess in addition an interest in and knowledge of languages and translation will not be unnecessarily advised out.

Education and training of industrial translators are complicated by the fact that the ways in which we work, our language pairs, and our subject specializations differ widely. Some of them are full-time or part-time free-lance professional translators, some do occasional translations as part of their jobs in industry, business, the law, or the sciences. Some may work in-house for translation companies, some for international organizations or national/ local government agencies. Some still translate chiefly "from scratch," others with the help of CAT tools, still others use either method, depending on client needs. Some refuse to do editing, others are willing to pre-edit, post-edit, and proofread translations produced by humans or by machines. Finally, some perform some of or all these activities in varying proportions.

Essential Questions to be answered. Is it possible to create education programs that will meet the needs of such a wildly disparate group? It is time for all of us involved with translation to begin discussions and exchanges of opinion about the new modes of education and training that will be necessary. In the hope of initiating such a discussion, I am going to put down here a few thoughts in the form of questions that have occurred to me, based on my 25 years of experience.

1. What percentage of the curriculum should be devoted to the study of translation theory?

2. What percentage should be devoted to hands-on workshops in:

- Translating "from scratch" (translating as writing)?

- Learning the fundamentals of copy editing/proofreading/fact-checking?

- Learning to copyedit/proofread/fact-check translations produced by humans, machine translation programs, and CAT tools?

3. What percentage should be devoted to learning to work with CAT tools? Should students be introduced to all the leading tools, or to only the one(s) most commonly used by translation companies (which at the present time seem to be their chief users)?

4. Should a workshop in localization be part of the curriculum? If so, should it be a core course or an elective?

5. What type of terminology and subject-specialty research training is most suitable for translators? What are the best methods for teaching translators on-line and real-world research techniques? What percentage of the program should be devoted to them?

6. What is the place of a course in ethics for translators? While we translators are less likely than our cousins the interpreters to find ourselves in situations requiring decisions of conscience, given recent developments in the corporate and government environments such a course might be advisable for translators as well.

7. Assuming that translating-as-writing, copyediting/proofreading, working with CAT tools, and terminology and subject-specialty research are determined to be the four core areas of a good education program, should all students, even those with very specific and limited professional needs, be required to take courses in all of them? Consider, for example, a student who is called upon from time to time to do translations-from-scratch as one part of his/her job in a corporate environment, and who will probably never have occasion to work with a CAT tool. Should he/she nevertheless be required to take a course in this core area?

8. What should be the respective roles of certificate programs and degree-granting programs?

9. How can the role played by one-day and weekend workshops be strengthened?

10. What previous education and training should be required of candidates for admission to translator education programs?

11. Among what occupational groups would potential instructors in an education program best be sought? Translators from both the writing and CAT-tool ends of the scale? Professional editors/proofreaders, possibly with some knowledge (e.g., through high school and college language courses, residence in other countries) of one or more foreign languages? Project managers for translation companies? Employees of the companies that manufacture CAT-tool and computer-translation programs? Translators who can perform several of these functions? Is team-teaching of courses the best approach, given the complexity of modern industrial-translation practice?

Translation-as-writing is not going to vanish from the world of industrial translation. But a large part of the global change under way involves the need for professionals involved in translator education to realize and accept its diminishing role. The old-time translator who was able to produce a high-quality translation quickly because terminology, idioms, and sentence structures had become burned into his/her brain through long years of translating "from scratch," and whose fingers flew as rapidly across the keyboard as the words and sentences flashed through his mind, may become something of a rarity. Translators whose activity consists primarily of editing canned text produced from computer storage yards do not have the opportunity to develop that type of ability, and this will need to be taken into consideration in education programs.

Two other factors need to be considered in connection with training in the use of CAT tools. New-era translations can take longer to produce, because working with these tools requires time-consuming sequences of keyboard and mouse movements, and because more hands are involved in stirring the pot. The quality of the resulting stew can at times be inferior to the translation that would have been produced by an experienced translator-writer working with an ordinary word-processing program. These realities need to be kept in mind by educators as well as by translators and translation companies, and brought to the attention of students and translation clients.

Many of the existing training and education programs, even those that include courses in the computer aspects of the profession, appear to be still emphasizing development of translation-as-writing capabilities, perhaps because their directors and instructors are products of the earlier generation of education programs. It would seem that a changing of the educator guard may also be necessary. To paraphrase the old joke: "How many horseshoeing experts are needed to change the tires of a car?"

 What is Interpretation?

"Language is a process of free creation; its laws and principles are fixed, but the manner in which the principles of generation are used is free and infinitely varied. Even the interpretation and use of words involves a process of free creation". Noam Chomsky

With the expansion of human communications through the world, translation and teaching translation and interpretation has gained enormous importance around the countries and especially in academic systems. In Iranian universities teaching translation and interpretation is coming into interests as the need for communication expands.

