Training Tools for Translators and Interpreters

The present paper purports to assess the traditional methodologies of training and proposes an eclectic multicomponential approach that involves a set of interdisciplinary skills with the ultimate objective of meeting market demand. The emphasis has shifted in some university programmes in favour of introducing courses on translation for specific purposes (TSP) with the aim of providing first hand vocational training whereby trainees are prepared for the translation market without further ado. TAP (think-aloud protocol) along with self-monitoring and self-evaluation mechanisms go in parallel with the teachers monitoring process in order to build up confidence. Likewise, group projects help trainee translators to have fair knowledge of the tactics of teamwork cooperation and labour division. Simulated Conference Interpreting, on the other hand, prepares trainees to research terminology and background information, consult experts and refer to documentation from previous conferences with an emphasis on memory, attention, and automaticity. Peer review and revision enables not only the teacher to give positive feedback in the classroom but also the students to find out why the interpretation went wrong by evaluating their colleagues or themselves outside the classroom, thereby identifying their weaknesses on their own or through the help of their study partners. Finally, it is important to enhance TT (target text) delivery skills as the key to successful interpretation in the interpretation market. Once an interpreter begins to interpret source languages into the TL, the interpreter becomes the speaker for the target audience. Therefore, the ability of the interpreter to render a speech in the TL is as important as the ability to understand the speaker s message