Bridging the gap between the sworn translation classroom and freelance professional practice

A situated project-based approach

By Gemma Andújar Moreno (Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Spain)

Abstract

This paper presents a sworn translation project designed to enhance the development of professional skills associated with a prototypical freelance sworn translation job. However, unlike traditional translation classroom activities, which tend to centre around the translation itself, the focus here is on the ancillary but essential administrative tasks related to professional translation such as analysing a job’s viability, setting fees at market rates, drawing up quotations and invoices and, above all, communicating effectively with clients. Designed from a situated learning perspective, the project takes the form of a teaching-learning sequence in which pairs of students adopt the roles of client and translator and then exchange written communications in the form of queries, quotations and invoices connected to the sworn translation of an academic administrative document. To guide the students in their acquisition of the professional skills they need for these tasks, a broad vision of assessment is applied, which goes beyond its mere certifying function and promotes its formative component through self-assessment, peer-assessment, and teacher-assessment. Integrating labour market-oriented projects focused on skills relating to the implementation of translation in a professional context in the specialized translation classroom, as we have done here, is a valuable tool to facilitate the student’s transition from the translation classroom community to the professional community of translators.

Keywords: translation pedagogy, project-based learning, situated learning, sworn translation

©inTRAlinea & Gemma Andújar Moreno (2021).
"Bridging the gap between the sworn translation classroom and freelance professional practice A situated project-based approach", inTRAlinea Vol. 23.

This article can be freely reproduced under Creative Commons License.
Stable URL: https://www.intralinea.org/archive/article/2548

1. Introduction

‘Sworn translation and interpreting’ is the term used in Spain[1] to refer to official certified translation, written or oral, of documents of any genre and subject, carried out by professionals duly certified by the Spanish Government’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation (MAEUEC). Sworn translation has traditionally been regarded, at least in Spain, as a field of specialised translation characterised by a lack of systematisation, in terms of both methodology and the translation techniques applied. This situation has been favoured over time by the fact that the pertinent regulatory authority, the MAEUEC, has not published specific guidelines regarding the process or product of sworn translation, beyond some general considerations on the requirements that confer legal validity to a translated document. The opacity of the professional practices of sworn translators and the relative isolation of these professionals (Monzó 2002 and 2003; Way 2005a and 2005b) are other factors to be considered. However, sworn translation constitutes an attractive career option for undergraduate Translation and Interpreting students in Spain and enjoys greater social recognition than other translation modalities, since sworn translators act as public officers authorised to attest official documents (Mayoral 2003; Vigier 2010). Moreover, it is a profession with a long history and tradition (Peñarroja 2004) which is still fully valid today due to its ongoing importance in everyday life, as natural and legal persons often need to translate documents written in Spanish for them to have legal effects in other countries or foreign documents that must be recognized as legally valid in Spain.

This fully justifies the integration of sworn translation into Translation and Interpreting undergraduate university programmes, either as part of general legal translation subjects or in specific subjects devoted to the development of sworn translators’ professional skills. The aim of this paper is to show a possible way of integrating sworn translation into the legal translation classroom from a situated learning approach based on the simulation of professional roles (Kiraly 2000, 2005; Risku, 2002, 2016). It is thus a training proposal in accordance with Project-Based Learning methodology (Blumenfeld et al. 1991; González-Davies 2004; Markham 2003; Kiraly 2012; Li, Zhang and He 2015), which focuses on the administrative tasks associated with a prototypical sworn translation job.

2. Sworn translators in the Spanish professional translation market

Access to the sworn translation profession is regulated by specific Spanish legislation: Royal Decree 724/2020 (Real Decreto 724/2020) sets out the profession’s legal framework, whereas Ministerial Order AEC/2125/2014 (Orden AEC/2125/2014) regulates the structure of the certification examination that translators must pass to access the profession.[2] Nevertheless, sworn translators usually work on a freelance basis, without formal employment links with the MAEUEC. This institution delegates to them the production and certification of translations into Spanish of documents in other languages that both natural and legal persons need to submit to the relevant administrations to assert their legal or administrative effects. Sworn translations are used either to prove the facts alleged in a legal or administrative process, for the recognition of legal or administrative situations originating in the country of the foreign language, to apply for equivalence or validation of merits acquired abroad or for any other circumstance (Mayoral 2000).

The provisions of Royal Decree 724/2020 are focused on the form of the sworn translator’s seal and the data that must be included in it, as well as the certification formula attesting to the accuracy and fidelity of the translation. This legal text also requires the sworn translator to affix his or her seal to all pages of the translation and sign the last one. However, it does not set out rules regarding the translation’s format and layout nor does it offer any methodological guidelines to help professionals, especially those who are taking their first steps in this field. So it does little to codify the criteria applied in sworn translations, with the result that they are sometimes inconsistent from one document to the next.

Translation and Interpreting graduates who pass the certification examination and begin working as sworn translators access a restricted market delimited by official recognition from the competent authority (Gouadec 2007: 137-138). As they are ultimately liable for the validity of the sworn translation that bears their signature and seal, they will deal with sworn translation jobs on an individual basis. Thus, as freelance professionals, they can receive jobs directly from private clients, translation agencies, companies or institutions. That said, the professional profile required to meet the needs of today’s market is far from the traditional image of the translator as a lone wolf, since today’s translation market “can be described as global, decentralised, specialised, dynamic, virtual and demanding” (Olvera-Lobo and Gutiérrez-Artacho 2017: 200, our translation).

