Preparation Courses for Dip Trans
Thread poster: Clare Rubin
Clare Rubin
Clare Rubin  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 15:17
Spanish to English
Oct 1, 2018

Have signed up to take the CIoL exams in January (Spanish to English) and am looking for recommendations for any preparation courses (or indeed any feedback from anyone who has taken this exam, such as strategies for preparing for the 50 or so possible topic areas).

Thanks in advance


 
Christophe Delaunay
Christophe Delaunay  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 16:17
Spanish to French
+ ...
Many resources on the web Oct 1, 2018

but you may want to start here:

https://translatorstudio.co.uk/translator-training-articles/

and of course have a look there as well:

https://www.ciol.org.uk/diptrans#quicktabs-diptrans=1

I'm not sure what you mea
... See more
but you may want to start here:

https://translatorstudio.co.uk/translator-training-articles/

and of course have a look there as well:

https://www.ciol.org.uk/diptrans#quicktabs-diptrans=1

I'm not sure what you means with "the 50 or so possible topic areas". As far as I know, there is one general translation, then a semi-specialised one amongst the following subject areas: Technology - Business - Literature.
And finally, a third and last one (also semi-specialised) in the areas of Science - Social Science and Law.

https://www.ciol.org.uk/sites/default/files/DipTrans-handbook-updatedAug18_0.pdf

[Edited at 2018-10-01 10:17 GMT]
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Gwenydd Jones
 
Clare Rubin
Clare Rubin  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 15:17
Spanish to English
TOPIC STARTER
Topic Areas Oct 1, 2018

Thanks for your reply.

Category Areas as listed in the CIoL Dip Trans handbook include 12 areas under Technology, for example (such as Agriculture, Engineering, Life Sciences...), 9 for Business, 3 for Literature, 13 for Science, 12 for Social Science and 9 for Law (with some categories being repeated).


 
Sheila Wilson
Sheila Wilson  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 15:17
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
I can recommend where I did my certificate Oct 1, 2018

I did a basic certificate as a newbie translator and I was really impressed by the course materials and the feedback I got from my tutor - both in terms of quality and quantity. The company also prepares candidates for the DipTrans, so check them out: www.wls.ie

Rachael Gillam
 
B D Finch
B D Finch  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 16:17
French to English
+ ...
Tight deadline! Oct 1, 2018

You really haven't allowed yourself much preparation time. I'd start by doing lots of reading of specialised texts in both Spanish and English in your subject areas and any parallel texts you can find, as well as practising on old exam papers. There's a link available here: https://www.ciol.org.uk/diptrans#quicktabs-diptrans=1

Three or four months to prepare for an exam
... See more
You really haven't allowed yourself much preparation time. I'd start by doing lots of reading of specialised texts in both Spanish and English in your subject areas and any parallel texts you can find, as well as practising on old exam papers. There's a link available here: https://www.ciol.org.uk/diptrans#quicktabs-diptrans=1

Three or four months to prepare for an exam with a pass rate of around 30% is ambitious and you really need to use several methods of preparation to work on both your comprehension of Spanish and your knowledge of specialised English terminology and phrasing in your chosen subject areas. However, you are already working as an interpreter/translator and that gives you a head start. Try to analyse your own weak areas and work on them, because whatever course you find you will still need to supplement it with independent preparation work.

I took these exams a very long time ago, in the days when you still had to bring a suitcase full of reference books into the exam room! I prepared by going to an evening class (City Lit) and the discussions in class were at least as useful as the input from the tutor.
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Josephine Cassar
Valérie Ourset
 
Clare Rubin
Clare Rubin  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 15:17
Spanish to English
TOPIC STARTER
Thanks Oct 1, 2018

B D Finch wrote:

You really haven't allowed yourself much preparation time. I'd start by doing lots of reading of specialised texts in both Spanish and English in your subject areas and any parallel texts you can find, as well as practising on old exam papers. There's a link available here: https://www.ciol.org.uk/diptrans#quicktabs-diptrans=1

Three or four months to prepare for an exam with a pass rate of around 30% is ambitious and you really need to use several methods of preparation to work on both your comprehension of Spanish and your knowledge of specialised English terminology and phrasing in your chosen subject areas. However, you are already working as an interpreter/translator and that gives you a head start. Try to analyse your own weak areas and work on them, because whatever course you find you will still need to supplement it with independent preparation work.

I took these exams a very long time ago, in the days when you still had to bring a suitcase full of reference books into the exam room! I prepared by going to an evening class (City Lit) and the discussions in class were at least as useful as the input from the tutor.


I totally agree. I would usually give myself at least a year to approach something such as this. However, I was guided to do this by my new mentor and the deadline had already passed and I was lucky.

I received Distinctions in the DPSI Spanish to English sections of the exam but despite this, I am very aware that focused preparation will be key. I plan to go to Cervantes Library in Manchester and create lots of glossaries from the materials there.

