By Ailén Rodríguez
About Modlingua
Modlingua Learning Pvt. Ltd. is ISO 9001:2008 Certified translation and Interpretation Company based in New Delhi, India. “Modlingua Learning Pvt. Ltd.” (Modlingua®) aims at becoming your preferred language partner by delivering high-quality language solutions within the stipulated time and at competitive prices. They are a team of professionals comprising highly qualified scholars, professors, lawyers, engineers, managers, and technocrats. Their team members are either native speakers or have taken formal language training in the native countries. Their translators are sufficiently experienced in specific domains and the freelance ones are in tune with their translation-localization methodology and quality control process that is based on a demonstrated system of best practices. Translation quality, global project management, task automation, process consistency, flexibility and customer service are their focus of attention.
With a view to remaining abreast with the rapidly changing technology scenarios, Modlingua team has adapted itself by constantly upgrading its domain expertise in the translation industry and adapting to meet ever-changing technology needs including Localization and CAT tools as per the needs of clients, for example, their platform (project management system “HRLingua”) helps them in having an easy access to the global community of language professionals and translators who constantly maintain contact with the Modlingua team.
Modlingua enjoys an international reputation of being a socially responsible company involved in promotion and development of translation profession within India and across the globe.
About the internship
The internship at Modlingua is an online series of classes and assignments that last approximately three months, beginning on June 7th, 2017 and ending August 20th, 2017. During the internship, we had weekly meetings through an online platform (GoToMeeting) in which our supervisor, Mr. Ravi Kumar, explain and develop different subjects and then we were given some assignment to do related to the previous class. We had deadlines to meet in order to succeed in our objective, to complete the course successfully.
Assignments- learning objectives
All the assignments were preceded by an online class with a specific topic to develop. The instructions for each were clear and they all include certain rules to follow apart from the question to be answered. These rules include: typography Tahoma format Size: 12, not to insert pictures except in the first one, at the Top of the article Write your Name and the bottom of your article please insert your user profile link created at www.modlingua.com, and do not send it through email to us because it will be rejected, we only need you to work online at modlingua.com site only.
In our first assignment, we were due to create our individual personal profiles with some specifications to be followed. It had to be between 200 and 250 words long and it should have include our names, a picture of ourselves, our qualification and language skills, our professional training and expertise, and our hobbies, among others. Also, we had to choose four areas in which we wanted to work and develop our skills.
Our second assignment was related to networking in the translation industry - this theme was previously explained in an online class. We had to choose between four options- pictures with and specific questioning. In this opportunity I chose the second option which included a picture of an ant’s colony and I had to explain in between 400 and 600 words, why I thought that translators should learn the basis of networking and team work from ants. The subjects of the online meeting include: online marketing, its definition and different methods and channels (email marketing, blogging, pay per click marketing, social media marketing, digital marketing, viral marketing); how to apply the AIDA model (awareness, interest, desire, and action) to online marketing; marketing strategies (pull and push marketing); advantages and disadvantages of online marketing.
Then we had another online meeting about translators as entrepreneur; IT and translators; translation market; new trends and new paradigms; how to set up a translation business; Google Search Engine, relationship between Content writing, Online Marketing and translation, Globalization, Localization, Internationalization, and Translation of Content, among many other themes. Our third assignment consisted of answering the questions of the option chosen up to 4. In this occasion I chose the third option, in which I had to differentiate between Globalization, Localization, Internationalization and Translation of content. Then I had to answer four questions related to these topics.
Before our assignment four, we had a lecture with Prof. Ioanna Daskalopoulou, Greece, about entrepreneurship and personal branding for translators. Others themes related were building and maintaining professional identity, freelance translators (pros and cons) and its differences with in-house translators, the importance of communication and attitude, prospecting clients, ways to maintain clients and why it was important to follow-up clients. For this assignment we had to take into account the certain segments of the lecture and write an explanation of the option chosen, up to 4. In this opportunity I chose the third option in which I had to throw light on alternate option for language professionals and say if I felt entrepreneurship was a way forward, in about 800 to 1000 words.
For our fifth assignment, we had to choose one up to four options including themes related to the previous meeting. The subjects of the online meeting include: Quality Standards in translation (initiatives), basic concepts of standardization and standards, Quality control and its linguistic and non-linguistic aspects and the quality standards function in this balance, Translation Process across the globe, and finally we learned 7 quality standards we should know (US translation standard, Lisa standards, latest one ISO 17100:2015, DIN 2345-1998-Germany, and mission impossible, among others)
In the sixth assignment, we had to watch some videos related to the previous meeting and we had to write our answer within 800 and 1000 words. The online meeting was about Project Management (definition and characteristics), the definition of management, current challenges in translation business, project management (PM) process (planning, scheduling, controlling, closing), project integration management, PM knowledge areas for translation (integration, scape, time, cost, quality, human resource, communication, risk, procurement, document, change), feedback mechanism, translation quantity management, and translation quality management.
For the development of every assignment we had to watch the YouTube videos released by Mr. Kumar at the Modlingua channel and external sources for further research. Previously we had to become members of this channel. We also had some little assignments in the Facebook group. All of the assignments were released at the Modlingua website. Furthermore, within the assignments we were made to share the Modlingua channel’s videos and some of our partners’ assignments.
Personal evaluation- things that I learned
The Modlingua internship was a very enriching experience, because I learn how to make the most of being a translator. I learned some technical terms related to marketing and business as well as how to put this information in practice, how to obtain more clients, how to promote my own work, and expand my boundaries.
Also, I received training regarding listening and speaking in English with people of other countries by interacting with Mr. Kumar and the other participants. Not only that but also my writing skills was improve by each of the writing assignments we had to do.
As I am currently studying at University, I can say that we never had some real experience like this in which you have deadlines to meet, and real meetings to attend. Although, at University, teachers teach us the basis of translation and how to do our work, we don’t have the necessary tools to start our translation’s business.
The teaching methodology was excellent because Ravi Kumar showed us dipositive pictures and charts with different subjects while he was explaining and giving examples. After each lesson, he asked if we had any questions related to the topic and he explained it again if it was necessary. Besides, the assignments about each lessons make us practice and show what we had learnt. Although, I sometimes failed to meet deadlines, he was fully comprehensive and patient.
Regarding my expectations about the internship, I was really out of focus, I thought it was about learning how to translate marketing and business text from English to Spanish, but then I realized that there were participants from many parts of the world who don’t speak Spanish, or at least not all of them. Also, Ravi Kumar explained in the first online class the internship’s purpose. Once I knew it I decided to be part anyway and it was one of my best decisions. I learn much more than I thought I would.
To conclude, I am really grateful to Ravi Kumar and Modlingua team who allow me to be part of this internship. Also to Prof. Ioanna who give us an extraordinary lecture with detail and exemplified information. It was an exceptional and enriched experience and now I may improve as professional translator thanks to all I have learned in this course. It is an excellent internship for those who want to succeed in their translator’s career and not to be miss. I would like to be part of Modlingua’s team of professionals because it is a serious and well-known company.
