module specification

This module offers an introduction to real-life translation situations in the setting of a Translation Service Provider (TSP). To complement the students’ placement experience, employment-related workshops run by translation practitioners will be delivered to develop further knowledge of the characteristics of the translator’s professional environment.

TR5050  Managing Translation

By providing professional experience, this module aims for students to:

1. acquire hands-on experience of the real-life translation environment by observing and participating in translation projects and activities, through the use of  tools and resources available.
2. investigate how professional associations and regulatory bodies support working translators.
3. research the client-translator relationship with its contractual and conventional duties and responsibilities.
4. apply transferable skills in the work environment, working under pressure to deadlines independently and as part of a team.

Students are introduced to the organisation of the work placement through a first workshop during the semester prior to their placement and are expected to find their own Translation Service Provider,  with the support and guidance of the placement co-ordinator.
They will be expected to carry out a minimum of two months work for in-house placement or a minimum of 180 hours for freelance placement, which can be flexibly arranged in consultation with the employer, and a further estimated 108  hours working on their intermediate report (formative), log book and final report.
A second workshop will invite students to discuss  their own placement experience and the presentation of skills in the report.
Four other workshops will invite speakers from professional associations, TSPs and alumni. Students will be asked to reflect on these talks.

Students will critically observe the working environment, its structures, major activities and responsibilities and will participate in tasks allocated to them by the agency. Typically, they may be involved in proof-reading, researching, producing first drafts of translations, but they will also  participate in the clerical and administrative activities necessary in a translation environment.
They will reflect on their experience  by writing a Statement of Learning Outcomes at the start of the placement, keeping a log throughout, writing an Intermediate report after 40 hours of work in which they will present the firm, their role and duties and their learning objectives and producing a portfolio within three weeks of the end of the placement.
All the materials for preparation to the placement, administrative forms, Health and Safety Information and assessment will be available on WebLearn.

On successful completion of this module, students will be able to:

1. describe how they have acquired knowledge of the requirements of the professional translation environment, as well as of the structures, major activities, responsibilities and resources used in the organisation in which they were placed.
2. demonstrate that they can extract and synthesise key information about the role of associations and regulatory bodies.
3. identify the main characteristics of the client-translator relationship and their contractual duties and responsibilities.
4. reflect critically on their place and performance in this organisation  and illustrate that they have operated effectively, both independently and with others.

The assessment is made of 2 formative and 2 summative tasks.

Students will produce an intermediate report (formative assessment), which has to be e-mailed to the module convenor after they have completed 40 hours work, in which they describe the company, report on their activities and state their learning objectives (they must include their first learning log and the statement of learning outcomes).

In their final placement report (summative), students will evaluate the work they carried out for the TSP and analyse how the tasks they performed helped them develop professional and soft skills and were relevant in the context of professional translation activities. They will also write a statement of priorities for Continuing Professional Development.  This report is submitted within three weeks of the end of their placement.
As part of the formative assessment, students will keep a diary summarising the content of each talk by the professionals which will be appended to the final CWK.
For the summative components, they will write a reflective analysis of 2500 words based on their summaries of the talks and their own research on the role of associations and regulatory bodies, the characteristics of the client-translator relationship and their contractual duties and responsibilities, and the range of tools and resources available for a chosen field of specialisation.
 

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Evans, D., How to Write a Better Thesis (Melbourne: Melbourne UP, 2002)

Hackett, S., Connell, T. Starting up as a Translator (London: A City University Monograph, Centre for Language Studies, 2006)

Picken, C., The Translator’s Handbook (London: Aslib, 1989)
Pears, Richard and Shields, Graham, Cite Them Right: The Essential Guide to Referencing and Plagiarism (Newcastle Upon Tyne: Pear Tree Books, 2005)

Samuelson-Brown, G., A Practical Guide for Translators (Clevedon: Multilingual Matters, 2004

Sofer, M., The Translator’s Handbook (Rockville, Md: Schreiber Publishing Inc, 2006)

Winship, I & McNab, A., The Student’s Guide to the Internet 2000-2001 (London: Library     Association, 2000)