CIoL Diploma: Distance Course

Chartered Institute of Linguists Diploma Preparation Course

Spanish > English

About the distance course

IH Barcelona has acted as a centre for the Diploma in Translation examination since 1991, and has been running a preparation course for the exam since 1992. Building on the experience gained this far, the course is now being presented in distance learning format for the third year.

Though the CIoL exam provides the focus for the course, the course can also provide broader guidance for people keen to develop a critical and independent approach to translating. In early June we hope to be able to advise course participants whether they are ready for the exam or need to accumulate more experience.

The exam takes place in January each year. Please note the next exam session takes place in January 2009, but the next IH Barcelona distance course, starting in January 2009, will be preparing candidates for the exam in January 2010.

Delivery mode

The course is delivered by distance, using the International House 'virtual classroom' on the IH Online Training site. Research shows that collaborative learning fosters the development of critical thinking and problem-solving skills through discussion, clarification of ideas, and evaluation of others' ideas.

Structure of the distance course

The course comprises 8 modules. Module 1 is an introduction to the exam; it includes a full set of papers to give you an idea of what is required, and the first specimen text, which you should translate and send in for assessment.

Modules 1 to 4 look at aspects of the theoretical background of translation and different ways of approaching a text, and provide sets of short translation exercises and specimen papers from previous years. These exercises and specimen papers constitute the module's assignment, which should be sent in for correction and feedback. These early modules thus comprise an "academic" or "theoretical" part, and a practical part.

Module 1 includes a full set of papers to give you an idea of what is required, and the first specimen text, which you should translate and send in for assessment. In module 1 we also compare two English translations of a García Márquez short story, and the analysis of the two English versions will shed light on their differences in focus.

Module 2 looks at an article by Umberto Eco in which he discusses his relationship with his translators, and a number of issues related to literary translation.

Module 3 focuses on a criticism of the English translations of Thomas Mann, raising questions of the status of a translated text in relation to the original.

Module 4 assesses two journalistic translations of an article by Salman Rushdie.

Each of these four modules contains a specimen paper from previous years and short paragraphs for translation, which make up the modules' assignments. By the end of module 4, students will have sent in 8 pieces for assessment, and at this stage we advise course participants whether we think they are ready for the exam or need more practice. Obviously, the decision to take the examination is entirely up to the students themselves.

With Module 5, we begin to look specifically at the CIoL examination itself:

Module 5 focuses on one exam session – 2001 – discussing the texts in detail and providing model texts for comparison.

Modules 6 - 8 cover the semi-specialist papers: module 6 literature and social sciences, module 7 technology and science, and module 8 business and law. The tutor gives detailed commentary on participants' work and also provides a model translation of each text for comparison. Course participants will be given two full sets to complete at home as mock exams; these may also be sent in for assessment.

Workload

The workload is expected to be about 8 hours for modules 1-4 and about 10-12 for modules 5-8.

New modules begin on average every five weeks. The first module begins in late January; the second at the end of February, module 3 in April, and so on. After the eighth module, three sets of mock exam papers will be looked at in November and December.

This is the overall plan; nonetheless, the distance format offers a certain flexibility, and we are usually able to adapt if participants' other commitments oblige them to work at a different rhythm.

Prices

€475 (from January 2009, €495)

Face-to-face course

We also run this same course in situ in Barcelona.