Fulbright Scholarship Awarded to TESOL Student

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Teaching, travel and foreign languages are TESOL student Lindsey Bowman’s passions. Beginning in February, she’ll have the opportunity to continue to pursue them when she travels to Brazil as a Fulbright Scholar.

The Fulbright program is a prestigious, merit-based international education exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government. During her time in Brazil, Lindsey will teach future English teachers at the Universidade Estadual do Para, in Belem, a city of about two million on the banks of the Amazon estuary.

Previously, Lindsey taught English as a foreign language through Harvard University’s WorldTeach program in Colombia and studied abroad in Spain and Tanzania. She has worked extensively in the Monterey Institute’s Intensive ESL programs, as an activity coordinator, tutor, and as a teacher in a month-long exchange program with Osaka University.

In addition to teaching, Lindsey plans to enroll in formal Portuguese classes and to volunteer with a community group for economically disadvantaged women. When she returns to MIIS in January of 2012, following her Fulbright grant period, Lindsey is excited to combine practical, hands-on experience with theoretical study of second language acquisition.

Culture and Language Lessons for International Day

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On November 19th, the Monterey Institute celebrated International Week with its very own International Day! Local high school students were invited to come on over and experience a trip around the world without having to step foot outside of Monterey. The students were exposed to foreign countries and cultures from some of the international students and learned about real opportunities to go abroad from students who had taken part in various programs overseas.

In addition to learning about cultures, the TESOL/TFL students created mini language lessons and taught them to the high school students so that they could get exposure to a new language.  Some of the languages taught included Spanish, French, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, and Russian.

In addition to teaching the high school students more about languages around the world, the TESOL/TFL students also had a chance to flex their lesson-planning muscles. All of their language lessons were adaptations of lessons originally planned for large groups of elementary school students when they taught at the International School of Monterey earlier in the semester.

As a sign of their appreciation, one of the local high schools sent thank you notes from all of their students. One student wrote, “MIIS – It was extremely fun learning the different languages. Totally fun day! I can’t wait to go next year.” Now that’s teacher motivation! We’re looking forward to next year’s International Day.

Editing and Revision for Translators

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Dr. Malcom Williams will be teaching a 15-hour non-credit workshop on Editing and Revision for Translators at MIIS.

This workshop is designed for second-year students who are about to enter the labour market as written communications specialists. Learning activities focus on requirements for the production of English documents of deliverable quality.

Dr. Malcolm Williams holds a B.A. in French and Latin (University of Leicester, U.K.), an M.A. in French Language and Literature (McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario), and a Certificate in Business Management (Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia). In 2001, he completed a Ph.D. in Translation Studies (University of Ottawa) — the first doctorate in this discipline to be awarded by a Canadian translation school.

He is a certified member of the Association of Translators and Interpreters of Ontario (ATIO) and the Council of Translators, Terminologists and Interpreters of Canada (CTTIC).

His professional background includes 21 years with the Canadian government’s Translation Bureau, where he worked as a translator, reviser, trainer, evaluator, director and account manager, and a number of years as a freelance translator, reviser and editor.

He is currently an associate professor at the School of Translation and Interpretation of the University of Ottawa and a member of the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies of that university. He teaches courses in general, specialized and technical translation, writing techniques and editing/revision and, this winter, is teaching a new course entitled “Professional and Commercial Aspects of Translation.” In addition, he coordinates the School’s internship and conference interpreting programs.

Dr. Williams’s primary research interests are in translation quality assessment (TQA) and training. He is the author of Translation Quality Assessment: An Argumentation-centred Approach (2005) and coauthor, editor and project director of The Canadian Style: A Guide to Writing and Editing, the Canadian federal government’s style manual (2nd edition, 1997; 1st edition 1985). He has published a number of articles on TQA and translation pedagogy and is currently developing a textbook on French-English translation.

Dates: February 4th (6-9 pm), February 5th (9 am-12 pm and 2-5 pm), February 6th (9 am-12 pm and 2-5 pm), 2011.

Cost: Free

Available Seats: 60 students will be accepted (on a first-come, first-serve basis)

To Register: email gstile [at] miis [dot] edu

Registration deadline: February 2, 2011

For more information about the workshop, please email Prof. Córdoba Serrano.

Kumar Trade Fair – Trading Teaching Macrostrategies

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In December, the Principles and Practices in Language Education classes came together and showcased some of their knowledge on educational macrostrategies that they had been studying over the semester. The Kumar Trade Fair (named after B. Kumaravadivelu) has become a tradition for the TESOL/TFL students and represents a chance for the students to talk to people outside of the language education department about different teaching approaches.

For the Trade Fair, a small team of students designed and demonstrated a series of tasks that students could do as part of a language lesson. Some of the tasks included tasting salads to learn about different food cultures, thinking about dream jobs, and learning about cultural differences through watching a Saturday Night Live skit.

After the Trade Fair, the students gathered and discussed what they had learned from the Trade Fair, and most students agreed that it was interesting to see how a single macrostrategy could be represented in so many different ways. A member from another department mentioned that she had always considered her own department to be the one that tried to “save the world”, but she was pleased and surprised to see that the language education students were also creating activities which worked toward the same goal.

An Interview with Holly Mikkelson

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In addition to teaching Court Interpretation here at MIIS, Holly Mikkelson works as a count interpreter and a freelance translator. In 1974, Professor Mikkelson came to the Monterey Institute as a student and studied interpretation. Take a look at her interview to learn how she went from being a student to being a respected translator with people looking to her to write articles and book chapters.

In her interview with Anthony Pym, Professor Mikkelson discusses the current state of court interpretation, education about court interpretation in the U.S. and internationally, and research being done in the field. Professor Mikkelson also talks about the need for more replication of research in the field and the limitations that come with working with legal language and court proceedings.

