DEVELOPING INTERPRETING SKILLS IN UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS

In today’s globalised world, the professional and personal encounters between people not sharing a common language have become a reality. To overcome the linguistic and cultural difficulties arising from such a situation, the need for professional interpreters has been strongly perceived in society. In this context, the Faculty of Communication Sciences at the Politehnica University of Timișoara, Romania, has developed an undergraduate programme in translation and interpreting which aims at training students to interpret from English into Romanian. The programme’s curriculum comprises 28 hours of lectures and 84 hours of practical activities meant to prepare the students for their future profession as interpreters. The present article highlights the topics and teaching activities done during the classes in order to develop interpreting skills in the undergraduate students attending the above-mentioned programme.