LANGUAGE IN INDIA

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Volume 26:4 April 2026
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Interpreting Courses in the English Language and Translation Program at Qassim University: Do They Qualify Students to be Competent Interpreters?

Sultan A. Almohaimeed

Abstract

The need for interpreting services has increased dramatically in the last two decades. In order to respond to this increase, many programs have been launched in different countries around the world. For these programs to adequately prepare their graduates to get into the profession, there are some pillars that they should be built on. Interpreting trainees need to practice interpreting in an authentic environment that is similar to what they will really encounter in the profession. Students should also be exposed to the different technological programs and software that enhance their learning. This paper aims to evaluate the interpreting courses in the undergraduate program of English Language and Translation at Qassim University to see if it has achieved the goal of qualifying its graduates to be competent interpreters. The courses specifications have been analyzed in addition to a survey which has been given to students who graduated from the program to look at their attitude toward the program. The findings show that there are some defects in the courses taught in the program regarding the implementation of technology and the learning environment. At its conclusion, the paper suggests some solutions to develop and reformulate the courses to have better outcomes regarding interpreting trainees' competence.

Keywords: authentic environment, curriculum design, didactic tool, interpreter training, technology.

Introduction

Translation and interpreting are often confused and mistakenly considered as one discipline. Many people believe that a competent translator will definitely make a good interpreter. However, this is not true. Translation and interpreting are two distinct disciplines and each discipline requires different skills. In the time that translation deals with written texts and allow time for revision, interpreting involves immediate oral transfer of meaning under time pressure. Interpreting demands a high level of listening comprehension, memory retention and delivery skills that go beyond what is required for written translation. Thus, being a competent translator does not mean necessarily that an individual is qualified to perform effectively as an interpreter. We need to understand the relationship between translation and interpreting. Renfer (1992) explains this relationship saying that, “translation and interpreting are interdependent in the sense that interpreting can build upon sound translating abilities and that interpreters can use their interpreting experience in translation work” (p. 173). This should help us to be aware of the relationship between translation and interpreting and not to lead to the wrong assumption that being good in one profession will automatically qualify you to be good in the other.

As a field of study, Interpreting is offered in many universities and institutions around the world to cater for the increasing demands for different kinds of interpreter (i.e., community interpreters, conference interpreters and so on). Interpreters need to develop certain skills for them to be competent in their field, so it is not possible to blindly assume that each one who speaks two or more languages fluently is capable of carrying out an interpreting task, because as Sawyer (2004) explains “teaching interpretation is an activity fundamentally different from teaching foreign languages” (p. 3). There are so many aspects that should be covered in an interpreting program which a program of teaching foreign languages cannot handle. For example, interpreting curriculum should take the cognitive ability of interpreters into account when teaching and training interpreters. Another issue is the sequence in teaching the different modes of interpreting and the techniques of “Note-Taking”. Additionally, interpreting training institutions need to enhance interpreting competence which is not only limited to the linguistic and educational competence, but also includes the socio-cultural and psychological competence in addition to their competence in the professional ethics (Niska, 2005). Thus, we should not look at interpreting as a bilingual person who transfers the message linguistically between two or more interlocutors. The situation is more complicated and interpreting trainers should be aware of this complex task in the first place.

This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.

Sultan A. Almohaimeed
Assistant Professor of Translation Studies
Department of English Language and Literature
College of Languages and Humanities, Qassim University
Buraydah, Qassim, Saudi Arabia
s.almohameed@qu.edu.sa

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