By Ticiane Martins
The Summer Translation Internship
The Summer Translation Internship at Modlingua began on June 7th 2017 and was completed on August 20th of the same year. The aim of the program was to provide training on practical aspects of the translator profession for freshers and undergraduates with considerable command over any of the following languages: English, Spanish, French, German, English, Italian, Russian, Polish, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Arabic, Persian, Dutch, Italian and English. Thus, different subjects such as project management, quality standards, entrepreneurship, how the freelancer can attract more clients, content writing, marketing, citizen journalism and social media marketing were discussed during the period of the internship. Throughout the course, Mr. Ravi Kumar (founder of The Modlingua and the supervisor in the internship) gave practical and theoretical guidelines to the participants through an online platform (GoToMeeting) and gave some tasks to be made through a platform on the agency website and through the group created on Facebook.
The first task was to make an individual professional profile to briefly describe our qualifications, education background, experiences and expectations with respect to the Program. This task enabled participants to get acquainted with the history of each one, enabling also the understanding of the career path of each member of the internship, which was very interesting because the participants were from different parts of the world. In addition, I could synthesize my professional profile in a clear, objective and attractive way. Subsequently, it was required to choose the main areas that we would like to increase our knowledge. I decided to know a little more about content writing and citizen journalism, project management and quality standards, entrepreneurship and business development. It must be emphasized that there were other options, such as: social media marketing, online marketing (that together with the options that I chose were among the six most voted), computer assisted tools, blogging, web development, youtubin and video casting. Thus, some issues were discussed in greater depth in accordance with the interest of each one and some practical actions were defined by group, however, all content was passed in the group on Facebook and in the channel of Modlingua on YouTube. The group of citizen journalism, of which I was a member, had the opportunity to learn about the role of the journalist citizen in the world today, understanding the importance of the common citizen for journalism in this globalized world and how to become a spokesman of one place, using the social networks to express oneself and seeking to perform this function with assertiveness, consistency, truth and persistence; keeping a good writing style.
In the five following tasks, we had the opportunity to write about: citizen journalism, the relationship between content writing, online marketing and translation, how to win new customers and keep them, what is the importance of quality standards and project management for language professionals. So, I developed the following texts, which are available on the agency's website: "Translation and Citizen Journalism Go Together", "Content writing, Online Marketing and Translation: Essential Elements of Effective Business", "Clients: The Constant Challenge for The Freelancer", "Quality Standards in the Translation Process" and "Learning About Project Management: An Overview of Its Importance". In every written text was possible to fix all the content presented and learn a little more while searching for new references on the subject. All content covered in the tasks was presented during the various meetings made online and available on the agency channel on YouTube. For example, we learned how to create a personal branding and how to attract new customers, through virtual seminar presented by prof. Ioanna Daskalopoulou, who gave some tips on how to enter the market as s "fresher", emphasizing the importance of training and the importance of social networking, and the need of developing marketing strategies. She also explained the differences between a freelance translator and a translator in-house. In addressing the issue "Quality Standards", Mr. Ravi Kumar contextualized the development of the quality thought implemented in the translation sector, presenting some methodologies used and the general aspects that are normally considered in a verification process of the translation quality. Some examples of quality methodologies cited were represented by the American Translation Service Standard (ASTM), the German standard DIN 2345, The European Quality Standard for Translation Services (EN 15038), the J2450 of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE J2450), the Chinese quality standard, the Canadian translation services standards, LISA best practice guide and ISO. We also learn how to apply the tools of "Project Management", understanding what are the biggest challenges of a project in the translation industry.
The image of the translator was also questioned with a humanist perspective about this professional, considering him as an individual and in this way, the translator builds the translated text from personal choices and individual references. The translator activity was addressed as fundamental to the economic development of a country. In order to help participants to establish themselves in the market with the help of the internet, we received some guidance on the best strategies that can be used for online marketing, knowing the differences between mass media and social media, the different types of online marketing (email marketing, blogging, pay per click, social media marketing, digital marketing, viral marketing) and also learning about the meaning of AIDA Model (Awareness, Interest, Desire, Action) and the importance of use it. The advances in information technology were also discussed, considering their influences on the translator's work, increasing their demand and enabling new ways of conducting their activity, through CAT tools, for example.
Other important contents were also passed through the group of Facebook, such as: the importance of languages in legal matters, the role of the translator in society and the importance of being an entrepreneur, the importance of cooperation in the translation industry in order to build a career, the certified translations, the role of translation in nation building, the power relations in society and the global system of translation, the entrepreneurial role for language professionals, the organization development for translators, among others. We also had the opportunity to know some organizations related to translation sector, such as: Indian Translators Association, International Federation of Translators, The Association of Asian Translation Industry, International Medical Interpreters Association.
What I think about the program
The teaching methodology (online meetings per week, theoretical and practical content raised on the group of Facebook, drafting of texts by the participants of the program - summarizing all the contents proposed and making a critical analysis of the theme suggested in each task-, provision of extra content on YouTube channel) was effective and met satisfactorily the expected goals of the program, in addition to maintaining the interest and involvement of all. As the participants are from different parts of the world, the active contact over the internet is the best way to make everyone interact and get to know each other. As a suggestion, it would be interesting to establish groups of five to ten people to carry out a project considering the cultural references of each one and making possible a greater interaction between the participants and so, perhaps, the project could have a continuation in the future. I believe that the Summer Translation Internship at Modlingua is an excellent opportunity to cultural exchange between participants who could, perhaps, create a blog during the course and practice all content provided on online marketing.
Before deciding to apply for the program, I realized that this would be a great learning opportunity. The Summer Translation Internship at Modlingua represents a possibility of acquiring knowledge in areas that are usually relegated in many courses dedicated to the training of translators, but that are essential for a professional language that want to act in an independent manner. Thus, subjects such as project management, entrepreneurship, online marketing, development of personal branding, business development, among others, are of utmost importance for the construction of a career and this perception was what motivated me to apply for the program, besides, of course, to consider the importance that the agency Modlingua has for the translation market. To begin the course, we had an inaugural meeting on internet and I was very pleased with the new path that was being revealed. Through the program, I improved my perception about the role of the translator in society, about the tools that the professional language can use to initiate, promote and consolidate his career. In addition to understanding how the translation falls within the Indian context, knowing a little more about this market. I also learned about the importance of promoting my work and how this can be done over the Internet, thus, I started thinking about how to do this using the blog that I created and the resources made available by social media.
In this way, I think the Summer Translation Internship at Modlingua is a great program for language professionals who want to expand their knowledge and their perception about the significance of their work, understanding their role and the best way to position themselves in an increasingly competitive global market. I have learned in the program that you need to think like a boss, in other words, it is necessary to have a holistic view of the entire process of translation, in dialog with the new forms of communication represented by the internet. It is also important to anticipate the problems, to propose solutions, to attract new customers, to accept new challenges, to promote the strengths and make an effort to resolve the weaknesses, to have goals and to ensure the quality of the work done. I want to continue following the group created on Facebook and videos published on the YouTube channel. I also hope to build my career in translation incorporating all the learning acquired during the almost three months as a member of the program.
