Becoming global citizens with multilingualism
Department of English Translation and Interpreting, Faculty of Arts and Science, Izmir University of Economics (IUE), teaches its students 3 foreign languages and enables them to become global. With an innovative vision, in line with the curriculum to be implemented this year in order to raise well-equipped young people, students will be able to choose either or French or Italian for 4 years in addition to English. Students will learn Spanish, German, Russian, Japanese or Chinese starting form the third grade. This way, translators from Izmir University of Economics will be able to translate a second foreign language in addition to English, and graduate by learning a third foreign language at a level that they can use effectively.
Prof. Neslihan Kansu Yetkiner, Head of Department of Translation and Interpretation pointed out that with the curriculum that they will implement this year, students will learn 2 different foreign languages other than English more effectively.
2 more foreign languages in addition to English
Prof. Yetkiner said, “In the first two years of our four-year program, students receive training in the reinforcement of language skills, and learn the comparison of English and Turkish language structures and cultural differences and the principles of translation. In the last two years, we have focused more on practice-based translation and interpretation training. Based on our updated curriculum, students will take either French or Italian classes with a compulsory, intensive special curriculum for 4 years. With our translation courses, we aim for them to reach the level of being able to translate from either of these two languages into Turkish.”
Stating that the students receive the "qualified to translate" certificate at the end of their education, Prof. Yetkiner emphasized that, in addition to this document, they also direct students to international certification exams in the language they center upon. Prof. Yetkiner, said that in addition to the four-year second foreign language education provided with a special curriculum to the students of the department, one of the Spanish, German, Russian, Japanese and Chinese courses of the IUE School of Foreign Languages will be taught for two years starting from the third grade.
Prof. Yetkiner stated that students will have knowledge of grammar, writing, reading, listening / comprehending and speaking in the third foreign language. Noting that Izmir University of Economics Department of English Translation and Interpretingtakes place in the front row of Turkey's most preferred departments, Prof. Yetkiner said, “Our department started education in 2004 - 2005 academic year. In the light of scientific methods and approaches, we train translators who are familiar with field knowledge and terminology and who have language awareness in various subjects such as law, economics, medicine, literature, social sciences and science, political science, international relations, media and communication. Our department ranks first in all competitions in the field of translation. We have not lost the first or second place in the Young Translators Competition held by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Directorate for EU Affairs for many years.”