School of Interpreting and Translation Studies, GDUFS
June 24, 2014
I. Exam Dates
The Advance Entry Examination will be set at the end of the second semester of the first year of the programme. For 2014, the exam date will be July 5.
II.Exam Venue
Room 402, Teaching Building 4, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies.
III. Candidates
1. First-time candidates: first-year students of the Guangwai Professional Certificate Programme of Conference Interpreting, who have completed all the required courses with at least a pass.
2. Re-takers: students that studied in the Guangwai Professional Certificate Programme of Conference Interpreting, and failed the previous Advance Entry examination.
3. Advance entry applicants: applicants that are not students of the Guangwai Professional Certificate Programme of Conference Interpreting may apply for advance entry into the second year of the programme. They shall take part in the Advance Entry Examination at the end of year one of the programme, and should meet at least one of the following conditions:
(1) The applicant has graduated from a leading T&I School in or outside China with a master’s degree;
(2) The applicant has worked for an international organization as interpreter for three years or above;
(3) The applicant has worked for the foreign affairs function in a government department on the municipal level or above as interpreter for three years or above;
(4) The applicant has worked for a private organization or an enterprise as in-house interpreter for three years or above;
(5) The applicant is a highly qualified interpreter, and can produce a written reference letter from a full-time or part-time instructor of the programme.
IV.Registration
Registration dates for an Advance Entry Examination shall be announced prior to that exam. Applicants for advance entry should submit their graduation certificate, academic degree certificate, academic transcript and curriculum vitae for evaluation. Successful applicants will be invited to the Advance Entry Examination.
V.Exam Structure
The Advance Entry Examination consists of four tests:
(1) consecutive interpreting A-B: listen to a 4-minite speech in A-langauge
(cut into two segements), then interpret it into B-language. Note-taking is allowed;
(2) consecutive interpreting B-A: listen to a 4-minite speech in B-langauge
(cut into two segements), then interpret it into A-language. Note-taking is allowed;
(3) sight translation A-B: read a speech of 1000 Chinese characters or 800
English words in A-language, then sight translate it into B-language;
(4) sight translation B-A: read a speech of 800 English words or 1000
Chinese characters in B-language, then sight translate it into A-language.
VI.Exam Materials and Exam Procedures
1. Materials Selection: Speeches and texts may be proposed by either GSITS faculties or by one or more jury members, but must be tested by jury members and be approved by the examination jury. For better exam qualities, speeches and text will be taken from (or based on) authentic conference or media material.
2. Format: Speeches for consecutive interpreting will be recorded and played to candidates on video. Speeches for sight translation will be in the form of written texts.
3. Topic and Preparation: Candidates will be informed of the general topic of tests not later than noon one week before the day of the exam. If deemed necessary by the exam jury, each candidate will be given additional proper names or terms at the start of each test.
4. Sound, Recording and Timing: The technician(s) in charge will ensure that sound is of good quality. All tests shall be recorded. Recordings will only be played back to jury members in cases of uncertainty or disagreement between jurors. The recordings may also be used as subsequent teaching materials.
5. Candidates will agree on the order of passage by drawing lots, and inform the jury before the exam.
6. The candidates will be preparing for the tests in an isolated room, and enter the exam room by order of passage. Upon finishing a test, the candidates shall leave the exam area immediately and should not communicate with other candidates.
7. Once in the exam room, each candidate will complete two tests of the same time, i.e. consecutive interpreting A-B and consecutive interpreting B-A, sight translation A-B and sight translation B-A. the candidate may choose which language direction to go first.
VII. The Jury
GSITS shall invite accredited conference interpeters with at least eight to ten years of professional experience into the jury. The jury consists of at least five people, including representatives from major domestic and international institutional interpreter users (such as the United Nations, the European Union and Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the P. R. C.), AIIC members and full-time instructors of the programme. All jury members should have professional accreditation of conference interpreting. The jury works under a chair, who is an external examiner and make final decisions on exam results. The jury designates a secretary, who plans and coordinates exam matters, and takes responsibility in executing exam rules, inputting scores and checks exam results. Calculation of scores and timing will be done by the secretary, or any designated personnel.
VIII. Grading and Exam Results
1. All tests shall be judged by the same full jury. Jury members will be provided with special grading sheets with assessment guidelines (50% for information, 30% for language, 20% for style and presentation). A score of 60 or above on any test is considered a pass.
2. Consecutive interpreting performances shall be timed and the jury members shall be informed of the result. The time shall be included in the consideration the score of style and presentation.
3. After each candidate completes a test, the jury may have a discussion on the candidate’s performance, after which each jury member shall hand one completed copy of the grading sheet to the secretary, indicating pass or fail.
4. When a test is completed, the secretary will announce the provisional results. The jury may have a further deliberation of the performance of one of some of the candidates, if deemed necessary.
5. After all the tests are completed, the jury will have a final review and discussion, to finalize the score of each candidate for each test. In case the jury still cannot reach consensus on a candidate’s score of any single test, jury members may vote on “pass” or “fail” to determine a clear majority either way for the candidate.
6. Grading sheets and comments from the jurors should be noted for purposes of feedback and kept for the final deliberations.
7. Candidates that pass all four tests shall be granted a place in the second year of the Guangwai Professional Certificate Programme of Conference Interpreting. First-time candidates that fail all or some of the four tests are eligible for re-taking the Advance Entry Exam of the next year. In this case, they shall take the test(s) that they failed in their first time Advance Entry Exam.
IX. Announcement of Exam Results
1. Only names of candidates who have passed all tests will be announced. If necessary, jury members may provide feedback to the candidates.
2. Candidates will be informed separately in the event of failure on any test, along with the scores in each failed test and written comments from the jury.
X. Public Access to the Exam
Subject to the approval of GSITS, the jury may invite professional observers to be present at all or part of the exam.
XI. Questions and Other Issues
Questions and issues pertaining to the guidelines and the examination proper shall be jointly resolved or explained by GSITS.
XII. Announcement and Implementation
These Guidelines shall take effect on the date of announcement.
