Placement Report
MA Writing, Editing and Mediating
Translation and Working in a Team:
Contents
Introduction ... 4
Description of the organisation ... 5
The student’s position/description of tasks ... 6
Evaluation of the placement What could you do for the organization? ... 9
What aspects of your course have been useful for the placement? ... 9
What new knowledge and skills you have acquired? ... 11
To what extent did you reach your learning outcomes? ... 12
What was the supervision like? ... 14
How did the placement help you to sharpen your career goals? ... 14
Introduction
During the summer months (June-August), I did a placement at Global textware, a translation agency located in Groningen. I have been interested in learning more about the work of a translator for a while, but I was unsure if it would suit me or not. Especially my Dutch language skills were something I was wary of, considering I have been studying and writing in English for the last five years. This placement provided me with the opportunity to discover what the job of a translator exactly entails, to learn about the other jobs that that are necessary to deliver a translation to a customer and to provide me with actual work experience as a translator and working in a team.
The first time I heard about the company was when I heard stories about the internship of another student who had also done an internship at Global textware. She was very enthusiastic and made me interested in doing a placement as well. Later on, I heard about the company again in a presentation during one of my classes. Because of this, I decided to take a look at the company’s website and to see if they still offered internship places. On their website, they came across as a company that believed quality was very important and wanted to establish a good, if somewhat informal, contact with their customers. The company itself sounded like it was not too big, with somewhere around twenty permanent employees and a database full of freelancers. Because I had no experience with working in a team, the fact that the company was not too big appealed to me.
Reading through their website made me decide that, if possible, I wanted to do an internship at this company. I first called the company to check if they had any internship places available and to ask some questions regarding the workhours and the type of translations. They told me they did not have a space available immediately but later in the year there would be a place. Thus, I wrote a motivation letter and sent this to the appropriate email address along with my CV. After 15 minutes, I already received a reply in which they invited me for a meeting in a month time.
the end of the meeting she already told me that if they could fit me into the schedule, I would be accepted. I was really lucky to find a spot during the summer break. About two weeks after this meeting, I went back to sign all the contracts so I could hand these in at the mobility office and make everything official.
Description of the organisation
Global textware is a translation agency in Groningen, located at Hereweg 85a. They offer complete translation services to people and companies across the globe with the aid of a permanent team of translators and project managers and a database full of freelancers. This full service means: project management, translation, proofreading, editing, post-editing, Linguistic Sign-offs (LSO's) and sometimes even editing the layout of a document. They offer specialized knowledge from different areas of expertise, such as Technical & IT, Life Sciences (Medical translations, communication about health, medical research and healthcare) and business-to-business (marketing, legal texts, economy and financial). The combination of specialized knowledge, translation programs and an experienced team allows them to provide the customer with quality translations.
The company itself is divided into different departments: Production, Management and IT. I was part of the production department, and this is the biggest department out of the three. The employees that are part of this department are all linguistic specialists. However, this department is divided into three specialties: project management, translator and proofreader. In practice the specialties of translator and proofreader overlap and even translators have to do some project management. This is because they are in the middle of a re-organization. They want to move towards self-managing teams in order to reduce the work pressure. Because of this, not every role was clearly distinguished and the quality guide I had to read through was not completely up to date. For
Global textware is also invested in working ergonomically. There are some people with adjustable desks, so they could stand when they wanted to, and almost everyone has their own chair and keyboard that fits with their working style. They also encourage people to walk around in their lunchbreak, although not many people took this opportunity while I was there.
The student’s position/description of tasks
The company had set up their own placement plan and because of this it was very clear what I had to do each week. This plan introduced me to different elements of translation work over the course of eight weeks (or longer if necessary). Around week five and the weeks after this, it was possible for me to also help with actual projects.
The first two weeks were mostly getting to know the company, people and translation tools. For the first assignment of week one, I had to read through the quality guide in order to discover which path a project takes before it can be returned to the customer. I had a list with questions I had to answer and at the end of the week I had to report my findings to my supervisor. For the second assignment of week one, I had to try out several translation tools and do a few short translation assignments with these tools.
