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S.91-30

S ?

SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY

Vice-President Academic

MEMORANDUM

To: ?

From: ?

Subject ?

Proposal for a Non-Credit

Date: ?

May 14, 1991

Certificate

(SCAP 91 - 22)

Action undertaken by the Senate Committee on Academic Planning and the Senate

Committee on Continuing Studies, gives rise to the following motion:

MOTION: "that Senate approve and recommend approval to the

• ?

Board of Governors, as set forth in S.91- 30 , the

proposal for a Non-Credit Certificate "The Advanced

Interpreter Education Program".

THE ADVANCED INTERPRETER EDUCATION PROGRAM:

DRAFT PROPOSAL

FOR A NON-CREDIT CERTIFICATE

I.]

submitted by

William Liu, Project Director, ?

Advanced Interpreter Education Program

and ?

Rowland Lorimer,Director,?

Centre for Canadian Studies

January 14, 1991

THE ADVANCED INTERPRETER EDUCATION PROGRAM:

DRAFT PROPOSAL ?

FOR A NON-CREDIT CERTIFICATE

Rationale

The Advanced Interpreter Education Program has been successfully offered at Simon

Fraser University at Harbour Centre (previously SFUiDowntown) for four years. It is an

interdisciplinary program administrated by Continuing Studies under the academic

sponsorship of the Centre for Canadian Studies and is available to selected candidates from

the People's Republic of China. The primary educational objective of the program is to

achieve a highly-qualified, well-rounded interpreter with a comprehensive understanding of

the social, cultural, and economic context.

Program graduates have participated in many important political, economic and social

activities in both Canada and China. They are recognized by the Canadian International

Development Agency (CIDA) and by various Ministries and organizations in China as

having achieved a high level of competence in interpretation.

The graduates currently receive a certificate from CIDA (the funding body) and a certificate

of merit from the Society of Translators and Interpreters of British Columbia. As the

program consists of a mix of credit and non-credit courses, there has been no official SF0

recognition of the non-credit component or of the program as a whole.

The structure of the Advanced Interpreter Education Program meets the criteria of a SF0

non-credit certificate program. It is important for the interpreters in this intensive and

rigorous program that the University formally recognize satisfactory academic

performance, beyond the credit courses. A certificate from Simon Fraser University will

be very important to the graduates in establishing a self-concept as a professional and in

the advancement of their careers.

Entrance Requirement

The students are graduates from Chinese universities or colleges (or those with an

equivalent education). The students, selected from varies Chinese Ministries by CIDA and

The Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations and Trade of China, enter one or two

semesters English language training at the Canada China Language Training Centre in

Beijing; only those who pass the exam administered at CCLTC (an equivalent to TOEFL)

can come to Canada to attend the program.

The Program

The Program includes five components: four Program Specific Courses, one of which is

evaluated with grades and the other three with satisfactory/non-satisfactory, three Required

Credit Courses with a standard grading system, Required Activities, Practicum Placements

and Summery.

Program Specific Courses:

' ?

1. The Theor

and Practice of Interpretation (14 contact hours per week fall semester, 8

contact hours per week spring semester; total contact hours 266)

The course is developed and taught by William Liu, the Project Director and Tong Chow,

instructor.

includes both the theory of interpretation and hands-on interpretation

experience in governmental, financial, legal and educational institutions, with instructions

in research methodology in interpretation preparation, performance analysis, television

news analysis and interpretation, and context interpretation.

msemester,

2. Project Management and Evaluation (3 contact hours per week for 7 weeks, spring

total contact hours 21)

The course is developed and coordinated by Dr. J.C. Day, Natural Resource Management

Program, on the basic theories and analyses commonly used in Canada for planning and

managing development

projects, public policy analysis, regional resource planning, cost-

benefit analysis, risk assessment and project feasibility analysis

The students are graded

on their presentation of their analysis of a specific project assigned by the instructor.

3. Negotiation Skills (3 contact hours per week for 6 weeks, spring semester; total contact

hours 18)

The course is organized and taught by Bennett Lee, Barrister and Solicitor and covers

•

intercultural negotiations. The students are evaluated on their presentations and their

performances during a mock negation session.

