Back to School
With languages sadly being no longer compulsory at GCSE level, I am always keen to inspire a new generation of linguists and encourage children to learn new languages and experience different cultures. As such, I enjoy regularly taking part in school careers fairs and events to promote translation and languages and share my experiences.
My own career path started at high school when I started learning French and Spanish and I knew almost straight away that this was what I wanted to pursue. I worked in various commercial roles before moving into translation, with my focus always being firmly fixed on languages. Now, I want to pass that on to future generations.
I recently participated in two careers events at local high schools in Preston. First, a “Make Languages Work” day at Penwortham Priory Academy.
Armed with a quiz, a word search and a sample translation, I did my best to convince the Year 9 students (13–14-year-olds) to consider taking a language as a GCSE option and discussed the variety of work and tasks undertaken in a day in the life of a translator, such as dealing with enquiries, carrying out translation work and marketing and admin tasks.
Although some were slightly sceptical at first, asking “What’s the point, don’t people just use Google Translate?” curiosity and fascination were sparked when I explained that although technology can help with translation, we shouldn’t rely on it, particularly if specific legal or medical context and cultural nuances are involved, as any errors or mistranslations could have serious consequences.
We also explored the differences in the work of translators and interpreters (written versus spoken), being office based or working on-site with clients, and aspects of freelance life, including the flexibility to manage your own schedule, work from home, and take on a wide variety of work and clientele.
Next was a Career Aspirations Evening at Penwortham Girls’ High School, aimed at giving their Year 11 students an insight into the different options available to them after GCSE.
It was encouraging to see the number of students who stopped to talk to me about the different career opportunities available with languages, not just in translation and interpreting, but also in teaching, travel, hospitality and many other industries. We also discussed how languages can be combined with a range of subjects, such as music, maths and history to open doors to many exciting careers where languages can play a part, such as engineering or sales roles, where international travel may be involved to visit or communicate with clients, or working as a multilingual tour guide in a museum providing audio and visitor guides.
Furthermore, languages are important if you decide to travel or live abroad for a length of time. I regularly work with students who have studied abroad and need their academic transcripts translating into English, or British people who have got married in, or want to buy or sell a property in Spain or France and need a translation of the paperwork or other relevant legal documents. The possibilities are endless!
I hope that I was able to inspire these students and show them that despite the advances of AI, there will always be a place for a human brain in translation and that there are still bright prospects and exciting opportunities in this industry to learn and become immersed in other cultures and languages. This is something that technology will never be able to fully replace.
When I’m not supporting language teachers inspire future generations, my typical day involves providing certified translations of legal, academic and commercial documents from Spanish and French into English for private individuals, legal professionals and corporate clients.
If that’s something that you need then please get in touch and I would love to help you!