The second week also involved a lot of reading. I had to think about the context of a translation, such as what type of text I was translating, what audience it was meant for, what the objective of the text was etc. Moreover, I had to read through the Microsoft Style Guide to learn more about localization and several standard translation guides. Although Global textware had their own guidelines, in general they followed the Microsoft Style guide, unless the customer had their own guidelines.
Toolbox and XBench) to find several mistakes in a few documents. Extra mistakes had been added to these documents so my supervisor could observe whether or not I really understood how the proofread tools worked. Afterwards, I also had a look at some of my own test translations that had not received feedback with these programs.
In the fourth week, the focus was on how to handle reference material. For the assignment, I had to do one somewhat bigger translation of a Canon text. However, there was a significant amount of reference material. I had to decide where to start and what was most important. Moreover, I had to write a report about this and discuss how I handled the assignment at the end of the week with my supervisor.
Week five focused on teaching me how to work with a deadline and more importantly, realizing how long I spend on each translation and why. The goal for new translators is 350 words an hour. It was not expected of me yet that I would actually manage this, but they did want me to determine why it took me longer. Mostly, this was because I still had to proofread my own texts to make sure there were no mistakes left, such as typos and accuracy mistakes, or at least as little as possible. Sometimes it also took me longer because of the subject or area of a translation. For example, legal and technical translations took at least twice as long because I did not know the jargon. However, marketing texts I usually finished within the assigned time.
In week six, I started with proofreading some test projects and my own translations. I had a few test translations again in which extra mistakes were added. I had to proofread these texts and write down any mistakes I found in a Lisa-QA sheet. In this sheet, I also had to explain why something was incorrect, decide what sort of mistake it was (grammar, accuracy, mistranslation, spelling etc.) and provide a better translation. Normally, this sheet then goes back to the translator so they can fix the mistakes.
that included hand-off emails and other information with which I could put a project into ISIS. This involved analyzing the text to decide the actual word count, look at the actual translation count, add translators and proofreaders to the project, add spot checks, making sure the profit was around 30% and to put all the necessary files in the folder structure of the organization so everyone had access.
In week seven I continued with working on project management. This week was mostly about what to do in certain situations, for example when the translator is late with the delivery or when the customer changes the deadline. I also had to decide how to reach the required profits and make sure that the translator and proofreader had enough time to work on the text while also leaving room for emergencies. This was mostly brainstorming about what could go wrong and how one might solve the problems in combination with listening to the stories of the project managers. The rest of the week I worked on test translations and a few real translations.
Week eight was the last week that I focused on project management. The plan was for me to look at a real project with a project manager and set most of it up myself, in consultation with the project manager. However, because of the summer period, there was not much time for them to walk me through an actual project. I did get a chance to work on many actual projects that week, but not from the perspective of a project manager.
Evaluation of the placement
What could you do for the organization?
In the first week, I could not really help anyone in the company yet, but from the second week onward, I was regularly asked to help another employee. This started out with small tasks such as applying already provided feedback to a translation or adding links to a Dropbox assignment. Later on, I was asked to do a few LSO's, which mostly consisted of checking the layout of a document against the original source and quickly scanning the document for any grammatical or punctuation errors. If I found any, I made a comment of this and then the project manager would have a look at my feedback. I also got some simple, but time-consuming assignments, such as changing the layout of a word document so it was the same as the English one. Around week six I also started to get some proofreading assignments and a few small translation assignments (50-100 words). In week seven, I received my first somewhat bigger translation assignment (800 words) and a few medium
assignments of 300-400 words. I also kept helping people with some of the smaller assignments (usually labeled as ‘nawerk’), which gave them some time to work on other projects.
From week eight onwards, I could help people with multiple projects each day, and had one bigger proofreading task that took several days. Sadly, this proofreading project was canceled by the customer just before the project manager could send my feedback to them. I also received
translation assignments almost daily, of various lengths. There were days that my planning was completely full and I actually had to work hard to finish everything on time. However, usually I could work somewhat more relaxed but still with a full planning.