For more interviews by Anthony Pym with our T&I faculty, the European Society for Translation Studies video page has lots to keep you entertained and learning.

MIIS Translation and Interpretation Seminar in Taipei

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On November 27th, a team of representatives of the Monterey Institute met in Taipei to discuss the topic  “Language As Asset” and give an introduction to Translation and Interpretation careers. MIIS alumni, prospective students, and translation and interpretation professionals were greeted with a slideshow of photos of Monterey, and then were invited to listen to two panels made up of MIIS alumni.

The first panel session included Daniel Steve Villarreal who discussed the topic “Court Interpreters — Why are we here and who do we serve?”, Joyce Yao who discussed “The Charm and Reality of Novel Translation”, Rachel Yang who discussed “Life as an Interpreter”, and Jackie Yeh who discussed “Race with Time: Working as a News Translator”.

The second panel session included Weisheng Wu who discussed “Technical Career Writing”, Yu-Hsiang (Carol) Kaowho discussed “Studies of Students’ Simultaneous Interpretation Performance with Live Speeches”, and Joyce Yaowho discussed “Introduction to Localization Industry and Translation Memory Software”.

The seminar was well-attended with the 100 person seminar room packed full of attendees and interactive panel discussions. The event was extremely successful at building an interest in the Monterey Institute as well as the field of Translation and Interpretation.

Without the support of Luke Hsieh, Dan, Weisheng Wu, Claire Tao, Joyce Yao, Rachel Yang, Carol Kao, Jackie Yeh, the MIIS Alumni Relations office, MIIS Admissions office, and generous MIIS Translation and Interpretation graduates, none of this would have been possible. We thank them for their help!

Uwe Muegge presents about TermWiki

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MIIS Translation and Localization Management professor, Uwe Muegge, will be giving a terminology tool presentation about TermWiki titled “Translation Tools in the Cloud” at the next Original Multilingual Computing User Group (IMUG) meeting.

The meeting will take place on January 11, 2011 at 7:00pm at the Adobe headquarters in San Jose, CA. The meeting will also be webcast live, so you can attend the event via the internet.

For more information about attending the meeting, please see the IMUG webpage about the event.

An Interview with Uwe Muegge

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In October 2010, Professor Anthony Pym interviewed Professor Uwe Muegge, who teaches in the MA Translation and Localization Management (TLM) program, a growing program at the Monterey Institute of International Studies. The interview discusses how Professor Muegge made his way from a 20-something to where he is today. He also discusses the current job market for TLM, his personal agenda promoting the use of translation memory programs, views on controlled authoring, tools used in the TLM classes, and the need for more academic research in the field.

In 15 minutes, you’ll find yourself significantly more informed about the field of computer-assisted translation!

Michel Gueldry’s Newest Publications

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Professor Michel Gueldry, Professor of French and European Studies at MIIS, is the editor of two newly published books: Consistent Incorporation of Professional Terminologies into the World’s Languages and How Globalizing Professions Deal with National Languages.

How Globalizing Professions Deal with National Languages

How Globalizing Professions Deal with National Languages contains 14 chapters which deal with how people go about teaching languages.  It examines resources, methods, and programs, and looks critically at language teaching, content teaching, and language use in professional settings in the United States and Europe.

Chapter 5 of his book, “The Monterey Model: An Interdisciplinary Platform for Integrating Professional Core Competencies”, written by MIIS faculty Michael Gillen, Michel Gueldry, and Jacolyn Harmer, presents a “flexible, non territorial teaching ‘platform'” intended to inform and inspire language course development.

Consistent Incorporation of Professional Terminologies into the World's Languages

Consistent Incorporation of Professional Terminologies into the World’s Languages looks at 17 case studies and examines the need for career-oriented disciplinary studies.  The book considers the impact of globalization on world languages and cultures and its implications for language and culture pedagogy for the working world.

This book includes four chapters contributed by members of the MIIS community.  Chapter 4, “Languages, Culture, and Education for Nonproliferation Policy”, written by Lisa Sanders-Donohoe and Jing-dong Yuan, highlights three courses at MIIS designed to prepare 21st century leaders in nonproliferation policy, which emphasize the use of content-based instruction.  Chapter 7, “Lessons from the Peace Corps: Where Language Meets Culture in Education”, written by four MIIS peace corps volunteers, explores the influence of language and culture within the formal and non-formal education sectors.  Chapter 10, “Toward Intercultural Competence in the Global Professional: Managing Cultural and Linguistic Barriers to Communication”, written by Kasey Moctezuma, Director of International Service, identifies communication challenges facing the global professional.  Chapter 13, “Integrated Global Communication Services: Redefining the Role of Language in the Context of Business and Government”, written by Jeffrey J. Munks, a former Fulbright Scholar at MIIS, considers the impact of growing linguistic and cultural diversity on public and private ventures.

For those interested in the manifestation of language and cultural education in the real world, Gueldry’s books are a current and welcome addition to your library.  Professor Gueldry has also previously published 2 books on international relations, France and European Integration: Toward a Transnational Polity? and Les Etats-Unis et l’Europe face à la guerre d’Irak.

9th Annual Kumar Trade Fair

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Photo: -ratamahatta-

Can’t see the pedagogic forest for the methodological trees? Dont’ worry! Learn all you need to know at the

9th Annual Kumar Trade Fairs

Thursday, Dec. 9th

10:15- 11:30am & 4:15-5:50pm

Casa Fuente 434

Come and join EDUC 8500 Sections A & B (Principles and Practices of Language Teaching) as they present and explore the macrostrategies proposed by B. Kumaravadivelu as the basis for a well-founded approach to language learning and teaching. It’s the Monterey Way!

Dress informal. Light refreshments will be served.