Advanced Language Enhancement courses in English, French, Spanish, Japanese or Russian for Translation and Interpretation are conducted for students preparing to enter GSTI. This unique intensive program is designed to fill the gap between traditional language instruction for communicative purposes and language instruction specific to the needs of students of translation and interpretation, offering extensive practice in reading, writing, speaking and listening while refining both fluency and accuracy in the foreign language. All course work is conducted strictly in the B language at an advanced level, and is based upon authentic materials extracted from newspapers, journals, magazines and broadcast speeches. Topics are selected for their relevance to both the B language culture, and the translation and interpretation professions. These courses are intended to provide supplementary language instruction, and are not designed to bring linguistically deficient students up to GSTI acceptance levels.

Students must possess basic computer literacy and skills in two areas: operating environment and application procedures. MS Windows skills are required in most departments; some Macintosh applications are also in use.

Operating environment skills include: switching between operating modes, navigating storage devices, file and desktop management and launching applications.

Application procedure skills include operating a word processor program, creating and saving documents, retrieving and editing stored material and printing.

Addresses microeconomic and macroeconomic theory. Includes discussions of: supply and demand dynamics, elasticities, imperfect competition, taxes, national income accounting, inflation, unemployment, aggregate demand and supply, monetary policy and fiscal policy.

Provides an introduction to basic concepts and offers a general conceptual framework for the study of translation theory. Students acquire the tools to identify, analyze and resolve translation problems while developing a rational approach to translation. The lecture is largely non-technical, relying on the basic concepts of logic used as tools in discussing problems of translation.

Provides an introduction to the profession of interpretation while preparing students for practical work. Heightens awareness of issues relevant to the profession, including different professional environments, professional ethics, interpersonal relations, conference organization, diplomatic etiquette, parliamentary procedure, and professional pride and dignity. Helps students develop, establish, and enhance an identity as a professional interpreter and learn how to identify and pursue professional opprortunities. Initiates participants into the community of professional interpreters through interaction with members of the profession, professional organizations, and institutions in the language industry. Students are expected to prepare a professional portfolio.
Prerequisite: Intermediate Interpretation or the equivalent

Emphasizes practical knowledge necessary to succeed as freelance or in-house translators. Defines the role of the translator and the realities of working in the profession, including the job market, salary negotiation, and future trends. Students learn to write resumes, cover letters and to how find clients or employers. Marketing, advertising, and negotiating are covered in depth, as are legal and tax issues. Students learn more about translation technology, business software, on-line services and the Internet, as well as machine-assisted and machine translation software.

Provides an introduction to the profession of court interpreting for students of all languages. Students are given an overview of the US criminal justice system, English legal language, criminal and civil procedure, with English templates for developing terminology glossaries in their own languages. The court interpreter's code of ethics is presented, and students engage in role-playing activities to illustrate the basic tenets of the code. Working in language groups, students develop scripts for a mock trial presented at the conclusion of the course, illustrating the linguistic and cultural issues that arise in court cases involving their languages.

Translation Courses

Interpretation Courses