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level of communicative competence in at
least one foreign language, clearly the
foundation must be laid more seriously at
KS2-3 in terms of grammatical knowledge,
confidence in speaking and, most
importantly, cultural knowledge.
The new curriculum has the potential of
reversing the reduction of subject content to
'phrase-book' language and diluted, if any,
cultural content. There is a clear need to
examine curriculum content in languages
and the place of cultural knowledge and
intercultural understanding across the whole
languages curriculum, and to acknowledge
the fundamental link between language and
culture that is often ignored.
If foreign language learning is to be taken
seriously, the government must make the
necessary investment in supporting teachers
to make the new curriculum work. It is not
sufficient to leave them to their own devices.
If that investment happens, it is, perhaps, not
too optimistic to expect that future
generations will see that knowledge of at
least one foreign language is part of what it
means to be educated.
In the next issue, new teacher Dominic
Luddy shares his experiences of the PGCE,
as the series on developments in primary
and secondary education continues.
Notes
1 www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/
uploads/attachment_data/file/175429/
CM-7980.pdf
2 www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/
uploads/attachment_data/file/175439/
NCR-Expert_Panel_Report.pdf
3 www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/
uploads/attachment_data/file/210969/NC_
framework_document_-_FINAL.pdf
10
The Linguist
Scams: are
you at risk?
Charis Fisher uncovers a scam
affecting up to a third of applications
to some translation agencies
Being proactive is a fundamental part of
being a freelance translator. The only way to
earn a substantial income is to be active in
looking for jobs, and getting your CV out
there and online is an inexpensive way to
market yourself as a freelance translator. But
beware. Many translators do not realise that
it is precisely this action that exposes you to
potential fraud. The way you advertise your
language services on the internet, even on
trustworthy sites, can put both your name
and your reputation at risk.
As a student, I did an internship this
summer at a London-based translation
agency, and discovered that identity theft
and scamming are more widespread than I
could have imagined. One of my main tasks
at UPS Translations was to sort through
incoming CVs from translators we had never
used before, and to accept or reject them
as appropriate.
It struck me as odd that so many highlyqualified translators should commit such
bizarre mistakes as misspelling their own
names and making appalling grammatical
errors in their covering letter emails. I was
suspicious and began to do some research,
and soon came across Proz.com's wiki page
Translator Scam Reports.1 As I scrolled
down, I recognised many of the names of
translators who had seemingly sent us their
CVs. It became apparent that the CVs had
been stolen from reputable freelancers and
that the poorly written covering emails were
OCTOBER/NOVEMBER
Sometimes the name
is changed but often it
is not, with serious
implications for the
translator's reputation
fakes. Worryingly, at least a third of the emails
we had received were fraudulent.
We quickly devised a system to recognise
and block the scam emails and delete the
hoaxers from our lists of potential linguists, but
the fact that we could have fallen victim to one
of these scams, wasting company time and
money, is a scary thought.
How does the scam work?
1 The fraudsters steal the CVs of experienced
translators from popular freelance sites, such
as TranslatorsCafe.com and Proz.com, by
downloading the file.
2 They change the email addresses on each
CV to newly-created ghost accounts.
Sometimes the name of the linguist is
changed but often it is not, with serious
implications for the reputation of the
real translator.
3 The scammers impersonate the translators
and send hundreds of covering letter emails
www.iol.org.uk