In such a context, while the sworn translator must possess excellent translating skills, he or she must also be able to carry out multiple ancillary tasks such as analysing the translation job’s viability within the set deadline, setting fees at market rates, drawing up a preliminary quotation, invoicing for the work carried out, knowing how to handle the tools needed to carry out these processes and, especially, being able to manage the client’s expectations regarding sworn translation and communicate with the client in professional terms. Skill at these tasks can make all the difference in a demanding business context (Andújar and Cunillera 2017: 188-193). This suggests that any programme of training in Translation and Interpreting should provide opportunities for student exposure to and mastery of these skills in the classroom before they enter the working world.

3. General teaching approach

Project-Based Learning (PBL), conceived as a comprehensive perspective focused on teaching by engaging students in investigation (Blumenfeld et al. 1991: 371),[3] is no longer an innovative methodology in the field of translation pedagogy, but has established itself as one of the privileged methodological options within the framework of situated learning (Risku 2002; González-Davies and Enríquez-Raído 2016) to cover the need to integrate professional education in the educational setting (González Davies 2004).[4]

According to PBL methodology, students carry out a project in a logical sequence of tasks which are either stipulated by the teacher or designed jointly by teacher and students. The project must fulfil two basic requirements: there must be a complex question or problem that drives and organizes the activities carried out in the different tasks of the project and the completion of the different activities must culminate in a final product that addresses the driving question or problem (Blumenfeld et al. 1991: 371). The principles underlying this approach privilege the co-construction of knowledge from authentic experiences in a dynamic context of action (Risku 2016: 15).

In translation pedagogy, as Li, Zhang and He (2015: 5-6) point out, there are at least two types of projects, differing somewhat in their orientation, that lend themselves to this sort of methodology. In translation-oriented projects, on the one hand, students work collaboratively on real or simulated translation jobs. During this process, they activate and develop their translation competence while becoming familiar with the work rhythms and dynamics of the real professional world (see examples in González-Davies 2004, Kiraly 2005 or Rey and Cunillera 2013, among others). In research-oriented projects, on the other hand, the aim is not so much to directly develop the students’ translation competence, but rather to enable them to investigate translation-related issues and thus to gain in-depth knowledge of translation in a broader sense. In such projects, students develop metacognitive translation skills that indirectly contribute to improving their translation competence (see examples in Li, Zhang and He 2015 or Risku 2016, among others).

Although the project we present falls into the translation-oriented category, as it involves a sworn translation job, the pedagogical focus lies not so much on the final product of the translation process (the sworn translation itself), but on the complementary skills and routines that revolve around that textual product, as we have noted above. All these professional skills could be included in the broader category of translator competence as defined by Kiraly (2000: 13). This author was the first to distinguish between translation competence and translator competence, a general dichotomy later adopted by other researchers within the framework of socio-constructivist pedagogical approaches (Biel 2011; González-Davies and Enríquez-Raído 2016; Risku 2002, 2016).

The aim of this paper is not to delimit the concept of translation competence, as it has already been analysed by different authors in Translation Studies (e.g. EMT Expert's group 2017, Hurtado 2017, Kelly 2005, Pacte 2001, Prieto 2011, Pym 2003, among many others). In general, translation competence, whether defined in terms of a multi-component model (as in Pacte 2001, Hurtado 2017 or Prieto 2011) or according to simpler parameters (as in Pym 2003), refers to a translator’s “ability to translate to the required quality standard”, whereas translator competence “covers the skills required to function as a professional in the market” (Biel 2011: 164). This translator competence as defined by Kiraly (2000) is therefore directly related to the professional sub-competence of the multi-competence models, as it encompasses all the skills necessary for professional management, such as interaction with clients and other professionals, knowledge of the legal framework for professional practice and fiscal obligations or knowledge of translation market conditions (Kelly, 2002: 15; Prieto, 2011: 12). Following these authors, we will retain in this paper the distinction between translation competence and translator competence for the sake of simplicity.

One fruitful way to enhance such translator competence is to simulate professional practices in teaching environments. The premise is that training must be labour-market-oriented and prepare students for real-life working conditions. According to this approach, the learning outcomes which are expected once the project we present here is finished should be not only relevant to the sworn translation market needs but also transversal, because they can be applied to other translation modalities in which the translator will work as a freelancer. In this way, the final aim of this project is to bridge the gap between legal translation classroom tasks and real-life practice, because “the essential lies not only in teaching students a subject but also in gradually integrating them into a professional community of translators” (Gonzalez Davies 2003: 10, our translation). In the next sections, we will describe the different tasks of the project we have designed with this aim.

4. Project design

4.1. Target student profile

Our sworn translation project involves direct English-Spanish translation and was initially designed for students in the final year of the Degree in Translation and Interpreting taught at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona, Spain.[5] Specifically, the project was intended to form part of “Legal and Economic Translation 2” (5 ECTS), an optional subject in a formative itinerary devoted to legal and economic translation. This formative itinerary is made up by two general and language-neutral subjects (“Translation of Specialized Legal and Economic Texts” and “Legal and Economic Texts and their Terminology”), as well as two electives dealing with legal translation from English to Spanish (“Legal and Economic Translation 1” and “Legal and Economic Translation 2”) and from French or German to Spanish (“Legal and Economic Translation 3”). At this stage of their training, students have already consolidated their general translation competence in two additional languages, as they are in the degree’s final year, and are also familiar with general aspects of the profession.

