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thelinguist.uberflip.com JUNE/JULY 2016 The Linguist 33 INSTITUTE MATTERS COUNCIL NEWS Keith Moffitt reports on the meeting of 23 April The first meeting of Council following the AGM traditionally elects the officers of Council and agrees on the membership of our various committees and boards. I had previously announced my intention not to seek re-election as Chair of Council after four years in the role, and Council unanimously elected Karen Stokes as its new Chair and wished her well in this role. Christine Pocock was re-elected as Vice-Chair. It was agreed to leave the post of Honorary Treasurer vacant for the time being, with all members of Council encouraged to focus on financial matters. At the same time, we were pleased to welcome two new members: Dr Reza Navaei (see page 31) and Captain Dan Howard. Council also agreed to appoint Adam Ramsey, Lincolnshire Society Treasurer, to Council to fill one of the vacancies arising since the AGM. Committees whose membership we agreed included the Chartered Linguist Admissions; Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI); and Finance and Executive (F&E) committees. Judith Ridgway, Chair of the Applications Committee, was appointed to fill a vacancy on F&E, which brings together the executive and non-executive officers of the Institute and the Educational Trust. Council greatly values the voluntary work done by the members of these bodies. Council adopted a new model constitution for the Institute's divisions, and looks forward to similar work in relation to our societies. Finance is an important standing item at Council meetings. We received confirmation that the purchase of a second investment property had been completed, and that both investment properties were now let, which would have a positive impact on our finances. CEO Ann Carlisle's report also included news of an encouraging increase in membership. My own report covered the work of Professional Interpreters for Justice (the result of the Ministry of Justice procurement process was expected to be announced shortly); the result of our survey of members on EU membership; and an update on progress with our new EDI policy. The meeting discussed the announcement by the Institute of Translation and Interpreting (ITI) of its intention to seek a Royal Charter; this issue is being considered by an ad hoc working party chaired by Karen Stokes. Council also agreed to a revised annual schedule for its own meetings and discussed plans for its next strategy day. Making marks , Why securing experienced, well-trained setters, examiners and markers, is key to the work of Examinations Manager Monika Dziurska MCIL I came to the Diploma in Translation (DipTrans) Department after a number of years working on the Diploma in Police Interpreting (DPI), where my role was to liaise and build good relationships with a wide range of customers and service providers. I was responsible for selecting, training and supervising the assessors, as well as dealing with queries from candidates and supervising the DPI examinations. For the last six months, I have been managing the setting, marking and moderation functions of the DipTrans. When I joined the department, I was excited, because I knew I would be able to build both on my experience of running the DPI and on my background in – and passion for – translation (I have an MA in Translation from the University of Westminster). I no longer have direct contact with candidates, as my focus is on streamlining the setting and marking practices, getting talented linguists and examiners to work for IoLET. I am a part of a small team, working to very tight deadlines. For every exam session, we engage and manage almost 200 freelancers to mark about 3,000 DipTrans scripts across 31 language combinations and seven options. We have very high expectations of our examiners: they have to meet stringent criteria, be exceptionally qualified and suitably experienced as markers. They have to attend training and refresher sessions, and are given regular feedbacks on their work from chief examiners, moderators and us. My greatest challenge is to maintain a congruous but professional atmosphere within examining teams, to make sure deadlines are met and our marking guidelines are followed to the letter, so that our candidates receive fair grades. My daily workload depends on the time of year, as we run a yearly schedule divided into pre-exam and post-exam moderation. Pre-exam involves managing setters and moderators who are responsible for selecting the material for the examination, proofreading it and moderating it. Once the setting is complete, I concentrate on preparing for the exam, which involves contacting all potential examiners and spotting any personnel shortages so that we can recruit in time for the exams, and then organising and running training sessions. Exams take place in January, and they begin another busy period in our department: the marking and moderation of the scripts. Once we receive the scripts from our 70 examination centres, we check, scan and log them before they are allocated and posted to the right markers. Then, through the entire marking period until moderation and the release of the results, we offer constant support to our freelancers.