The Linguist is a languages magazine for professional linguists, translators, interpreters, language professionals, language teachers, trainers, students and academics with articles on translation, interpreting, business, government, technology
Issue link: https://thelinguist.uberflip.com/i/1149191
Q. Your BA was in English Literature with a Russian elective. Why did you choose languages? A. I grew up in Morocco in a home that valued education, and have always had a passion for learning languages. Arabic, French and Spanish were spoken to me from a very young age. I was fascinated by the English I learnt at high school, but felt thirsty for more, so I studied Russian, Spanish and German. Learning languages has not only deepened my connection to other cultures but also provided better job opportunities. Without English, I would never have left my country and embarked on such exciting journeys. Q. What has been your career path to date? A. Speaking English and French helped me secure jobs at hotels in Morocco and Dubai, and multinational companies in the UK. After finishing university, I worked for an American import/export company and travel agency in Rabat, later working in marketing for hotels and supermarkets in Dubai. In the UK, I worked with companies such as AXA, Reebok and the NSPCC before teaching Arabic and French in primary and secondary schools. Obtaining an MA from UCLan has steered my life in the right direction, enabling me to get my dream job: teaching languages. I joined the Arabic team at UCLan, and also started working as a freelance public service interpreter and translator. Q. Tell us about your average day at UCLan… A. My work is currently divided equally between being a Lecturer and a Year Abroad Coordinator. I teach Arabic language and culture to all levels (beginner, intermediate, advanced) as part of the Applied Language Programme, and undergraduate modules such as Arabic Language, Arabic History and Muslim Writers, as well as modules on the MA Interpreting and Translation course. I also attend workshops, seminars and training, and recently presented on reverse culture shock and resilience among UCLan students after their year abroad at the first Year Abroad Conference at Newcastle University. Q. How does public service interpreting fit in? A. What I particularly like about this job is the flexibility it offers to work when and how I can. I work either face-to-face or online, mainly through agencies based in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, and also through LinkedIn. As an interpreter, every day is different. In a day, I can interpret at a police station and then be called to a medical appointment in a nearby hospital; on another day, I could interpret by telephone or videoconferencing technology. Q. What are your future plans? A. I want to specialise in mental health interpreting, as I would like to make a difference to people's lives, especially those who are going through hard times and are unable to speak English. I hope to inspire my students at UCLan to learn more languages and discover the world. Saadia Morse on how a varied career led to an Interpreting and Translation MA and a new role as a public service interpreter and lecturer Just the job 28 The Linguist Vol/58 No/4 2019 ciol.org.uk/tl OPINION & COMMENT basic structures to more complicated ones, regardless of a student's background. However, the learner's age seems to play a crucial role when dealing with it. In Biological Foundations of Language (1967) Eric Lennenberg claimed that in order to prevent the negative influence of the birth language on the target language, the process of second language acquisition should start from a very early age, as a child's brain is more absorptive and starts to lose its elasticity during puberty. Since 2017, English has been introduced as a second language in Polish kindergarten, following the recommendations of the Journal of Laws of 2014, which seeks to raise Polish language teaching principles to European standards. Taking part in language classes from an early age also helps pupils to build up their future language confidence, as described by Hanna Komorowska in Metodyka nauczania języków obcych (2009). So how can we minimise the impact of interference? Raising awareness of the issue is an important step: bringing the problem of negative language interference into the classroom, discussing it with students and making them aware of differences that can cause difficulties. Expanding interference research is vital, adding and broadcasting new findings and working closely with contrastive linguists (error analysis), neurolinguists and bilingual people. Finally, it is essential to concentrate on the dialogic approach during teaching, using examples from everyday life. Joanna Biernat MCIL K 1 C 2 T 3 M 4 S 5 C 6 N 7 U T R I A A 8 S H R A M N E N C A T O 9 G R E G 10 L A S N O S T F R U G U G 11 U L F 12 W A R S 13 H A P E E M G 14 A P 15 H 16 O N E S 17 I N I T I 18 C O G T 19 N N C 20 O U S C O U S P 21 A S T D H N E E T Y 22 O R U B A N 23 O R W A Y O I L G U R Crossword solution Puzzle, page 25