4.2. Material selection and participant roles

According to the situated learning orientation, the working materials in the PBL methodology must be authentic and prototypical: they must be representative of real professional practice and thus likely to be commissioned for an actual sworn translation, in line with current market demands (Biel 2011: 167; Kiraly 2005: 1102; Risku 2016: 16). These two characteristics, authenticity and prototypicality, favour the student’s socialization as translators belonging to a community of practice and set out a favourable context for them to learn to activate heuristically, by analogy, translating strategies acquired as students that they will need to solve translation problems in future jobs (Kiraly 2012: 87).

For this translation project, we chose academic administrative documents. Translations of this sort of document—such as academic transcripts or certificates—are often required in the real world due to the growing number of international students who wish to continue their academic training in Spain, with the result that authentic examples are readily available. Moreover, the students participating in this project are likely to be familiar with them from their own academic background.

Unlike translation projects designed for the teaching-learning of the different roles typically assumed in a translation agency, which are more focused on collaborative group work (see, for example, Olvera-Lobo et al. 2007; Rey and Cunillera 2013; Olvera-Lobo and Gutiérrez-Artacho 2017), the project we propose involves a high degree of individual work on the part of the student, in accordance with the working method of sworn translators. By being individually liable, with their signature and seal, for the accuracy and official validity of the sworn translation, the work which sworn translators carry out as professionals will be mainly individual. Thus, as Salmi and Kinnunen (2015) point out:

Students must demonstrate that they are able to take the responsibility alone and prove that they are accountable for their own work, since they will be liable for their translations if they later receive the authorisation. Seen from the legal perspective, authorised translators are responsible for their work as individuals (Salmi and Kinnunen 2015: 237).

This implies that although in sworn translation projects real praxis (as argued, for example, by Kiraly 2005: 1103) is not possible, a simulated teaching environment can be generated where the student can internalize the sorts of work routines and translator-client interactions that actually take place in the sworn translation profession. Thus, role-playing in our project is done in pairs, with one student taking on the role of a sworn translator and other acting as a client.

In the project’s different tasks, the central axis is the student’s activity and the development of his or her autonomy as a learner, conceived as “the ability to take on the management of his own learning” (Holec 1979: 31-32). This implies that students must take responsibility for their own learning by making decisions about the multiple aspects involved in the project: selecting materials, determining their sequence of goals, monitoring their progress through the process and evaluating the results.

4.3. Training sequence

Before the sworn translation project is initiated in the classroom, students must have acquired general knowledge of sworn translation in Spain and the basic methodological principles involved in exercising the discipline. This preliminary work must address issues such as the aspects covered by legal regulations (Real Decreto 724/2020), the structure and contents of the official certification examinations (Orden AEC/2125/2014) and the methodology of sworn translation (Andújar and Cunillera 2017; Cayron 2017; Lobato and Granados 2018).

As far as sworn translation methodology is concerned, students should be familiar with the more general paratextual aspects of sworn translations, such as the translation’s physical modality, the certification formula, the date and the translator’s seal and signature, and the fact that a photocopy of the original endorsed by the translator’s seal and date on all pages must be affixed to the sworn translation upon completion. Students should also be aware of the most frequent translation problems arising in the sorts of texts most often requested by the market and the different translation techniques that are likely to be most useful for solving them.

4.3.1. Competences, learning outcomes and assessment

The general definition of translator competence as we will apply it (see §4 above) can be divided into two sub-competences (see figure 1 below): firstly, a service provision sub-competence, which encompasses skills relating to the implementation of translation in a professional context, from project management to quality assurance; and secondly, a personal and interpersonal sub-competence, which covers generic skills that enhance adaptability and employability and come into play in specific contexts such as client negotiation. However, mastery of both sub-competences is essential when dealing with clients in professional contexts.[6]

Figure 1: Translator competence breakdown

In addition to explaining to the students the competences that will be worked on in the project, they should also know how their work will be assessed at each task, because knowing the evaluation criteria is essential to improve the learning process. A total of four documents will be assessed: preliminary e-mail communications between the client and the sworn translator (25 per cent of the final grade), the translator’s quotation (30 per cent of the final grade), the sworn translation (15 per cent of the final grade), and the translator’s invoice (30 per cent of the final grade). As the focus of the project is on the professional dimension of sworn translation, a higher weighting in the assessment has been given to documents related to translator competence, but these percentages can be weighted according to the dimensions of the project to be highlighted.