The existing BA curriculum for English translation focuses on practicing translation in various fields, such as basic sciences, human sciences, religion, journalism, and literature. In addition to translation, interpreting is also practiced.

There are a wide range of definitions for interpretation. Interpretation is a communication process, designed to reveal meanings and relationships of our cultural and natural heritage, through involvement with objects, artifacts, landscapes and sites. Also in Merriam-Webster's dictionary interpretation is defined as "communication for establishing and maintaining mutual understanding and cooperation (as between parts of an armed force)."

Interpreting should not be considered the oral translation of words and can never be word-for-word translation, otherwise one would translate the language but his formulation would leave the thought inscrutable. There are three main types of interpretation: Consecutive interpreting, Simultaneous interpreting, and Trans- interpreting.

Simultaneous interpreting

Simultaneous interpreting refers to the interpreter's rendering of the orator's words at the same time that they are uttered or a few seconds later. Simultaneous interpreting is a 'listen and speak' process. When one speaks, one never stops thinking. Thinking and speaking go side by side. Most commonly, it is used in legal settings (trials), diplomatic meetings, conferences, presentations, training sessions, etc.

Consecutive interpreting

In Consecutive interpreting, the rendering of the speaker's speech is carried out by the interpreter with some time lags in between right after the speaker stops speaking. It is mostly used for formal meetings, lectures, negotiations, certain legal procedures, visiting dignitaries, etc.

Trans- interpreting

It is a term coined by Miremadi (1991) in the book "Theories of Translation and Interpretation".

Nancy Nicholson, in the book "The Oxford Handbook of Applied Linguistics" introduces three basic trends that have affected the profession since the beginning of the 1990s: globalization, specialization, and technologization.

The Main Problems in MA Program

Teaching Translation or Teaching Language?

Those who enter the universities to continue this major will have some main criteria which are necessary in order to have a curriculum that fulfills all aspects of students and society's needs.

Students who enter this major should be completely familiar with the language of translation, because they are here to learn how to translate not to learn the language itself. So in the process of entering universities the students' level of language should be regarded. In MA curriculum there is not enough time to teach the known 4 main skills of language as listening, speaking, reading and writing. Thus the students should be selected from those who are in upper-intermediate, and advanced levels of proficiency.

Theory vs. practice. Theory and practice must be linked together in any translation exercise simply because one contributes significantly to the other in the sense that theory of translation makes students of translation aware of language complexities; it gives them a sense of creativity and intellect. In the present curriculum, there are some courses regarding theory of translation, such as Translation Techniques, Contrastive Linguistics, Theories & Principles of Translation, etc., and other courses. These courses are not related and they do not match each other. It is better to represent some main theories of the field and then immediately in the same course related practical exercises should be presented.

Direction of Translation. In most of the cases the direction of translation is from TL into SL. It is a good way of learning how to translate but market also demands for translators who can translate from SL into TL.

Course subjects. There is no coordination in the choice of subjects between teachers of these courses. So either the subjects are repetitive or they are not matching other courses. There should be a smooth move from Translating audio & video tapes to the interpreting courses, letting students work on theory first and then practicing different kinds of interpreting and not just working on listening skill as it is practiced now.

Furthermore, the students should become familiar with dubbing, subtitling, sight translation, and machine translation as they may be needed in their future working situation. Another important fact that should be regarded in the MA curriculum is the need to know about different accents, formal and informal languages, slang, vulgarities, and profanities which may affect their future job.

Characteristics of a good interpreter

The main characteristics of a good interpreter can be presented as followed:

to have thorough knowledge of both SL and TL

to have thorough knowledge of the culture of both SL and TL

to have dominance in the related field

to be quick-witted

to know short hand writing

to possess comprehensive vocabulary

to have a powerful memory

to have comprehensive general knowledge

to be calm

to be acquainted with different accents of the SL

But the question here is that how students can improve these skills?

To have thorough knowledge of both SL and TL and to have thorough knowledge of the culture of both SL and TL is what students should obtain before entering the field. But corresponding teachings also should be engaged in the curriculum to make sure that the students' knowledge of both SL and TL will work together in an eventual setting.

Dominance in the related field is what every interpreters need to have. He /she should be a specialist in the field he /she is going to work on. Furthermore, interpreters should be trained about basic working knowledge including Journalism, Marketing, Psychology, Non-formal and adult education theory and presentations, Business management and finances, Recreation and tourism planning/principles, Media planning/design principles.

Because of the nature and peculiarity of interpretation all the three stages including analysis, transfer, restructuring occur at once in the mind of the interpreter in the shortest possible length of time, and that is when being quick-witted becomes an unquestionable characteristic of an interpreter.

