Assessing the Significance of Continuing Education for Language Professionals

Feb 20
08:25

2012

Charlene Lacandazo

Charlene Lacandazo

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Continuing education is arguably the most important long-term meta-skill that any professional worker has to acquire today. This is certainly the case for translators and interpreters.

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Due to fast-moving knowledge and technology in the world,Assessing the Significance of Continuing Education for Language Professionals Articles it is very obvious that the knowledge of people grows rusty and outdated in various subject, and thus, it is necessary that everybody has to look and learn further in order to sharpen the skills and knowledge that are necessary to a successful professional career.Today, people deal with different types of knowledge and information, involving cultures, languages, and technology; all of these most subjects are continually evolving almost every day. Let’s take for example the field of the interpreting and language translation profession. Almost every day there are new terms and words that are evolving in their usage for different bodies or organizations. Hence, translators and interpreters need to have the tools and proper knowledge in order for them to gather an effective solution necessary for any translation and interpreting concerns.Furthermore, due to evolving language, culture, and knowledge, the world faces technological developments as well that mean that most language professionals are often confused, causing their previous knowledge to be outdated . For example, in the translation and interpreting field today, pen and paper are not considered to be most helpful in producing a translation product and for communicating with clients. Modernization has pushed machines, telephones, and computers to be the most pioneering tool in the field nowadays. However, these technologies will undoubtedly be replaced over time, which may again require professionals to acquire knowledge before they can effectively perform accurate work with the help of knowledge and technology.Continuously learning and improving is the most effective way to be relevant that can help language professionals to remain functional and more accessible in the language translation and interpreting industry. It is important to know that professionals including interpreters and translators should not stop to sharpen their tools even if they think that they have enough knowledge and capability in promoting and producing accurate translations.Actually, interpreters and translators may extend their skills and knowledge by entering any different subject fields that can be helpful for them to perform an accurate job in the future. Most language professionals know about some technical specialties in the translation field; however, that knowledge does not make them the most effective language providers without continuous learning more about the techniques and rules in the translation and interpreting field. Through continuous learning, a professional’s skills and knowledge can definitely improve and be well-maintained to make the job successful.Ideally, acquiring skills can enable the translators and interpreters to master his or her specialized field, although learning should be a long and lifetime process. In addition, it should be noted that effective translators and professional interpreters are most likely those who have desires of continually learning about their specialised areas such as in technical and literary translation fields.Therefore, professionals should continue to learn and refresh the knowledge and skills necessary that are beneficial to professionalism and real expertise.