全球顶级高翻学院蒙特雷 给申请者的10个建议
10 Ways to Prepare How to Prepare forLife as a Translation, Interpretation, and Localization Management Student
1. Read extensively, especially in yournon-native language(s). · Readhigh quality newspapers (e.g. the New York Times, Wall Street Journal) EVERYDAY for at least a year. · Readhigh quality news magazines (e.g. the Economist), cover to cover. · Readyour favorite topics in your non-native language(s). · Readother well-written material that will help broaden your general knowledge. 2. Watch the TV news and listen to radionews and podcasts on current events in all working languages. · Don'tjust listen to news stories; analyze them. · Keepabreast of current events and issues. · Recordnews programs and interviews so you can listen to them later. 3. Strengthen your general knowledge ofeconomics, history,the law, international politics, and scientific concepts andprinciples (in that order). · Takecollege-level courses, review high school texts, etc. · Strengthenyour knowledge in a specialized field (preferably in a technical field, such ascomputers). 4. Live in a country where yournon-native language is spoken. · A stayof at least six months to a year is recommended. · Livewith and/or frequently interact with native speakers of your non-nativelanguage. · Takecontent-related courses (e.g. macroeconomics, political science) in yournon-native language (not just pure language courses). · Workin a setting that requires high level use of your non-native language. 5. Fine-tune your writing and researchskills. · Takechallenging composition courses (not just creative writing courses, but classesin journalism, technical writing, etc.) so you can “speak” journalese, UNese,legalese, etc. · Copy(by hand) sections of textbooks and periodicals in your non-native language(s). · Make anote of unfamiliar or troublesome grammatical points and work towards masteringthem. · Practiceproofreading. 6. Improve your public speaking skills. · Takerigorous speech courses and/or join Toastmasters (www.toastmasters.org). · Practicewriting and making presentations in front of other people in both your nativeand foreign language(s). (Have native speakers of your non-native language edityour speeches.) 7. Hone your analytical skills. · Practicelistening to speeches and orally summarizing the main points. · Practicewriting summaries of news articles. · Practicedeciphering difficult texts (e.g. philosophy, law, etc.). · Practiceexplaining complicated concepts understandably. · Identifyresources for background research (e.g. library, Internet, etc.). 8. Become computer savvy. · Familiarizeyourself with navigation and file management under current Windows operatingsystems (most of the software tools used in the localization industry today arenot compatible with the Apple operating system). · Developan understanding of the features Windows offers for multilingual processing,such as language-specific keyboard layouts, regional settings for units ofmeasurement. · Learnto use advanced functions of Word, Excel, and other Microsoft Officeapplications in both your native and non-native languages. · Becomean expert in search engines and online research by using these tools on a dailybasis. 9. Learn how to take care of yourself. Eatsensibly, exercise regularly, and get sufficient sleep. These are all habitsrequired of a good translator/interpreter. 10. Be prepared for lifelong learning. Bepatient. Bringing your language skills and analytical skills up to the levelrequired of a professional translator or interpreter is not a task that can beaccomplished in a few short years. Only with a lot of sustained hard work cananyone truly succeed in these challenging and exciting fields. |