The Institute of Foreign Languages of PetrSU Is Implementing a New International Project

Various forms of partnership have already been introduced: collaborative “roundtables”, public lectures, translation contests in three foreign languages (English, German and French) taught at PetrSU and MSLU. 

A new form of cooperation has been tested - a remote elective course on interpretation for the 4th year PetrSU students of “Linguistics: Translation and Translation Studies” program.“The profession of a translator plays a pivotal role in the field of international relations in the 21st century. It has been and remains in demand and of current importance. No matter how much effort the developers of Google and Yandex translators put into improving them, these machine translation services are inferior to professional translators,” experts say.

MSLU, founded in the middle of the previous century (until 1993, the Minsk State Pedagogical Institute of Foreign Languages), is a leading educational institution training highly qualified translators, teachers of foreign languages, specialists in intercultural communication not only in the Republic of Belarus, but also across the post–Soviet space. 

PetrSU students had the opportunity to attend an online elective course during two months, organized by Olga Zheleznyakova, Head of the Department of Modern Translation Technologies at the Faculty of Intercultural Communications of MGLU.

Olga Zheleznyakova, a prominent specialist in the field of interpretation, shared some secrets of her profession, told the students about the development of the essential skills important for the representatives of the community and introduced them to the techniques that enable translators to become efficient and successful. 

“Memory plays a fundamental role in the field of interpretation. Students learned how to improve their long-term memory, including professionally-oriented exercises and techniques of mnemonics to stimulate memorisation. Apart from that, they learned which food products and lifestyle habits can help them stay sharp. 

Olga Viktorovna emphasised the importance of taking care of your voice for interpreters. She explained to students how to use their voice to avoid getting tired, how to practice breathing and maintain lung volume. 

In any profession, including the profession of an interpreter, such quality as stress resilience plays a significant role. Drawing on the theory of Canadian physiologist Hans Selye, Olga Viktorovna gave students an opportunity to take a look at stress from a new perspective. Stress is the driving force of evolution and, with the right behaviour and perception of the situation, it allows a person to gain new strengths,” Olga Zheleznyakova reports. 

“Thanks to the insightful lectures of Olga Zheleznyakova and practical exercises, senior students of the Institute of Foreign Languages were able to enhance their professional competence and obtain valuable information on how to maintain efficiency for years to come,” the organizers conclude. 

Here is students’ feedback on the course. 

Robiya Amanova, a 4th-year student:
"Despite the fact that the course on interpretation lasted only one and a half months, I gained truly valuable experience for myself! And most importantly - I already had a great opportunity to use the gained knowledge in practice, namely in interpreting classes on microbiology and immunology for students from India at the Zilber Medical Institute." 

Vladislav Legostaev, a 4th-year student:
“The course on interpretation at MGLU was a fantastic experience for me. I especially enjoyed the memorization technique through visualization. Creating mental images really helped me remember what was happening in the text.” 

“The Institute of Foreign Languages at PetrSU expresses gratitude to Ph.D., Associate Professor at MGLU, Olga Viktorovna Zheleznyakova, for creating the opportunity to attend an informative elective course online, immerse ourselves in the fascinating world of the profession of an interpreter, and receive practice-oriented recommendations. The new experience of international cooperation between PetrSU and MGLU (Belarus) has enabled the virtual academic mobility of our students and introduced an element of internationalization into our curriculum," commented representatives of the Institute of Foreign Languages of PetrSU.