The current trend in translation pedagogy, as in many other academic disciplines, is to try to develop forms of assessment that go beyond assessment’s certifying function and promote its formative component. From this perspective, in addition to this summative assessment, we have included formative assessment to monitor the student's learning process with a view to self-regulation (Hortigüela, Pérez-Pueyo et al. 2019). This form of assessment is exercised mainly through the feedback generated by both the teacher and the students in peer-assessment tasks. Peer-assessment activities are of particular value in this regard, because they increase students’ involvement in their own learning and consolidate their ability to apply quality criteria to the documents generated in the translation process. Moreover, they help students develop a sense of objectivity that they can apply later to their own work (Cañada 2019: 115-116).[7] We have chosen an analytical and holistic type of peer assessment, where the student-evaluator must use rubrics to rate different aspects of their peer’s project and also make a general commentary that highlights strengths and weaknesses and issues that were not addressed but should be (see appendices). The project also includes face-to-face group feedback sessions at each stage. In such sessions, it is not only the teacher who provides guidance, but each student can improve what is being worked on through constructive comments on both his or her own work and that of others (Pietrzak 2014). Furthermore, the inclusion of self-assessment in the form of an initial and a final questionnaire provides opportunities for students to reflect on what and how they are learning, as well as for the teacher to reflect on the project’s design and implementation.

Preparation

The teacher presents the project in the classroom and explains its final learning objective: to acquire, create and apply the professional knowledge necessary to competently execute a sworn translation before the given deadline (Kiraly 2005: 1107). The teacher shows students a corpus of administrative academic documents and makes it available for students. In our case, from the set of administrative genres in the academic field, we have chosen to work with academic transcripts, enrolment certificates and degree certificates in English together with their sworn translations into Spanish (see a sample in Appendix 1).

Students begin the project by negotiating and distributing among themselves the two simulated roles they will play, client or sworn translator.[8] To construct for themselves a fictitious background, the ‘clients’ review the various administrative contexts in which a sworn translation may be necessary and then choose an appropriate text from the sample documents provided by the teacher.

Preliminary questionnaire

Before the project tasks proper begin, students complete a questionnaire regarding their prior knowledge and expectations (see Appendix 2). This questionnaire of open-ended questions is designed to provide the teacher with information about the students’ background, the type and level of knowledge they have about the project area and their expectations for it. It also encourages the student to reflect on what they know and their expectations about the learning process (Orozco-Jutorán 2006; Hurtado 2015).

Task 1: client query

The first task in the project consists of an initial written exchange between the ‘client’ and ‘translator’. The client queries the translator about preparing a sworn translation by emailing him or her a credible job order in which the conditions necessary for the translator to analyse the viability of the project must be clearly detailed, including the type of text to be translated, the language of the original text and language of the translation, the purpose of the translation, the target administrative institution and administrative process in which the text will be used, the time frame and how the sworn translation must be delivered. The translator then asks the client for any clarifications that seem necessary. All exchanges between client and translator take place in a Moodle forum, simulating a professional context and respecting the discourse conventions of e-mail communication. This step of the project is assessed by the teacher and a third student chosen at random from among those acting as clients (see Appendix 3). The competences and learning outcomes, output to be assessed and method of assessment is summarised in Table 1 below.

Client query (task 1)

1) Competences and learning outcomes:

Translator competence

• Service provision

-Knowing how to negotiate with the client regarding deadlines, invoicing, working conditions, translation specifications, etc.

-Knowing how to clarify the requirements, objectives and purposes of the translation requested and offer the appropriate services to meet those requirements

• Personal and interpersonal

-Knowing how to plan one’s time and workload

-Knowing how to comply with instructions, deadlines, commitments, etc.

-Knowing how to interact professionally with clients by e-mail

2) Assessed textual production: communications between client and translator in a Moodle forum.

3) Assessment: peer-assessment (30%) and teacher assessment (70%). The client query counts for 25% of the final grade.

Table 1: Summary (task 1)

In this first task, it can be very useful to organize a face-to-face group feedback session where the students, once they have assessed the productions of their peers, reflect on the degree of learning achieved and on their ability to solve the problems that have arisen in this first contact with the client. Possible topics for discussion can be the importance of having all the relevant information about the translation requested (administrative context of use, target administration, deadline), the form of delivery of the translation (on paper or in electronic format with officially authorised digital signature), or the availability of the sworn translator to fulfil the job within the deadline.

Task 2: translator’s quotation

With the information received from the client in task 1, the sworn translator prepares a quotation. Firstly, the translator determines the range of fees that would actually be charged in the sworn translation community for the languages involved and the conditions stipulated. Once the fee has been decided, the sworn translator calculates the final price for the job and prepares the preliminary quotation in a professional manner. When the quotation is ready, the sworn translator e-mails it through the forum to the client, who may request clarifications if necessary. This task is also peer-assessed, but in this case it is the student taking the role of client that does the assessing (see Appendix 4). Desired outcomes and assessment for this task are summarised in Table 2 below.

Translator’s quotation (task 2)

1) Competences and learning outcomes:

Translator competence

• Service provision

-Knowing how to specify and budget the services offered and their added value

• Personal and interpersonal

-Knowing how to comply with instructions, deadlines, commitments, etc.

-Knowing how to interact professionally with clients by e-mail

2) Assessed textual production: sworn translation quotation sent to client

3) Assessment: peer-assessment (30%) and teacher assessment (70%). The quotation counts for 30% of the final grade.

Table 2: Summary (task 2)

As sworn translators work on a freelance basis, remuneration is one of the issues that most concerns students in their last year of training. It is therefore recommended that each student prepares a dossier with the sources of documentation on fees that he or she has found while working on the project and makes it available to the rest of the group for an optional monographic session on this issue. This is also a good moment to encourage students to start compiling a detailed table of general translation fees for direct clients as well as for intermediaries, both national and international. It should include the services offered and the fees depending on factors such as language pair involved, urgency, degree of specialisation of the original, format and particular features of the translation job to be carried out.

