Translation Internship

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2015:

Time commitment totals 170 hours.

TRAN90007 Translating from English 2 and TRAN90009 Translating into English 2.

An application process applies, please contact the program coordinator for further details.

Students are required to apply for this subject during the semester prior to commencement of the internship. Normally by the end of the examination period in the prior semester.

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For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Student Support and Engagement Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Overview, Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Generic Skills sections of this entry.

It is University policy to take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student's participation in the University's programs. Students who feel their disability may impact on meeting the requirements of this subject are encouraged to discuss this matter with a Faculty Student Adviser and Student Equity and Disability Support: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/disability

Translation Internship is a 25-point subject where participants are placed in a professional translation environment. They will work on individual and team-based English-Chinese translation projects that require them to integrate their linguistic, technical and collaborative skills, and to experience the variety of roles in professional translation such as commissioner, editor and reviser. Translation Internship comprises two options (a) work experience in a government or commercial translation service; or (b) experience in a simulated translation service at the University of Melbourne.

For option (a), interns will work under the supervision and guidance of a mentor within these organisations or a professional English-Chinese translator working for them. Students will be provided with advice by the Subject Coordinator on potential organisations or translator mentors to contact, but will also be required to use their own networks; their choice will then need to be ratified by the Subject Coordinator.

For option (b), students will work with their classmates in a team organized by the Subject Coordinator for the purpose of simulated work experience. They carry out individual and team-based English-Chinese translation projects to experience the variety of roles in professional translation such as commissioner, editor and reviser and to acquire collaborative skills.

In both (a) and (b), students will keep an e-portfolio to record and reflect on their work as an intern, including their translation tasks, log of work they undertake, and reflective diary. Students will also observe the working environment of professional translators and develop practical work skills and understanding of ethical translation practice in context.

On completion of this subject students should:

• have a critical understanding of the cultural and intellectual foundations of the English- and Chinese-speaking worlds
• have a sound understanding of the range of technologies used in translation
• have native speaker competence in English or Chinese and at least near-native competence in the other language, professionally enhanced through practical experiences as translators
• be able to translate to publication quality across a broad range of genres
• be able to translate to publication quality in selected specialized genres, including managing terminology, and accessing research tools
• be able to use translation technologies to enhance productivity
• have high level of professionalism, including the ability to work in team-based and project-based work environments, and to adapt to new professional contexts
• have high level skills at negotiating the cultural and intellectual boundaries of the English- and Chinese-speaking worlds
• be capable of autonomously improving and adapting their professional skills
• be able to produce high quality translations that demonstrate the integration and application of theory and technical skills
• be able to bring together theory, technical skills and interpersonal competence, as well as professional practice, judgment and decision-making, by planning and executing an internship capstone experience

A diary of practical work experience, 2,000 words, 30% (due during the examination period), a professional e-portfolio including translation tasks, log of work undertaken, report and supervisor assessment, 8,000 words, 70% (due during the examination period) and a mid-semester submission of the diary, a hurdle requirement (due mid-semester).

Instructions will be provided on LMS.

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

On completion of this subjects, students will have developed the following generic stills:

• Bilingualism: Translation entails the highest possible degree of written competence in at least two languages, with an acute capacity for metalinguistic awareness, and a preparedness to continually improve.
• Intercultural understanding: Translation requires the practitioner to be deeply engaged with two cultures and to understand how to mediate between them on behalf of people who do not share both cultures.
• Decision making: Translators are creative decision makers who need to draw on multiple sources of data to form judgments that are seldom clear-cut, and who are prepared to defend their decisions and to revise them when necessary.