Gaining real interpretation experience!

As you may know, students from different cities with different language combinations study at the Caspian Higher School of Interpreting and Translation. Although the main emphasis is still on the English language, it does not prevent the students from practicing other languages they learnt. For example, Alexey Zadubovsky, a first year student who came here from Volgograd, tried hand at interpretation from/into German at one of the largest gas processing plants in Astrakhan. Here is what he wrote about his experience: “I’d love to share my emotions and impressions of the first interpreting experience in Astrakhan. When joined the master program, I did not fully realize what my new status means. Conferences, lessons, exercises, work in booths … that’s a lot of experience in English-Russian translation and interpretation. But I’ve made time not for studying only. In February and March, I worked at Astrakhan Gas Processing Plant as an interpreter (and sometimes I had to work as a translator as well). It was a real challenge to my knowledge of the German language. The next morning after a short phone interview that proved my pretty good knowledge, I went to the plant with my papers, spent half of the day on employment procedure and started work immediately. The specific goal for our working group was to run a giant industrial boiler. I was to interpret during commissioning. The work occurred to be really hard. I thought I knew German, but far from it! Many special terms, electrical wirings in 2 languages required attention and detailed analysis. What helped me is that the world of technics isn’t new to me, however, at home I had to study the structure of complex devices again and again. In addition, each technical term, both in German and in Russian, has its own trivial name that is also widely used. My task was complicated by the fact that I had to work under rough conditions. Firstly, right at the checkpoint we were checked for individual gas masks, which all the plant workers – from cleaning staff to the director – should always have with them. Accordingly, you must be able to use it, if necessary. Secondly, the specificity of the work is constant noise of running boilers, you can only find detect any fault of them during a short break in their operation. It can be dangerous for hearing, therefore, in cases of record noise loads we used special sound-absorbing ear defenders. So I had to interpret in the noise of 80-90 dB, when you cannot hear even your own scream, and in echoing rooms, where you cannot hear properly because of the echo. I even had to use the sign language, which, as you know, differs in different cultures. My customers were tactful and very smart people. We have created a reliable team where each employee can help another to perform a task. I’ve learned how to work with the burners program, to open the steam pipe, to adjust the valves and I even started a boiler. Where else can you get such experience? Every new interpreting task convinces me that an interpreter can acquire lots of various skills during his work!” We wish MA students to gain experience and scale new heights in their translation/interpreting career.