Task 3: sworn translation

Once the client has accepted the quotation, the sworn translator executes the translation in accordance with the terms previously agreed. The main aspects of this task are summarised in table 3 below.

Sworn translation (task 3)

1) Competences and learning outcomes:

Translation competence

• Sworn translation

- Knowing how to analyse a source document, identify potential textual and cognitive difficulties and assess the strategies and resources needed for appropriate reformulation in line with communicative needs.

-Knowing how to translate a domain-specific text (academic administrative documents) from English into Spanish, producing a ‘fit-for-purpose’ target text.

-Knowing how to apply the conventions established by legal regulations in a sworn translation so that the target text is officially valid.

• Personal and interpersonal

-Knowing how to comply with instructions, deadlines, commitments, etc.

2) Assessed textual production: sworn translation

3) Assessment: teacher assessment (100%). The sworn translation counts for 15% of the final grade.

Table 3: Summary (task 3)

This task is assessed by the teacher, using a rubric which covers aspects such as appropriateness in terms of compliance with the pertinent sworn translation conventions, the intended readership and function of the translation, the transfer of source text meaning and the quality of expression in the target language.[9]

Criteria

Achievement indicators

0-3,9

4-5,9

6-8,9

9-10

APPROPRIATENESS

-Sworn translation conventions

-Target reader

-Function of sworn translation in target culture

 

The sworn translation does not conform to any of the job’s requirements and is completely inappropriate for the target culture.

The sworn translation does not conform to some of the job’s requirements and shows serious problems that could limit its utility in the target culture.

The sworn translation is largely in line with the job’s requirements. It has some minor defects, but they would not prevent it from serving its function in the target culture.

The sworn translation conforms fully with the job’s requirements and will function perfectly in the target culture.

SOURCE TEXT MEANING TRANSFER

-Accuracy and clarity of information

 

 

 

Too many meaning errors and lack of semantic accuracy. Many unnecessary additions and significant omissions. The target text is incomprehensible and confusing.

Some meaning errors and lack of semantic accuracy. Repeated additions and omissions.

Comprehension of the target text will be notably affected in some specific excerpts.

 

Occasional meaning errors. Occasional minor additions and omissions. However, comprehension of the target text will not be seriously affected.

No meaning errors, no additions or omissions that impact negatively on comprehension of the target text. Clear and precise translation from the point of view of the information conveyed.

 

TARGET LANGUAGE EXPRESSION

 -Use of spelling and grammar

-Lexicon (accuracy and richness)

-Morphosyntax (good use of time and verbal modes, prepositions, etc.)

-Cohesion (good use of discourse markers and reference elements)

-Coherence (organization and clarity in the presentation of ideas)

Expression is unnatural in the target language.

Too many reformulation errors (spelling, lexical, morphosyntactic). Lack of coherence and cohesion.

 

Expression is somewhat unnatural in the target language. Some important reformulation errors (spelling, lexical, morphosyntactic). Some important errors of coherence and cohesion.

 

The expression is natural in the target language. Occasional reformulation errors (spelling, lexical, morphosyntactic). Few errors of coherence and cohesion.

 

The expression is perfectly natural in the target language. Good discursive linking.

Coherent and cohesive text.

 

 

Table 4: Assessment rubric (task 3)

Task 4: translator’s invoice

When the sworn translation is finished, the translator then draws up an invoice for the work and sends this and all other documents to the client in the agreed form. The client responds with any comments he or she may have and pays the invoice. For this task, assessment is limited to the correct preparation of the invoice and is carried out by the teacher and a third student again randomly chosen from among the ‘clients’ (see Appendix 5). Table 5 below summarises the desired outcomes and assessment for this task.

Translator’s invoice (task 4)

1) Competences and learning outcomes:

Sworn translator competence

• Service provision

-Knowing how to specify and budget the services offered and their added value

-Knowing how to bill the client and apply tax appropriately

• Personal and interpersonal

-Knowing how to comply with instructions, deadlines, commitments, etc.

-Knowing how to interact professionally with clients

2) Assessed textual production: sworn translation invoice sent to client

3) Assessment: peer-assessment (30%) and teacher assessment (70%). The invoice counts for 35% of the final grade.

Table 5: Summary (task 4)

In order to prepare a proper invoice, the students acting as translators will need to find out information about tax compliance in sworn translation jobs, since this is an issue that students are often unaware of. To this end, it may be useful for students to explore the professional associations that exist in their countries and the resources such associations offer to novice translators in the form of model documents for professional use such as quotations or invoices. Again, students can be urged compile a dossier containing such materials, which can be shared with classmates in an optional monographic session on the subject.

Task 5: authentic sworn translation assessment (optional)

Once the four transactions  between clients and translators are completed (query, quotation, translation and invoice), the teacher can randomly select one of the sworn translations made by the students and anonymously compare this textual production with an authentic sworn translation which is now made available to the students.[10] One of the didactic possibilities to foster students’ reflection at this point is for the class as a whole to try to apply the assessment rubric to first the student translation and then the professional translation (see Table 5, supra). In this interactive evaluation process, the randomly selected student translation is taken as the starting point, but the students may offer other translation solutions from their own work, with the guidance of the teacher, who acts as a facilitator. This type of group feedback encourages dialogue between the teacher and the students, and among the students themselves. As comparing their textual production with that of a professional helps students become aware of their strengths and weaknesses, it is thus an empowering tool to gain confidence in their performance as sworn translators (Kiraly 2000).

