Our Translation and Interpreting Laboratory

Our Simultaneous Interpretation Lab. has recently been equipped with Symposium Language Lab. System, which enables the use of teaching materials in both digital and analogue formats for 20 students at the same time. This system offers comprehensive desktop tools for launching student learning activities and supporting students while they work individually, in pairs, or in groups in all kinds of interpretation courses. Moreover, the laboratory provides individual interpretation drills which expose students gradually to real working situations, using flexible modern digital media (CD-ROMs, DVDs, the Internet) and traditional analog media (audio cassette tapes, VCR tapes). 

Our  Translation and Interpreting Laboratory founded in 2006 by the Department of English Translation and Interpreting has provided a real working environment to our students for their interpreting practices through Robotel Symposium System. In 2010, Optical Character Recognition technologies, Translation Memory Systems, Voice Recognition and Text-to-Speech Technologies were included in our laboratory which enabled students to become competent in the document translation. Trados translation memory system, which is commonly used within European Union, is one of the programmes in our translation laboratory with its latest version (2019). Trados is also included and studied in our curriculum within the frame of ‘Computer Assisted Translation Studies’ course. In addition, students are introduced to open source software such as OmegaT and they are given assistance for their professional development.
 
In January 2014 our department, with the help of university administration and IT Directorate, has updated its laboratory system with Robotel SmartClass+ Language Lab systems (http://www.robotel.com/en/smartclass_language.php) and became the first institution in Turkey to use this system. With this efficient system that allows a large variety of oral translation exercises such as written text interpreting, consecutive interpreting, simultaneous interpreting. Our experienced academic staff  give our students the opportunity to be prepared in the best way possible for the professional life. Different laboratory systems are used in Turkey. This system is available only in our laboratory.
 
Our students get acquainted with an atmosphere similar to an authentic working place. They have the opportunity to be one step ahead, thanks to learning translation technologies and become familiar with interpreting equipment and setting through authentic audio-visual materials and simulation practices. The graduates work as translators and interpreters in private companies, governmental institutions, banks, trade chambers, municipalities, educational institutions.

The lectures given in the Translation and Interpreting Laboratory:

• Introduction to Interpreting
• Sight Interpreting
• Consecutive Interpreting I-II
• Simultaneous Interpreting
• Audio-visual Translation
• Computer Assisted Translation Studies
• Interpreting Studies
• Community Interpreting
• Computer Assisted Translation and Localization