4. English:

a. Remedial Spoken English (4 contact hours per week, 10 weeks, first semester,

total contact hours 40)

The course focuses on correcting individual student's specific problems in spoken English

and provides the stqdents with oral presentation skills.

b English Business and Professional Writing (2 contact hours per week, fall and

spring semesters; total contact hours

50)

This course provides the students with the understanding of (and preparation for) different

types of writing required in business and university studies.

The Writing and Publishing

Program in Continuing Studies ensures the quality of the content and instruction.

Required Credit Courses:

1. Canadian Studies (CNS 210-3) (offered for 15 weeks through the fall and spring

semesters)

An introductory study of Canada, which uses a variety

disciplinary methods to

understand and assess Canada's unique culture.

The course draws on material from

history, law, literature, politics, sociology and the fine arts in order to explore regional

diversity and national needs and the nature of Canada as a bilingual, and multicultural state.

When offered to the Interpreters' Program, Dr. Rowland Lorimer, Director of the Centre

for Canadian Studies selects appropriate instructors and content of topics to better suit the

needs of the program.

2. Canada and the International Economy (ECON 10l-3) (Taught in the spring semester, it

actually consists of 4 contact hours per week.)

An introduction to the development of the Canadian economy and the analysis of Canadian

economic problems. The course has been taught by Drs. J.M. Munro and Kenji Okuda,

Department of Economics and a variety of faculty from the Department. Currently Dr.

John Chant is coordinating the course. It covers the Canadian economy, the changing

economic conditions in the Pacific Rim, international monetary institutions, multinational

corporations, the price system, and international trade law.

Required Elective Credit Course:

A regular university credit course which the students choose from a selected list (usually a

3-credit course, spring semester). Courses selected by the students for spring semester,

1991:

SCI 010 Human Development

• CHEM 004-3 Pollution. Energ

: and Resources

PSYC 102-3 Introductor

Psychology

BUS 270-3 Introduction to Organizational Behavior and

• ?

Decision Makin

WS 203-3 Female Roles in Contemporary Society

Total contact hours for the non-credit components equal

352

hours, plus the students take 9;

hours in credit courses, to give a total of approximately 500 instructional hours, over a

seven month period (October to April).

Required Activities:

To provide valuable language and cultural experiences for the students, the program places

them with Canadian host families for the first three months. Other activities are arranged to

expose the students to Canadian cuisine, sports and a variety of social events and customs.

Practicum:

Upon completion of the seven months of intensive study at Simon Fraser University, the

interpreters participate in three months of Practicums in a variety of Canadian institutions.

They are placed in government and corporate offices, research institutions and farms

across Canada for periods ranging from short visits to two or three month placement to

give them a deeper understanding of some of the economic, political and technical

institutions in Canada. Attention is paid to matching the interpreters' expertise with a

Canadian institution. All geographical and cultural areas of Canada are represented in

these practicums and in their travels across the country to ensure the interpreters gain a

regional knowledge of Canada.

[]

During the practicum period, the director and the assistant to the director visit the

interpreters, evaluate their work and conduct on site interpreting practice.

Summary ?

The Advanced Interpreter Education Program has demonstrated that Simon Fraser

University is the most appropriate body to offer instruction for this program. The strong

Pacific Rim orientation of its academic courses and its extensive pool of faculty members in

Canadian Studies, economics, and international communications (Dr. Jan Walls, Director

of the David Lam Centre for International Communications has been the Senior Consultant

for the AIEP since its beginning) are all factors that particularly meet the requirements of

the program. Through hands-on interpretation field trips to various governmental,

financial, legal and educational institutions and organizations, the program for the past four

years has strengthened the ties between the University and related communities in

Vancouver, across Canada and in China. University certification would increase: the

credibility of the profession, particularly in China; the sense of accomplishment of students;

the recognition of students' competence; and the visibility of the University in the local,

national, and international community.