What aspects of your course have been useful for the placement?
One of my master courses that proved very useful was WEM 2: Moderne teksten. During this course, we practiced proofreading and editing English texts. Because of this course I had some experience with proofreading and I knew which aspects I found most difficult about proofreading. This meant that I could focus on improving these aspects and gave me some experience in handling unclear texts where it is unsure what exactly the writer means. These types of texts also appeared during my internship. Moreover, this course also taught me how to deal with unfamiliar materials and what to look out for and how to quickly find relevant information about subjects I am unfamiliar with. This was useful for the translations as well since I often had no idea what the texts were about and did not have time to read all the available information. Lastly, this course asked us to provide a reason why certain mistakes were mistakes and to actually think about the underlying grammar rules. Although the grammar rules in Dutch are of course different, this did teach me to actually think about mistakes and why they were wrong, which was useful for filling in Lisa-QA sheets, in which I also had to describe why something was wrong.
There were also some more general skills that I picked up during my Bachelor and improved during my Master that turned out to be useful. First of all, and most obviously, my English skills helped with understanding the text. During my Bachelor we had a few courses (Proficiency) where we worked on our writing skills and skills such as distinguishing the tone of a text. Moreover, we had a class about the different associations certain words can have, positive and negative. These skills were useful for translating and to make sure that the tone of the original text stayed intact.
Secondly, I learned how to work independently and with deadlines. These two skills were very important during my internship. I was of course allowed to ask questions, but it was also
encouraged to work independently. It was also very important to keep deadlines because usually the project managers had only a limited amount of leeway within a project.
Thirdly, skills such as receiving feedback and careful reading were useful skills. During my internship, I regularly received feedback and reading this through taught me several things each time. If I did not understand something I asked the reviewer and they were always willing to explain it. Moreover, it was important to carefully read the instructions customers sent alongside their projects because oftentimes they included important information. Related to this skill is also being able to be critical of myself and to realize which aspects and skills are my strong points and which I still have to improve. Because I knew certain aspects that I found difficult (such as compounds and d/t use in Dutch), I could focus more on these and also look up information when I had some time left.
What new knowledge and skills you have acquired?
To what extent did you reach your learning outcomes?
Before my internship, I only had one real goal. I wanted to know what the job of a translator actually entailed. This included learning about the tools and skills necessary, but I also wanted to discover which aspects of creating a translation I had never even thought of, such as project management. This objective I completed easily. I had a chance to try out multiple (at least ten different) translations tools, had a glimpse behind the scenes of the more financial aspects and had a chance to see the work of project managers. I also learned about the different types of translation and proofreading, some of the different areas of expertise and some of the preferences of the customers or agency. I think I have a better idea now what the job of a translator entails and what the difficulties of the job are.
At the start of my internship, I was asked to pick a few objectives that I wanted to work towards with the help of three POP objectives. The goals that I set for myself were: showing initiative, asking questions and improving my Dutch language skills. There were also a few other objectives that I did not choose as learning objectives but that I did accomplish, such as learning to work with different CAT tools, improving my translation skills, working within a team and getting practical experience.
Of the objectives that I set out in the beginning, I managed to achieve two. The one that was most obvious was how much my Dutch language skills improved. There were a lot of standard mistakes that I made in the beginning, ranging from style mistakes to grammar mistakes and even spelling mistakes and typos. I quickly noticed that I had a habit of not reading through my own translations carefully, and I tried to work on this during my placement. From week four onwards I noticed that these type of mistakes happened less and less. Writing in Dutch also became easier and in week seven I noticed that I was using some of the Dutch rules when writing English. In the
someone pointing them out so I could pay attention to it. I believe that during my internship my Dutch language skills have immensely improved as well as my understanding of the differences between writing in Dutch and English.