Final self-assessment questionnaire

Once the full project has been completed, the initial questionnaire is taken up again in the form of a final self-assessment questionnaire in which students reflect on their own learning and self-evaluate the skills they have acquired (see Appendix 6). The aim is to help students compare their knowledge before and after the teaching-learning sequence to highlight the changes that have taken place and the progress they have made. In addition, the questionnaire shows the teacher how students perceive their learning and indicates whether adjustments need to be made in the project design due to teaching failures.

5. Conclusions

We have presented a proposal to integrate a sworn translation project into the legal translation classroom from a situated learning perspective. According to this teaching method, the project is framed in a real-world professional context, with authentic materials, and allows students to work on fundamental skills for professional success that are either not dealt with at all in general translation subjects or are dealt with in a decontextualised way. Table 6 below summarises the tasks and forms of assessment involved and the respective actions taken by teacher and students:

 

PROJECT: THE PROFESSIONAL DIMENSION OF SWORN TRANSLATION

 

Project tasks

What does the ‘client’ do?

What does the ‘sworn translator’ do?

What does the teacher do?

Assessment

Preliminary work

 

All students review the general principles of sworn translation in Spain (legal texts, content and structure of certification examination and translation methodology applied)

Organizes workshop sessions as required

Not assessed

Preparation

Students divide into pairs and choose ‘client’ or ‘sworn translator’ roles. Client selects a document for translation.

Finds and selects sample authentic sworn translations and makes them available to students. Explains project and assessment method.

Not assessed

Preliminary questionnaire

All students complete questionnaire about previous knowledge and expectations related to the project.

Collects and analyses student questionnaires.

Not assessed

Task 1:

client query

Requests a sworn translation by e-mail including all necessary details.

Negotiates the conditions and analyses the job’s viability.

Moderates a group feedback session. Provides guidance on problem-solving.

Peer assessment and teacher assessment

Task 2: translator’s quotation

Assesses the translator’s quotation and requests clarifications if necessary.

With the job’s details, prepares a quotation for the sworn translation and sends it to the client.

Moderates a group feedback session. Provides guidance on problem-solving.

Peer assessment and teacher assessment

Task 3:

sworn translation

No intervention

Translates the text according to the sworn translation commission.

No intervention

Teacher assessment

Task 4:

sworn translation invoice

Assesses the sworn translation’s invoice, requests clarifications if necessary and pays the invoice.

Once the sworn translation has been completed, it issues an invoice and sends it to the client.

Moderates a group feedback session. Provides guidance on problem-solving.

Peer assessment and teacher assessment

Task 5:

Sworn translation (optional)

All students compare a student translation with a professionally written sworn translation of the same text to identify and describe strengths and weaknesses and discuss alternative solutions.

Moderates a group feedback session. Provides guidance on problem-solving.

Not assessed

Final task: self-assessment questionnaire

All students complete self-assessment questionnaire

Collects and analyses student questionnaires. Makes changes to the project design if necessary.

Not assessed

Table 6: Summary of project tasks, student and teacher actions and forms of assessment

It is hoped that this project design focused on the professional practice of sworn translation will constitute a contribution to bridging the gap between the academic world and professional practice. The project’s implementation requires working on diversified tasks that allow the development of translator competence. In this context, the student must learn to assess the feasibility of accepting a translation job, budget it, carry out the translation, prepare an invoice, organize all these tasks efficiently and know how to interact with a client in an effective and professional manner. This teaching and learning sequence involves an active in-depth process of inquiry over time, in which students generate questions about professional issues, find and use documentary resources, ask further questions and develop their own answers. This project methodology allows the student to face a sworn translation situation that closely approximates professional practice but whose focus—unlike in traditional translation simulation exercises—does not fall primarily on the translated text but instead cultivate professional skills that may seem ancillary but are just as critical for success in this profession.

 

Appendix 1: Sample source text in English (top) and authentic sworn translation into Spanish (bottom

 

Appendix 2: initial self-assessment questionnaire[11]

 

Name and surname:                                           Subject:                                 Academic year:

 

1. You are about to start a translation project entitled “The professional dimension of sworn translation”. What does this title suggest to you?

 

2. On a scale of 1 (poor) to 10 (outstanding), what is your level of interest in this project? Briefly justify your answer.

 

3. In the project you will work with academic administrative texts. Are you familiar with these types of texts? If so, give an example of one such text.

 

4. Could you describe an administrative situation in an academic context where a sworn translation of the document you have cited is required?

 

5. Three items will be assessed in the project: preliminary contacts between the sworn translator and the client (30% of the project final grade), the quotation (35% of the project final grade) and the invoice for sworn the translation (35% of the project final grade). What do you think are the main problems you will face when communicating with the client?

 

6. Do you know how to prepare a quotation for a sworn translation? Do you know the information that must be included? Do you know where to find this information?

