Training Principles of TKTD
- Conference Interpreting training is provided at higher education level by professional conference interpreters with at least five years of professional experience, whose working languages are approved by TKTD, AIIC or an international organisation.
- Professional conference interpreters are responsible for the development and implementation of the curriculum for conference interpreting training.
- Conference interpreting training is organised in such a way that each student receives at least 400 hours of practical consecutive and simultaneous interpreting training.
- Since the minimum 400 hours of practical training required for specialisation in this field cannot be provided in crowded classes, it is essential that quality rather than quantity is sought in conference interpreting training: For this purpose, students who will specialise in conference interpreting must pass an aptitude test. This test takes into account the students’ native and foreign language skills, their general knowledge, motivation, and stress resilience. The language classification of the students (“A”, “B” and “C” languages) is based on international professional standards.
- The final decisions on selection in the aptitude test are made by the professional conference interpreters teaching in the programme as well as those invited from outside, whose qualifications are described in Article 1.
- As part of the programme, students are also informed about professional and ethical rules.
- The programme is only completed by students who have reached the level of professional competence. The final decision is made by the professional conference interpreters who teach on the programme as well as those invited from outside, whose qualifications are described in Article 1.
- It is desirable that professional interpreters who will provide conference interpreting training have been trained as trainers in this field. They are expected to attend professional training sessions on this subject.
- Institutions providing conference interpreting training should have simultaneous interpreting laboratories and infrastructure suitable for this training. Technical standards should provide guidance in this regard (TS ISO 2603 and TS ISO 4043).
- The above-mentioned training principles were prepared on the basis of the best practice guidelines of AIIC, the International Association of Conference Interpreters (aiic.net), EMCI, the European Conference Interpreting Master’s Consortium (www.emcinterpreting.org) and the EU training principles, and were unanimously approved at the Academic Committee meeting of TKTD on 22 December 2010 and the Members’ Meeting on 24 December 2010.
All TKTD members should convey these principles to the administrators of the higher education institutions with which they are in contact and seek these qualities in the programmes they will teach.