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Spain: Educating Community Interpreters and Translators in Unprecedented Times—A Spanish Case Study

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Educating Community Interpreters and Translators in Unprecedented Times

Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in Translating and Interpreting ((PTTI))

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a major impact on education programs, affecting both teacher and student experiences. This chapter focuses on the experience of a one-year community interpreting and translation postgraduate program, the Master’s in Intercultural Communication, Public Service Interpreting and Translation (Universidad de Alcalá). The chapter aims to (1) outline the changes in subject planning, design, and delivery mode in the program during the COVID-19 pandemic; and (2) explore any potential impact of the pandemic on the teaching process, student experience, and academic achievement. For this purpose, the chapter is based on qualitative and quantitative approach. Four data collection tools were used: a semi-structured interview with the program’s quality coordinator, an analysis of module guidelines, reports from academic coordinators, and a quantitative comparison of the academic achievement of two cohorts of students: students enrolled between October 2019–June 2020 and between October 2020–June 2021.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    See FITISPos research group at Universidad de Alcalá (https://fitisposgrupo.web.uah.es/formacion/; https://uahmastercitisp.es/cursos-de-utilidad/), MIRAS research group at Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona (https://grupsderecerca.uab.cat/miras/es) or GRETI research group at Universidad de Granada (https://wpd.ugr.es/~greti/).

  2. 2.

    This language pair was added in 2009.

  3. 3.

    This role involves promoting the continuous and systematic improvement of the Degree and of its internal quality assurance system as well as the participation of students, instructors, coordinators, and internship centres in the evaluation of the program.

  4. 4.

    This role involves coordinating the subjects that make up the Degree as well as reviewing and updating the training program.

  5. 5.

    9.0–10: sobresaliente [outstanding]—European equivalent: A; 7.0—8.9: notable [very good]—European equivalent: B; 5.0–6.9: aprobado [pass]—European equivalent: C; 0–4.9 = no presentado [absent fail] and suspenso [fail]—European equivalent: F.

  6. 6.

    For example, student 1 from the 2019–2020 cohort with student 1 from the 2020–2021 cohort.

  7. 7.

    A tool that facilitates student mobility between countries and acknowledges their academic qualifications and study periods abroad (European Commission, n.d.). An ECTS is equivalent to a study load of approximately 25 hrs. The master’s has a total study load of 1500 hours.

  8. 8.

    This is applicable only until the 2020–2021 academic year. For the 2021–2022 academic year, there has been a change in the number of subjects (9) and the ECTS credits corresponding to the subjects of Modules 3, 4, and 5.

  9. 9.

    Filomena, the extratropical cyclone that affected parts of Spain and Portugal in early January 2021.

  10. 10.

    This allowed group work, discussions, and document sharing and was only accessible to the group in question.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Universidad de Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Spain

    Bianca Vitalaru

  2. Western Sydney University, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    Mustapha Taibi

Authors
  1. Bianca Vitalaru
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  2. Mustapha Taibi
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Correspondence to Bianca Vitalaru .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Global, Urban and Social Studies, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Miranda Lai

  2. Department of Translation and Interpreting, Amasya University, Amasya, Türkiye

    Oktay Eser

  3. Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand

    Ineke Crezee

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Vitalaru, B., Taibi, M. (2023). Spain: Educating Community Interpreters and Translators in Unprecedented Times—A Spanish Case Study. In: Lai, M., Eser, O., Crezee, I. (eds) Educating Community Interpreters and Translators in Unprecedented Times. Palgrave Studies in Translating and Interpreting. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-32677-6_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-32677-6_11

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-031-32676-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-32677-6

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

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