 

7. Do you know how to prepare the invoice for a sworn translation? Do you know the information that must be included? Do you know where to find this information?

 

8. On a scale of 1 (poor) to 10 (outstanding), how important do you think the professional behaviour of the sworn translator will be in this project (in terms of, for example, punctuality, respectful treatment, fulfilment of the job’s conditions, etc.)? Briefly justify your answer.

 

9. What do you think you will have learned once the project is completed?

 

10. On a scale of 1 (poor) to 10 (outstanding), please rate the usefulness you think this project will have in your training as a translator. Briefly justify your answer.

 

Appendix 3: Student peer-assessment form for evaluating translator’s preliminary interactions with the client (task 1)

Sworn translator: ________________________________

Client: _______________________________

Evaluator: _______________________________

 

• Read carefully the exchange of e-mails that has taken place between the client and the sworn translator. On a scale of 1 (poor) to 5 (outstanding), please rate the following aspects of the sworn translator's performance when contacting and negotiating with the client:

 

Peer assessment [30%]

Teacher assessment

[70%]

1

2

3

4

5

1

2

3

4

5

1. Overall impression [20%]

  • The forum content reflects all interactions between translator and client.
  • An image of professionalism is successfully conveyed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. Discursive aspects [20%]

  • Discursive conventions of e-mail communication are respected (subject, initial greeting, farewell, etc.).
  • The length of the messages is appropriate, without superfluous information.
  • The level of formality is that required by this type of written interaction.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Content related to the client query [50%]

  • The exchange of e-mails includes all relevant information to evaluate the viability of the sworn translation job:
  • source text
  • target text reader
  • administrative process where the translation is to be used
  • deadline and form of delivery
  • payment of fees
  • other aspects
  • The translator asks the client for information about features or conditions of the job that are not clear (if any).
  • The translator negotiates conditions of the job (if applicable).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. Written expression [10%]

  • Messages are politely written.
  • No spelling mistakes.
  • No grammar mistakes.
  • Written expression is clear.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Score (out of 10)

 

 

 

General commentary on the sworn translator’s performance in his or her preliminary interactions with the client (strengths, weaknesses, issues not covered, etc.). Justify your assessment (minimum 200 words).

 

Appendix 4: Student peer-assessment form for evaluating translator’s quotation (task 2)

 

Sworn translator: ________________________________

Client (evaluator): _______________________________

 

• On a scale of 1 (poor) to 5 (outstanding), please rate the following aspects of the sworn translator’s quotation:

 

Peer assessment

[30%]

Teacher assessment [70%]

1

2

3

4

5

1

2

3

4

5

1. Overall impression [20%]

  • An image of professionalism is successfully conveyed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. Formal aspects [20%]

  • The layout is appropriate
  • information easy to identify
  • content properly ordered
  • attractive graphic design

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Content related to the quotation [50%]

  • The quotation includes all the client’s contact details (name and surname, fiscal address, telephone number, e-mail address, etc.)
  • The quotation includes all the sworn translator’s contact details (name and surname, fiscal address telephone number, e-mail address , etc.).
  • The quotation includes all relevant information to budget the job:
  • identifier code, request date
  • detailed description of the sworn translation job (languages involved, number and types of documents, date and terms of delivery, terms of payment, etc.)
  • urgency/non-urgency
  • The quotation includes all applicable taxes, if any (VAT, personal income tax, etc.)
  • The quotation’s date of issue and period of validity are indicated.
  • The quotation includes the approval and signatures of both the client and the sworn translator.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. Written expression [10%]

  • The level of formality is that required by this type of document.
  • No spelling mistakes.
  • No grammar mistakes.
  • Written expression is clear.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Score (out of 10)

 

 

                           

 

General commentary on the sworn translator’s quotation (strengths, weaknesses, issues not covered, etc.). Justify your assessment (minimum 200 words):

 

Appendix 5: Student peer-assessment form for evaluating translator’s invoice (task 4)

 

Sworn translator: ________________________________

 Student (evaluator): _______________________________

 

• On a scale of 1 (poor) to 10 (outstanding), please rate the following aspects of the sworn translator's invoice:

 

Peer assessment

[30%]

Teacher assessment

[70%]

1

2

3

4

5

1

2

3

4

5

1. Overall impression [20%]

  • An image of professionalism is successfully conveyed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. Formal aspects [20%]

  • The layout is appropriate
  • information easy to identify
  • content properly ordered
  • attractive graphic design

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Content related to the sworn translation invoice [50%]

  • The invoice contains all the client’s tax details.
  • The invoice contains all the sworn translator’s tax details.
  • The following items are indicated:
  • invoice number
  • date
  • payment period (e.g., 30 days)
  • job description, volume, fee, total amount
  • applicable taxes
  • subtotal and final price
  • Payment method and current account number for bank transfer (if applicable)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. Written expression [10%]

  • No spelling mistakes.
  • No grammar mistakes.
  • Written expression is clear.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Score (out of 10)

 

 

 

General commentary on the sworn translator’s invoice (strengths, weaknesses, issues not covered, etc.). Justify your assessment (minimum 200 words):

Appendix 6: Self-assessment final questionnaire

Name and surname:                                 Subject:                                 Academic year:

 

1. You have just finished a translation project entitled “The professional dimension of sworn translation”. Did the project meet your initial expectations?

