The Incorporation of the National Occupational Standard for Translator/Interpreter (Level 6) into the Course Structure Diagrams of Translation and Interpreting Departments: Are Future Translators and Interpreters Informed about the Standard?
Nazan Müge Uysal, Ensa FilaziThe establishment of the National Vocational Qualifications System, which is linked to the European Qualifications Framework for Lifelong Learning (EQF-LLL), has started in the 90s in Turkey. Regulated by the Vocational Qualifications Authority, one of the main goals of the National Vocational Qualifications System is to develop national occupational standards and occupational qualifications so that cooperation between education and employment is strengthened. As they explicate the knowledge, skills, and attitudes practitioners of an occupation are expected to acquire and possess, utilization of occupational standards in education programs plays a crucial role on the way to reaching the goals of EQF-LLL and the National Vocational Qualifications System. Translation profession was incorporated into the National Vocational Qualifications System in 2011, and the National Occupational Standard for Translator/Interpreter [NOSTI (Level 6)] was published on the Official Gazette in 2013. It was revised in 2020. This study aims to identify the inclusion of NOSTI into translation and interpreting undergraduate programs in Turkey with a focus on analysis of course structure diagrams and course details of these programs. As an instance of qualitative research methods, document analysis is used to explore to what extent NOSTI is integrated in the courses offered in translation and interpreting departments.
Çevirmen (Seviye 6) Ulusal Meslek Standardı’nın Mütercim ve Tercümanlık Bölümlerinin Öğretim Programlarındaki Yeri: Çevirmen Adaylarını Standart ile Tanıştırıyor Muyuz?
Nazan Müge Uysal, Ensa FilaziHayat Boyu Öğrenme Avrupa Yeterlilikler Çerçevesi (AYÇ) çalışmalarının bir uzantısı olan Ulusal Mesleki Yeterlilik Sistemi (UMYS) oluşturma süreci ülkemizde 90’lı yıllarda başlamıştır. Mesleki Yeterlilik Kurumu (MYK) çatısı altında yürütülmekte olan UMYS’nin temel hedefleri arasında eğitim ile istihdam ilişkisinin güçlendirilmesi ve ortak öğrenme çıktıları geliştirilebilmesi için ulusal meslek standartlarının ve mesleki yeterliliklerin oluşturulması yer almaktadır. Bu hedefler, MYK ile Yükseköğretim Kurumunu (YÖK) aynı zeminde buluşturmaktadır.
YÖK’te özellikle 2017 yılından bu yana hız kazanan “uluslararasılaşma” hedefi ve Bologna süreci hedefleri çerçevesinde MYK ile ortak zeminde yürütülen çalışmaların daha güçlü bir iş birliğiyle uygulama alanlarına yansıması gerekmektedir.
Özellikle mesleki bilgi, beceri ve yetkinliklerin belirlendiği asgari norm olarak kabul edilen meslek standartları ile yükseköğretim programları arasındaki ilişkinin kuvvetlendirilmesi bu ihtiyaca hizmet edecek bir bağlantı noktasıdır. AYÇ ve UMYS hedeflerinin gerçekleştirilebilmesi için öğretim programlarının planlanmasında ve mevcut programların ders kataloglarının geliştirilmesinde meslek standartlarından faydalanılması oldukça önemlidir. Çevirmenlik mesleği 2011 yılında UMYS’ye dâhil edilmiştir. Çevirmen (Seviye 6) Ulusal Meslek Standardı (ÇUMS) 2013 yılında Resmî Gazete’de yayımlanmış ve 2020 yılında güncellenmiştir. Bu çalışmada, ülkemizde lisans düzeyinde çeviri eğitimi verilen mütercim ve tercümanlık bölümlerinin öğretim programlarında ÇUMS’nin yeri nitel araştırma yöntemlerinden doküman analizi ile araştırılmış ve çeviri eğitiminde ÇUMS’ye ne ölçüde yer verildiği saptanmaya çalışılmıştır.