I think I am now erring towards the Linguist Training course (which received awards for the highest pass rate). I am a little annoyed that it includes the centre fee (which I paid to another centre last week and am now unsure if I can recoup it).

You are still permitted to bring reference books in so I will probably be taking a suitcase with me also!

Thanks very much for your input and suggestions.


 
David Hayes
David Hayes  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 16:17
French to English
My two cents' worth Oct 1, 2018

Unless you introduce a major decoding error into your translations or fail to complete them, you should pass the exams OK. No reason why you shouldn't and every reason why you should!
To get the higher marks (merit or distinction), however, it's worth remembering that you need to turn in polished English prose that reads well. I would therefore spend some time looking at quality papers and magazines in English to get a sense of how they express things. You should also study at least one of
... See more
Unless you introduce a major decoding error into your translations or fail to complete them, you should pass the exams OK. No reason why you shouldn't and every reason why you should!
To get the higher marks (merit or distinction), however, it's worth remembering that you need to turn in polished English prose that reads well. I would therefore spend some time looking at quality papers and magazines in English to get a sense of how they express things. You should also study at least one of the various English style guides readily available online.


[Edited at 2018-10-01 12:18 GMT]
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Chris Foster
 
Clare Rubin
Clare Rubin  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 15:17
Spanish to English
TOPIC STARTER
Style Guides Oct 1, 2018

David Hayes wrote:

Unless you introduce a major decoding error into your translations or fail to complete them, you should pass the exams OK. No reason why you shouldn't and every reason why you should!
To get the higher marks (merit or distinction), however, it's worth remembering that you need to turn in polished English prose that reads well. I would therefore spend some time looking at quality papers and magazines in English to get a sense of how they express things. You should also study at least one of the various English style guides readily available online.


[Edited at 2018-10-01 12:18 GMT]


Excellent resource. I am investigating. Thank you.


Chris Foster
 
Josephine Cassar
Josephine Cassar  Identity Verified
Malta
Local time: 16:17
Member (2012)
English to Maltese
+ ...
I recommend Oct 1, 2018

I did my translation course with Suzanne James Associates-Translator Training-and they do prepare for the DipTrans too. The texts were texts from previous sessions of the DipTrans so they were quite hard and you then get a good idea what the texts are like. You are allowed a one-to-one limited -I think it is some 3 sessions of 1/4 hour each, SKYPE or email sessions. I had tried the www.wis.ie but found there wer... See more
I did my translation course with Suzanne James Associates-Translator Training-and they do prepare for the DipTrans too. The texts were texts from previous sessions of the DipTrans so they were quite hard and you then get a good idea what the texts are like. You are allowed a one-to-one limited -I think it is some 3 sessions of 1/4 hour each, SKYPE or email sessions. I had tried the www.wis.ie but found there were far too many rules and regulations when contacting the tutor so I did not continue it and the material I had received was different from the one sent by Suzanne James-it was elementary-theory and exercises on the theory so as to see you understood it and then texts to translate but the texts were easier though by no means easy (don't misunderstand me, theory is important too but not being able to communicate freely - though within limits - with the tutor and mistakes in the source texts or not receiving the corrected tests and having to follow rules to ask for the markings of these texts, made me give up. The tutor I had with Suzanne James Associates was very supportive and I could easily email her any time I liked with any question I liked and she suggested having a look at various style guides too. Still, I learnt a lot from wis and the Suzanne James one. Wish I could follow something like B.D.Finch found.Collapse


 
Valérie Ourset
Valérie Ourset
Spain
Local time: 16:17
English to French
+ ...
If translating from Spanish... Oct 2, 2018

My comment may sound silly but do not overlook Latin America Spanish when you read and study for the exam and make sure your dictionaries cover these specifics too on exam day. Good luck!

Clare Rubin
 
Gwenydd Jones
Gwenydd Jones  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 16:17
Member (2009)
Spanish to English
+ ...
Advanced Spanish-to-English Translation Course with DipTrans Preparation Nov 6, 2019

Christophe Delaunay wrote:

but you may want to start here:

https://translatorstudio.co.uk/translator-training-articles/

and of course have a look there as well:

https://www.ciol.org.uk/diptrans#quicktabs-diptrans=1

I'm not sure what you means with "the 50 or so possible topic areas". As far as I know, there is one general translation, then a semi-specialised one amongst the following subject areas: Technology - Business - Literature.
And finally, a third and last one (also semi-specialised) in the areas of Science - Social Science and Law.

https://www.ciol.org.uk/sites/default/files/DipTrans-handbook-updatedAug18_0.pdf

[Edited at 2018-10-01 10:17 GMT]



Thank you very much Christophe for sharing our articles on the DipTrans over at The Translator's Studio.

I have come very late to this discussion, but besides our preparatory course, you can also find lots of free materials and guidance on our site that could help people trying to prepare last minute. This article is a good place to start because it will give you some suggestions for finding free practice texts: https://translatorstudio.co.uk/institute-linguists-diploma-translation-practice-texts/

[Edited at 2019-11-06 20:06 GMT]


 


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