 

2. Now that you have completed the project, please rate your level of interest in it on a scale of 1 (poor) to 10 (outstanding). Briefly justify your answer.

 

3. In the project you worked with academic administrative texts. Briefly describe the main textual characteristics of these documents.

 

4. Describe the communication situation where the sworn translation you made has been used.

 

5. Three items were assessed in the project: preliminary contacts between the translator and client (30%), the quotation (35%) and the invoice for the sworn translation. What were the main problems you encountered in communicating with the client? How did you solve them?

 

6. What were the main problems you encountered in preparing the quotation and how did you solve them?

 

7. What were the main problems you encountered in preparing the invoice and how did you solve them?

 

8. On a scale of 1 (poor) to 10 (outstanding), how important do you think the issue of the translator’s professional behaviour was in this project (with regard to, for example, punctuality, respectful treatment, fulfilment of the job’s conditions, etc.)? Briefly justify your answer.

 

9. Now that the project is over, what do you think you have learned?

 

10. On a scale of 1 (poor) to 10 (outstanding), please rate the usefulness you think this project has had in your training as a translator. Briefly justify your answer.

 

Additional comments on the project (strengths, weaknesses, areas that need improvement, etc.)

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Notes

[1] It is the term most commonly used in Spain to refer to official, certified and written translation, the professional field where the project we are presenting is situated. See Mayoral (2003) for a summary of the different names used around the world to refer to written official translation; Pym et al. (2012) for a review of the status of the translation profession in EU countries and Hlavac (2013) for a cross-national review of translator certification procedures in 21 countries. It should be noted, however, that the regulations governing the status of sworn translators in Spain have undergone several changes since these reviews were published. At present, certification can only be acquired on the basis of an examination organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation (see Ministerial Order AEC/2125/2014 and Royal Decree 724/2020).

[2] The certification examination has two parts with different eliminatory tests. In the first part, there is a multiple-choice test in Spanish on terminology and grammar. The second part includes three tests: a translation into Spanish without dictionaries of a non-specialised text, an inverse translation without dictionaries of the same type of text and, finally, a translation into Spanish with dictionaries of a legal or economic text (see [url=http://www.exteriores.gob.es/Portal/es/ServiciosAlCiudadano/Paginas/Traductoresas.aspx]http://www.exteriores.gob.es/Portal/es/ServiciosAlCiudadano/Paginas/Traductoresas.aspx[/url], accessed 26 March 2021, for more information). 

[3] See Blumenfeld et al. (1991), Markham (2003) or Thomas (2000) for an overview of research on this field.

[4] Among the initiatives which aim to integrate the professional dimension of translation in higher education, translation education networks whose aim is to “increase graduate employability by offering students practical, market-oriented experience during their studies” should be highlighted. A good example would be the International Network of Simulated Translation Bureaus (INSTB), a partnership of several European universities with include simulated translation bureaus run by students in their translation training programmes (see [url=https://www.instb.eu/]https://www.instb.eu/[/url], accessed 25 March 2021). It is also worth mentioning the European Master’s in Translation, a network of MA programmes in translation whose main goal is to “improve the quality of translator training in order to enhance the labour market integration of young language professionals” (see https://ec.europa.eu/info/resources-partners/european-masters-translation-emt_en, accessed 25 March 2021).

[5] Although the project was designed for this specific student population, it can be adapted to students at other skill levels.

[6] The breakdown of competences and learning outcomes in the different tasks of the project is partly inspired by the European Master’s in Translation Competence Framework 2017 (URL: [url=https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/emt_competence_fwk_2017_en_web.pdf]https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/emt_competence_fwk_2017_en_web.pdf[/url], accessed 20 May 2020). The learning outcomes presented here have been adapted to the students’ instructional level.

[7] The relative weight given to teacher and peer assessment in the task grades will depend on the teacher’s confidence in the students’ judgement. The teacher may choose to gradually increase the weight of the student’s assessment as the course proceeds, on the grounds that students’ evaluative criteria will become progressively more refined.

[8] Note that if additional projects are carried out during the course, these roles should be reversed.

[9] This proposal is an adaptation of the rubric for assessing translations by Rocío de Miguel and Susana Álvarez (2005), which is available at http://uvadoc.uva.es/handle/10324/16925 (accessed 3 July 2020), and a similar rubric in Hurtado (2015).

[10] If the teacher cannot get authentic translations produced by sworn translators, he or she can use the examples of authentic texts and their sworn translations provided by Cayron (2017), Lobato and Granados (2019) or Way (2005b), among other studies.

[11] All materials in appendices 2 to 6 were originally written in Spanish and translated into English by the author for the article.

About the author(s)

Gemma Andújar Moreno is a researcher and Serra Hunter Fellow in translation at the Department of Translation and Language Sciences at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra
(Barcelona). Currently, her research centres on translation pedagogy and legal and sworn translation. She is a member of the research groups GEDIT (2017 SGR-566,
Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain).

Email: [please login or register to view author's email address]

©inTRAlinea & Gemma Andújar Moreno (2021).
"Bridging the gap between the sworn translation classroom and freelance professional practice A situated project-based approach", inTRAlinea Vol. 23.

This article can be freely reproduced under Creative Commons License.
Stable URL: https://www.intralinea.org/archive/article/2548

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