The establishment of the National Vocational Qualifications System is regulated by the Vocational Qualifications Authority in Turkey. The overriding concern of the National Vocational Qualifications System, which is linked to the European Qualifications Framework for Lifelong Learning (EQF-LLL), is to establish national occupational standards and occupational qualifications, which will enable the development of a stronger connection and cooperation based on shared learning outcomes between education and employment. The Council of Higher Education has initiated the strategy of internalization as of 2017. In line with this strategy and the Bologna Process, a stronger cooperation between the Vocational Qualifications Authority and Council of Higher Education is required for the effective implementation of shared goals and action plans. The EQF-LLL plays a prominent role in the classification of competences and learning outcomes in all types of learning environments, enabling the establishment of national and regional frameworks. In connection with the EQF-LLL, Turkey has developed the National Qualifications Framework and the National Qualifications Framework for Higher Education, specifically for the adoption of qualifications encompassing higher education, which paved the way for the establishment of national occupational standards and qualifications.
As occupational standards explicate the required knowledge, skills, and attitudes practitioners of an occupation are expected to adopt, utilization of occupational standards in education programs is of paramount importance to reach the main (and shared) goals of the EQF-LLL and the National Vocational Qualifications System. Translation profession was incorporated into the National Vocational Qualifications System in 2011, and the National Occupational Standard for Translator and Interpreter [NOSTI (Level 6)] was first published on the Official Gazette in 2013. It was revised in 2020. This study aims to identify the inclusion of NOSTI in translation and interpreting undergraduate programs in Turkey with a focus on the content analysis of course structure diagrams and course details of these departments. As an instance of qualitative research methods, document analysis is used to explore to what extent NOSTI is integrated in the courses offered in translation and interpreting departments.
The document analysis has revealed that 98 undergraduate programs offer translation and interpreting education in several language pairs (Turkish-English, Turkish-German, Turkish-French, Turkish-English&French, Turkish-Arabic, Turkish-Russian, Turkish-Bulgarian, Turkish-Chinese, Turkish-Persian, and Turkish-Japan) in Turkey1. The results demonstrate that only 13 programs offer courses covering NOSTI, and NOSTI is mostly included in translation and interpreting departments giving education in Turkish-English language pair, which corresponds to 8 out of 13 programs.
The majority of the undergraduate programs present NOSTI to future translators and interpreters in compulsory courses. 10 out of 14 courses covering NOSTI are compulsory whereas 4 courses are enlisted as elective courses in course structure diagrams. These courses are predominantly offered in the third year, in the sixth and/or fifth semesters, followed by the seventh, eight, and second semesters, respectively. The analysis concerning the inclusion of NOSTI within course details shows that NOSTI is mainly involved in the “weekly course outline/syllabus” (10 out of 14 courses). In 5 of these 10 courses, “weekly course outline/syllabus” is the only part of the course details NOSTI is mentioned while the remaining 5 courses involve NOSTI in the “course content” in addition to the “weekly outline/syllabus”. Furthermore, in 2 of the 14 courses, NOSTI is merely included in the “course content”. The last category encompasses the combination of “course content” and “learning outcomes”; that is, NOSTI is declared to be taught both in the “course content” and “learning outcomes” in 2 out of 14 courses.
To be well-equipped for today’s dynamic and multifaceted workplace, translator and interpreter candidates are expected to acquire a set of sub-competences and skills, including but not limited to language and culture, thematic and domain, translation, research and technology, translation service provision, and personal and interpersonal skills throughout their academic education2. These competence profiles, regarded as key reference standards for translation and interpreting (and language) industry, are meant to enhance the employability of translation and interpreting graduates. NOSTI delineates occupational duties and tasks accompanied by performance criteria, along with required professional knowledge and applied skills (to maintain these duties and tasks). As a result, integrating NOSTI into academic education and informing future translators and interpreters about expected occupational duties and tasks will help improve their conceptualization of essential aspects of translation and interpreting profession. Besides, NOSTI can serve an effective reference tool for academic circles in the design of curriculum and course details to facilitate the establishment of a stronger cooperation between learning outcomes in translation and interpreting education and the needs and expectations of translation and interpreting industry.
