Translator Trainer Profile EMT
Translator Trainer Profile EMT
Translator Trainer Profile EMT
Introduction
This document, produced under the auspices of the European Masters in Translation (EMT),
outlines the competences that translator trainer staff should possess or acquire throughout
their professional career.
The EMT Network is concerned with the training of highly qualified translators. In
2009, the EMT Expert Group published a list of competences for professional translators,
experts in multilingual and multimedia communication.1 These competences provide a
framework for the description and development of Masters level translation2 programmes.
They relate to competences that are to be acquired by trainee translators. There are two main
sets of participants in the teaching and learning process however: students or trainees, and
teachers or trainers. It is now time to consider training teachers/trainers.3
Very few publications deal with the different areas of competence required in order to
be a qualified translator teacher/trainer. We can mention, for example, work by Sonia Colina
(2003), Dorothy Kelly (2005, 2008), Daniel Gouadec (2002, 2007), and the project paper by
the Consortium for Training Translation Teachers (CTTT). Also of note are the needs analysis
carried out in 2009 by Gouadec, and the curriculum of the Postgraduate Diploma in
Translation and Interpreting Pedagogy (Macquarie University).
What is clear, however, is that training courses for teachers/trainers vary depending on
the needs and profiles of particular target groups, for example: language teachers, professional
translators, Translation Studies academics, full-time university lecturers, or subject-field
experts (lawyers, engineers, etc.). This means that careful attention must be paid to
institutional and local contexts.
In compliance with local legislation, translator trainers/teachers are expected to
possess an academic qualification (e.g. formal requirements depending on national
regulations), set at a minimum level of bachelors degree, and relevant professional practice
(e.g. work experience in translation or specialist domain of teaching, e.g. terminologist,
monolingual reviewer). Depending on national regulations, teacher training, either as a formal
qualification or additional, bespoke, or specialised teacher training relevant to the course(s)
taught is highly desirable. Knowledge of Translation Studies scholarship, such as textbooks,
research papers, and teaching materials in the field pertinent for any course taught, is equally
highly desirable. Any member of staff involved with training translators should have all
competences listed in the EMT reference document4. Where appropriate in terms of teaching
1
The document of the EMT Expert Group (2009) can be found at http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/translation/
programmes/emt/key_documents/emt_competences_translators_en.pdf.
2
The definition of translation used here refers to the multiple facets and areas of operation in which translators
currently tend to operate and encompasses, without intending to be comprehensive, terminology, localization,
multilingual technical writing, and so on.
3
The use of the two terms teachers and trainers here does not imply a particular didactic approach; rather it
represents an attempt to overcome the traditional view which sees education and training as polar opposites,
a view perceived today as promoting an unhelpful dualism. We recognize the value of training as a subcomponent of a wider conception of education.
4
See Note 1 above.
roles and allowed by the local legislation, affiliation to professional associations would also
be desirable.
The following pages set out a general reference framework for competences applied to
a translator teacher/trainer staff. A translator teacher/trainer staff is to be encouraged and
should aim to acquire the competences proposed in each of the five areas (as well as meeting
the fundamental requirements specified above academic qualification and relevant
professional practice). Their universities or teaching contexts should support individuals in
acquiring these competences. This proposal, however, does not prescribe how, when or where
this should be done, because training is a continuous process (you are not at once and forever
a teacher, a translator, a Translation Studies (TS) scholar and a course designer).
2
Competences
The competences listed below are not presented in order of importance. They have each
been classified into one domain for the sake of clarity, although some competences may
be argued to belong to more than one domain. In addition, the question of their
certification remains open. One of the major objectives of the EMT Network is to promote
and ultimately to implement this set of competences.
1.
Field Competence
Ability to perform any task assigned to the students according to the quality standards
required in professional practice, in particular, language proficiency and intercultural
competences.
Knowledge of the professional field including:
o Translation-related professions;
o Constraints of translation projects (e.g. time/budget/qualities);
o Domains of specialization in translation-related professions;
o Market requirements;
Interpersonal Competence
Organizational Competence
Instructional Competence
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 students 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, reassessing 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.
EMT Expert Group (2009) Competences for professional translators, experts in multilingual
and multimedia communication, Available from: http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/
translation/programmes/emt/key_documents/emt_competences_translators_en.pdf.
Gouadec, Daniel (1994) qualitrad.net - Projet PERFEQT.
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.
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