Expanded Course Descriptions

The Theory and Practice

of Interpretation:

This course includes the following components:

Theory of Interpretation and Translation:

This component examines the various

theories of translation and interpretation as they are related to the English and Chinese

languages.

Text:

Adams, Robert Martin, Translating and Interpreting

Leimbigler, Peter,

The Science

of Translation

Nida, Eugene and Jin, Di,

On Translation

Hands-on Field-trip Interpretation:

Thirty-five to forty field-trips are arranged in the two semesters to provide the students with

hands-on experience to implement theories and methods learned in the classroom and to

introduce them to North American concepts in politics, economy, education, law, etc. as

practiced in Canada. The following is a partial list of field-trip host organizations and

institutions:

City Hall of Vancouver (Economic Development Office)

International Arbitration Centre

Ministry of Economic Development of British Columbia

Law Courts

Royal Bank

Vancouver Port Corporation

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

Laurentian Pacific Insurance Company

Price Waterhouse Accounting Firm

Finning Tractor Company

British Columbia Telephone Company

Asian Pacific Foundation

Onward Dairy Farms

MacMillan Bloedel Limited

St. Paul Hospital

King George Secondary School

Chevron Canada

Aluminum Company of Canada

Quadra Logic Technologies, etc.

Aside from the interpreting activities during the field-trips, there are also two cIassoom

instruction components:

Field-trip Preparation, in which research methodology and practice

field-trip

related content are discussed, bilingual vocabulary list is complied. The

students give presentation on the organization to be visited.

Field-trip Analysis, in which the video tapes of the students' performances

during the interpreting sessions are analyzed and evaluated.(see Apeendix

1).

TV News Analysis and Interpretation:

This component provides a rich context for political, economic, social and cultural studies

which is used to practice many of the required interpretation skills, e.g., listening

comprehension, note-taking, summary in both languages and English-Chinese

interpretation. The spoken language of TV News programs come in many different fOtrns

formal speech, interview, discussion, instruction, and debate; it also reflects a great variety

of accents, the familiarity of which is crucial to an interpreter.

TV programs used include CBC's The National, The Journal and Venture, etc.

Articles from newspapers and magazines:The Globe and Mail. The Vancouver on

Maclean's. Time. New York Times, The Economist. Far Eastern Economic Review. China

Dail y

. Renmin Dail

etc. are used to provide background reading and translation material

COntext Interpretation:

This component provides the students with practical business and technical English-

Chinese and Chinese-English interpretation training; it includes international trade and

business, international relations and the students' own special technical fields, e.g.,

forestry, agriculture, port management, etc;

Evaluation:

30% classroom performance which includes presentation of context research

and interpretation, field-trip interpretation, and TV news interpretation.

2) 20% weekly quizzes

3) 50%

final exams in field-trip interpretation, oral and written English/Chinese,

Chinese/English interpretation and translation.

Project Evaluation and Management

The Objective of the course is to introduce basic theory and analyses commonly used in

British Columbia and Canada in planning and managing development projects. It is

comprised of seven units which are presented in the following sequence:

Planning and Decision Making

Impact Assessment

lb ?

3. Regional Resource Planning

4. Benefit-Cost Analysis

A Third-World Example

Tourism Planning and Development Frameworks

Student Presentations

Professors Teaching in the Course:

Evaluation:

Two course assignments to be presented to the class using the overhead projector and

colored markers. The first one will be a 10 to 20 minute oral review of articles of each

student's choice selected from course readings. The final paper will bea presentation

based on each students' choice of a topic selected from the course. The students will

receive a written evaluation of each paper presented in class.

%* ?

Canadian Studies (CNS 210-3)

This course introduces some of the political, economic and cultural issues of contemporary

Canada, including some historical background. In particular, the course discusses (1) the

functions, institutions and workings of Canadian governments and some government

agencies -- federal, provincial, municipal; (2) some aspects of Canadian political and

social history; (3) contemporary debates, trends, institutions and movements in Canada,

and (4) special topics on communication and media, religion, labour unions, Canadian

literature and sports. Related phrases, terms, expressions, acronyms etc. are identified

and explained in each section of the course. Attention is drawn to various sources of

information for studying Canada, and files are available for consultation. The course is a

combination of lectures, class presentations, films and discussions.