To be quick-witted students need a quick mind. They have to be critical and have a rather high esteem of themselves. Most of the times being quick-witted is a gift from God and an art some people have. But there are some ways to improve it. One way to be witty is to listen intently to others. Students should try to think one step ahead in any conversation. Additionally, there are some other ways to improve this ability, which are mostly based on improving level of IQ.

Another main characteristic of an interpreter is about knowing short hand writing. It is clear that not all words can be written down equal in pace with those of the speaker. Some linguists argue that selectivity should be confined to prominent words, that is, those words which play key roles in sentence semantics. Thus, they argue that a consecutive interpreter should jot down only those words which can later be used in recalling sentences.

In reading a text usually we do not concentrate on the letters of a word. But mostly we just see the first and the last letter of those words. In taking notes for an interpretation also the first and the last letter of the words should be written down very carefully to make the recalling of that word easier. Key terms, main reasons, central ideas, repetitions, and even a louder tone of voice should be pointed in the interpreter's notes to be later mentioned in the same manner.

Students can also use their own abbreviations to be used in their notes. Here there are some of the signs and abbreviations students can use in their notes: b/c = because, b/4 = before, → = cause, leads to, ↑ = increase, ↓ = decrease, Cf. = compare, # = number.

Possessing comprehensive vocabulary plays a crucial role in interpretation. Different aspects of each word, different words for a possible situation, their implicit and explicit meaning and also the feeling each of them may convey are what an interpreter should know. Courses regarding this characteristic of an interpreter are those which are related to the reading skill. To have a powerful memory is completely important for an interpreter. But what is known is that strong memories do not retain individual words, nor individual meanings but "the entire body of thought".

Here are some tips to have a powerful memory:

Being able to focus and use their full attention is essential if students want to give themselves the best chance of remembering something.

Being interested in what students are trying to memorize is definitely an asset.

Using some creativity is important. Students should conjure up some vivid mind pictures linked to what it is students need to remember. This is a technique used by all the professionals who entertain us with their amazing memory feats.

Practice makes perfect in this as in other things. Students should set themselves memory challenges.

Whenever students are studying something really important that they want or need to remember, some Mozart can be played in the background. Studies have shown that the brain synchronizes itself to sound frequencies it's subjected to. If students need to concentrate, the frequencies found in the music of Mozart are among the best to harmonize the brain.

Additionally, exercises like retelling in the source language, categorization (grouping items of the same properties), generalization (drawing general conclusions), comparison, description, shadowing exercise (a paced, auditory tracking task which involves the immediate vocalization of auditory presented stimuli, i.e., word-for-word repetition in the same language, parrot-style, of a message presented through a headphone can help students to improve their power memory.

Finally, in memory training trying to remember some poems by heart can be an aid to students as they have rhyme and rhythm and because of that it can also be helpful in learning new vocabularies.

Students of translation and interpretation should strengthen their general knowledge of economics, history, the law, international politics, and scientific concepts and principles to become a good translator and interpreter. Reading other well-written material that will help broaden their general knowledge can help students to gain comprehensive general knowledge. To meet this goal, students can take college-level courses, and review high school texts, etc. It is also a good idea to strengthen their knowledge in a specialized field, preferably in a technical field, like computers, in which they are going to work in future.

Regardless of where, for whom and under what circumstances he is interpreting, the interpreter should get involved in his job with calmness, trying his best to present decent interpretations, for his job will be evaluated on the basis of how his performance is, rather than on the basis of how he sits, how he moves his hand and the extent to which he shows respect to the ones he is interpreting for. Students should be aware of this fact and they should be trained to be calm when they are in the position of an interpreter.

Since an interpreter is one who should be able to work around the world and in different countries, he or she should be acquainted with different accents of the SL and TL. An interpreter may face different situations, different people and of course different accents. Thus, he or she should work on different accents of both SL and TL to understand those accents and even in some situations in the case of need he or she should be able to talk on those accents to be understood.

Conclusion. Language interpreting or interpretation is the intellectual activity of facilitating oral and sign-language communication, either simultaneously or consecutively, between two or more users of different languages. On the whole, it can be concluded that working on both translation and interpretation in the MA program can not be successful, as there is not enough time to work on different aspects of them completely. Thus, there should be two different majors, one for translation and the other for interpretation to train professional translators and interpreters who are able to work effectively in the society.

References

Veverka, John A. 1994. Interpretive Master Planning. Falcon Press, Helena, MT.

Miremadi, S.A. (1991). Theories of Translation and Interpretation. Tehran: SAMT Publication.

Kaplan, R.B. (2002). The Oxford Handbook of Applied Linguistics. Oxford: OUP.

Wyrick, J. (2008). Steps to Writing Well. - vol. 1. Lyn Uhl Publication. Boston.

Lecture 6. Teaching Translation (part 2)