The second learning objective that I achieved is asking questions. This was mostly about actually asking someone a question if I could not find the answer myself instead of keep trying myself. I knew beforehand that I sometimes wait too long with asking questions, especially if it's really quiet around me. In those instances I often do not want to disturb anyone by asking a question. In this office, it was most of the time really quiet and therefore I sometimes had to force myself to ask questions. Throughout the weeks it became easier to ask my supervisor and other people questions.
The one learning objective that I did not achieve was showing more initiative. I had
difficulties with approaching people when I had nothing to do. Thus, for example, I did not ask people if they needed help with something, mostly because they usually came to me if they had something I could help with and therefore I assumed that there probably was not much I could help with.
What was the supervision like?
The first day of my internship my supervisor sat me down and explained a bit about what I would do the next few weeks, with the help of my internship folder. This folder included assignments for the first 8 weeks about various tasks and subjects, such as translation tools, translation
assignments, proofreading and project management. After going through this folder with me, my supervisor introduced me to everyone. The assignments were pretty clear, but whenever I had a question I could go to my supervisor and ask her and she would always make time to answer my questions. Moreover, at the end of most weeks I had a small meeting with my supervisor about the previous week and the weeks to come. She also actively asked people if they could demonstrate how certain translation tool worked or to show me some aspects of project management and tried to regularly look over some of my test translations. However, it was a very busy period in which many people were on holiday so she did not always have time. In some cases, other people also looked over some of my test translations, and later on my real translations.
When I started to work on real translation assignments, I also received feedback more regularly and from multiple people. If an assignment has more than 100 words, it is standard practice to also plan in a proofreader and thus there were more opportunities to provide me with feedback. This was also feedback on assignments from multiple disciplines and companies and because of this, I also learned some of the preferences of customers and more jargon terms. Moreover, it was
interesting to see the ways in which I had improved in the last few weeks, even though I still made some mistakes.
How did the placement help you to sharpen your career goals?
Especially in the beginning, I found it difficult to stay behind my desk and concentrate for longer periods of time. After about six hours I usually started to lose my concentration, even with tea breaks and a lunchbreak. This did become easier a few weeks in when I had a bit more work to do.
Nevertheless, I did enjoy working within an organization and as part of a team. It was interesting to learn about all the different aspects such as project management, translating and proofreading. I can see myself do this type of work for at least a few years, but after that I think I would enjoy something with a bit more variation. However, if I was a full-fledged translator it might be different, because during my internship, especially in the beginning, there were not a lot of things I could help with and they were not going to suddenly put me on a big project. Therefore, my planning was sometimes a bit empty. This was somewhat better the last three weeks, as I usually managed to fill all my hours with real projects. This was also partially due to the fact that the other intern's internship was over and I was the only intern left that had been there for a while. The days that my planning was fuller were a lot easier and it was even easier to stay concentrated.
As I briefly touched upon, I did enjoy working within an organization and that was also something I did not have experience with. It was enjoyable to have people around you and it made it easy to communicate with others and to ask questions. Moreover, I enjoyed having an actual
workspace instead of working from home. This made it easier to focus and meant that I was surrounded by people instead of alone in my house.
Conclusion
All in all, I learned a lot during my internship. To name a few: working with CAT tools,
significantly easier. Working within a team was something I really enjoyed. I liked having other people around me who were also working on different projects. It made it easier for me to focus on my work, but it also allowed me to ask questions when I was stuck with a certain translation or did not understand something. I learned a lot from other employees talking to each other about different problems they encountered and the different solutions they came up with together.
At the start of my internship I mostly wanted to figure out whether or not translating was something I could enjoy and if I was able to do it. These two questions were answered during my internship and I am very glad I had the opportunity to test out translating in this manner. I realized that it is indeed something that I enjoy doing and I that it is also a skill that I can learn. Making a start at it in this context, with help from everyone around me was very educative. However, I also learned that there are many aspects of translating that I had never even thought of, especially translating within an agency, such as everything about project management and editing aspects. I believe that I have a much better idea of what translating means now and everything all the other aspects that are important to create a quality translation.