Professors Teaching in the Course:

Don Grayston (Shalom Institute)

Evaluation:

Students are evaluated on the basis of weekly written assignments (200 words), short class

presentations (5 to 10 minutes), class participation, quizzes (announced the week before

theyaegiven

);

nation

Documentation skills are also evaluatedasa;part of. thecouise.

Canada and the International Economy (ECOV 1O)3);

This-course is an introduction to the development of the Canadianeconomy..and;the

analysisof Canadian economic problems. The' following topics are discussed:

Introduction to the Canadian Economy

Introduction to the Price System,

Natural Resources in the Canadian Economy.

4 Environmental Economics

5. Labour Markets and Institutions

Social Welfare Policies in Canada

introduction to Macroeconomics

Banking and Finance in Canada.

9. Government in the Economy

10.

Deficits and Government Finance

11.

Trade Policies and Institution

12.. International Monetary Policies

13.

Economic Development

14.

Agriculture in Economic Development

Professors Teaching

(Professors taught in the Course in '87, '88, '89;,'90.

Evaluation:

Six bi-weekly one hour exams the average of which wiibe the coursegrade (see Appndix

3).

Biographical Notes (Program Specific Courses)

Chad Day:

Dr. Day specializes in water management and environmental impact assessment techniques;

he is currently a director of the International Association for Impact Assessment, a member

of the National Research Councils Association Committee on Shorelines. Professor Day

received his

Ph. D

from University of Chicago and is teaching Environmental and Social

Impact Assessment and Water Planning and Management.

Tong Z. Chow:

Ms Chow is Instructor/Assistant to the Director of the Advanced Interpreter Education

Program. She is a graduate of Lester B. Pearson College of the Pacific in Victoria and she

received her B.A. from the Beijing Foreign Languages University. An accredited English-

Chinese translator for the Department of the Secretary of State in Canada, she had been a

translator and economic researcher for the Institute of World Economics and Politics,

Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing. Ms Chow has extensive interpretation

and translation experience with business negotiations and conferences in both China and

Canada. She has also taught Chinese at UBC, Douglas College, and with the Vancouver

School Board.

William W. Liu

A graduate in English language and literature at Nankai University in China where he also

taught, Mr. Liu received a B.A. from University of Tennessee in Linguistics and taught

Chinese language and culture there. He held the post of Research Linguistic at the

University of California, Berkeley from '77 to '79, and, prior to assuming the post of the

director of the AIEP, Mr. Liu was assistant professor at the Chinese Department of

Wellesely College in Mass. where he designed and taught courses in Chinese language,

translation, culture, films, literature and comparative literature. Aside from papers

published in the Journal of Chinese Linguistics (U.C. Berkeley), Mr. Liu also published

translations in literature and in technical fields. Mr. Liu is an experienced interpreter and

did frequent interpreting work for conferences and delegations while teaching and doing

research work at Nankai University, the University of California at Berkeley and Wellesley

College.

Bennett Lee:

Mr. Lee, a lawyer with the Law Firm of Boughton, Peterson, Yang and Anderson,

Banisters and Solicitors, graduated from The University of Victoria with a degree in

English Studies, after which he was a Canadian exchange student in China and he later

worked in a publishing finn in Hong Kong. Mr. Lee studied law at the University of

Toronto and the Univeristy of British Columbia; he graduated from the U.B.C. Law

School and was called to Bar in 1984. Since then he has practiced with downtown law

firms in the areas of intellectual property law and corporate and commericial law. Mr. Lee

has rich experience in negotiating transactions with Chinese organizations.

Ralph Lake:

Mr. Lake has a B.A. in English Literature and Philosophy and

, an M.A. in

East Asian

Studies from the University of Toronto. He had taught English and English writing irk

Tunghai University in Taiwan and in Xiamen University and Dahan Foreign Languages

Institute in China. Mr. Lake has also done translation work in literature and other fields