| Pages in topic: < [1 2] | How can I prepare myself for DipTrans exams? Thread poster: Stefan Schmitt
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Paula Borges 
United Kingdom
Local time: 20:54
Member (2010)
English to Portuguese
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Phillippa M Bennett wrote:
Hi Paula,
I sat the exam at the British Council in Rio and after a lot of effort I was finally allowed to use a computer (the BC needed confirmation from the IoL, which only after I rang them up would actually authorise the use of the computer!). The facilities were great and I felt that it was an excellent place to take the exam. I have however heard that it is no longer possible to take the exam at the British Council in Rio and at other centres people have not been allowed to use computers. Are you taking the exam in Sao Paulo? Have you got access to a computer?
I hope you manage to get the answers you require from them asap!
It was such a mess I even considered not going through with it. The IoL told me all I needed was to send my entry form and confirm the British Council in São Paulo was ok with it. I expressed my concerns on sending credit card information via post, but they said there was no other way.
So I contacted the British Council asking if I could use a computer, got an e-mail from their IT department saying yes.
After they received my entry form, they e-mail me asking why I hadn't send a confirmation letter from the British Council, and told me I needed one. Well, back then I forwarded an e-mail from the British Council, and the IoL said it was ok.
Then they told me international applicants could send the entry form via e-mail. I asked them many times: why was I told that I could not e-mail or fax it? - they never replied to that. I also sent the letter of confirmation, and never got a reply.
A few days ago, someone from the British Council e-mail me asking if I really needed a computer, because they just realized they only had two. Well, I did request a computer before I even enrolled. They said ok, but they would need to confirm one more time with the IoL - but they only seem to reply if the subject is payment.
Very frustrating.
[Edited at 2010-08-16 04:12 GMT]
| | | | | Exam preparation | Aug 29, 2010 |
Stefan Schmitt wrote:
2.: Study past examination papers
Q.: Are those papers available only through mail or are they also available as a download?
4.: A translator needs a broad cultural knowledge hieved by reading [...]
Q.: What kind of magazines, newspapers and other material would you suggest?
7.: Become familiarized with relevant terminology. [...]
Q.: It really is the same as above: What kind of material would you suggest?
9.: [...] have up-to-date specialized glossaries to hand [...]
Q.: Are there any glossaries available online? Is there any other material you could suggest?
[/quote]
Hi Stefan,
I took (and passed) the exam last January in Italian>English. Here is some of my feedback on your questions:
2. As far as I know, you have to pay for the papers through the IoL. I took a distance learning course through Words Language Services in Ireland, so I already had 8 papers to study. I found that it was very useful to have these papers to get an idea of the types of texts I'd have to translate in the exam.
4. Make sure you keep up on current events in general. I read a few articles from Italian newspapers every day for about two months, and also brushed up on some pertinent Italian history that I thought could be helpful. In general, you should have a good cultural background in your source language in order to be able to accurately translate it for the target language audience. I had already decided ahead of time which papers I would choose in parts 2 and 3, so I read magazines on these subjects as well to keep up with relevant terminology and new developments.
7. Since you only have two hours each for papers 2 and 3, it is a good idea to choose (or at least have a good idea of) which you'd like to do before you go into the exam. You don't want to waste time reading all of the texts, or even maybe starting one and deciding it is too hard. So you can read magazine articles of the topics you've chosen.
9. I exported my own pertinent glossaries to Excel and printed them out for the exam. I have to say though that I did not use them at all. I only used an Italian monolingual dictionary, English monolingual dictionary, English thesaurus and bilingual English/Italian dictionary. The semi-specialised options were just that:SEMI-specialised. I didn't need to consult any technical glossaries I'd brought.
Good luck.
| | | | marcus
Germany
Local time: 21:54
Russian to English
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| Exam preparation | Oct 12, 2010 |
I took and passed the DipTrans in Croatian to English this past January, and in fact got a triple distinction and next month will receive the Richard Lewis trophy for best overall candidate
To be honest my main exam preparation was in the form of working professionally as a translator for a number of years already, so I didn't bother with any courses or even looking at past papers, although I would certainly recommend that t... See more I took and passed the DipTrans in Croatian to English this past January, and in fact got a triple distinction and next month will receive the Richard Lewis trophy for best overall candidate
To be honest my main exam preparation was in the form of working professionally as a translator for a number of years already, so I didn't bother with any courses or even looking at past papers, although I would certainly recommend that to those who are less experienced in professional translation.
My main preparation took the form of reading the Handbook very carefully, and also the examiners' reports from the previous two years (available online on the IoL website). I read the reports on all language combinations to get an overall feeling for what the examiners tend to look for, and the kind of mistakes that they pick out. I really would stress that I found this very helpful, so I strongly recommend that to all candidates.
I would also say by all means have a think about what your preferred options might be for the specialised papers, but keep an open mind and have a quick look at all of them when the exam starts. I thought I knew what my preferences would be, but I changed my mind quite dramatically in the exam, as those that I assumed would be easier turned out to be very tough, and vice versa.
Apart from that, a good night's sleep beforehand is very important, especially if you sit all three papers at once. It's a long, draining day, so you need to have good energy levels! ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Congratulations! | Oct 12, 2010 |
My most sincere congratulations for your achievement!
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Gordana Podvezanec
Croatia
Local time: 21:54
Member (2003)
German to Croatian
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SITE LOCALIZER | Congratulations! Čestitam! | Jan 11, 2011 |
Najiskrenije čestitke!
Most sincere congratulations!
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