Advanced Skills & Training Day
Advanced Skills and Training (AST) Day took place on Wednesday, October 27. AST Courses provide specialized education and are available on demand.
Intensive & Interactive
AST Courses were chosen to provide intensive, interactive instruction from highly-acclaimed speakers.
Continuing Education
ATA-certified translators may earn 3 CEPs for each course attended, up to 5 CEPs per day.
Watch On Demand
AST Courses are now available on demand. Purchase AST Courses below.
Sessions are also available on demand. Learn more
AST-01: Hold On! Should I? Better Not! A Workshop about Strategic Mediation
How to intervene to mediate barriers to communicate is a key skill for all interpreters. They need straightforward strategies for intervening when environmental, linguistic, and cultural issues threaten to derail the session. But interpreters often interpret in environments that make mediation particularly complicated. Some meetings often involve multiple providers, and/or family members, such as special education or human resources-related monthly meetings. Interrupting to solve a communication problem is even more difficult in these settings. Attendees will learn a five-step process for how to intervene to resolve a communication barrier. Attendees will practice with realistic scenarios taken from different settings.
Presenter: Giovanna Carriero-Contreras
Topic(s): Educators & Trainers, Independent Contractors, Interpreting
Presenting Language: English
Level: All Levels
ATA CEPs: 3.0
AST-03: Interpreting for Depositions: Advanced Skills, Ethics, and Best Practices
As some court systems have reduced the rates for judiciary interpreters, many court interpreters are actively looking for assignments outside the court system. There are plenty of opportunities available at depositions, which are typically held at law offices. There is little training focusing on the role of interpreters in depositions, and this workshop will provide an in-depth overview. Topics will include ethical conundrums, the role of check interpreters, stand-by interpreting, best practices, tips for correcting mistakes, and sample deponent responses. This will be an advanced training workshop for interpreters who are already familiar with interpreting for depositions. The basics will only be reviewed briefly.
Presenter: Judy Jenner
Topics: Independent Contractors, Interpreting, Legal T&I, Terminology
Presenting Language: English
Level: Intermediate
ATA CEPs: 3.0
AST-04: Demystifying Artificial Intelligence and Neural Networks for Language Professionals
Artificial intelligence (AI) is playing an increasing role in our lives, and neural networks are one of its fundamental building blocks. Whether you consider them friend or foe, you should have a fundamental understanding of what they are. This session will explain AI and neural networks in a way that's unintimidating for language professionals. Attendees will learn what AI and neural networks are, hear about their history, gain insight into how they work, and what their strengths and weaknesses are. Neural machine translation is just the beginning of how technology will affect the language services industry.
Presenter: Jay Marciano
Topics: Educators & Trainers, Language Technology, Science & Technology, T&I Industry
Presenting Language: English
Level: All Levels
ATA CEPs: 3.0
AST-05: Direct Client Marketing for People Who Think They Can't
Shifts in the business landscape have led many freelancers to consider the direct client market, often for the first time. Many struggle with this transition because they choose marketing methods that don't suit their personalities or are not appealing to their target clients (or both!). We'll review at least 10 ways to find direct clients, including techniques that work well for introverts, extroverts, and continuing education junkies. We'll also talk about how to create an online presence that's appealing to your potential clients.
Presenter: Corinne McKay, CT
Topics: Independent Contractors
Presenting Language: English
Level: All Levels
ATA CEPs: 3.0
AST-06: Advanced Strategies for Editing Large-Volume Projects
Today's complex translation projects often rely on quality management workflows requiring a team of linguists to interface seamlessly. We'll examine the role of editors and break down the editing process into a step-by-step methodology. Practical examples in large-volume projects will teach attendees to identify, classify, and solve problems, and leverage technology. Also included will be an overview of the editing process applied to ecosystems such as post-editing, the client review cycle, and website language testing. This workshop is designed to improve editing techniques, productivity, and enhance team collaboration. It will also help project managers draft editing specifications and identify and recruit editors. This session is highly relevant for project managers at language services providers!
Presenter: Itzaris Weyman, CT
Topics: Language Technology, Terminology, Translation
Presenting Language: English
Level: Intermediate
ATA CEPs: 3.0
AST-08: Supercharge Your Simultaneous Interpreting Skills: Best Practices and Team Interpreting Strategies for Educational Interpreters
Educational interpreters work in the simultaneous mode for many types of encounters. Presentation-based sessions, such as school board meetings, require a basic conference interpreting approach. Interactive group meetings require turn-taking techniques more often used for consecutive interpreting. A fully developed simultaneous mode should function more like a multi-tool than a single screwdriver. This practice-based session (using portable interpreting equipment for on-site attendees and virtual tools for those attending online) will provide tips and strategies for supercharging your simultaneous interpreting during group meetings, at public events, and for team interpreting. Content will include resources for on-site and remote interpreting.
Presenter: Katharine Allen
Topics: Educators & Trainers, Independent Contractors, Interpreting, Language Technology
Presenting Language: English
Level: Intermediate
ATA CEPs: 3.0
AST-09: Pharmacological Aspects of Informed Consents in Clinical Trials: Implications for Spanish-Language Interpreters and English>Spanish Translators
Most clinical trials involve pharmacological or toxicological evaluations of drugs. Research subjects must agree and fully understand the informed consent process, which includes documents and conversations, before they participate in clinical trials. These documents may be translated into the participants' languages in addition to the aspects which are explained verbally with the help of an interpreter. Topics will include an overview of what informed consents for clinical trials entail and the pharmacological parameters and implications of being ready to interpret these types of sessions on demand. Understanding research-related terminology for more accurate and understandable translations and interpreting will also be covered.
Presenters: Tatiana Cestari and Gabriella Maldonado
Topics: Medical T&I, Spanish, Terminology
Presenting Language: English with Spanish examples
Level: Intermediate
ATA CEPs: 3.0
AST-10: Automating Translation Tasks to Maximize Efficiency
Have you ever wished you could find a way to save time and effort on repetitive tasks? In this workshop, attendees will learn how to maximize efficiency by automating translation and computer tasks with AutoHotkey, a free scripting program. In a very practical, hands-on format, attendees will learn the basics of AutoHotkey, starting with creating text expansions with hotstrings, before moving on to creating macros for action sequences that will help save keystrokes and clicks in a variety of programs. Previous programming experience is not necessary!
Presenter: Nora Díaz
Topics: Audiovisual, Language Technology
Presenting Language: English
Level: All Levels
ATA CEPs: 3.0
AST-11: The Translator Skill Set for Post-Editing
Machine Translation has grown exponentially. Translators need to adjust their standard practice to this new reality to provide high-quality translation services. In this workshop, speakers will share key processes from ISO 18587 on Post-Editing and other relevant ISO standards such as ISO 27001:2013 on Information technology, Security techniques, and Information security management systems, and ISO 26162:2019 on Management of terminology resources. Attendees will learn to identify recurring errors produced by Machine Translation, apply some productivity tricks on MTPE, obtain guidance on managing an information security management system, and learn how to record, maintain and retrieve terminological information related to translation work.
Presenters: Gabriela Escarrá and Dolores R. Guiñazú
Topics: Independent Contractors, Language Services Companies, Language Technology, Science & Technology, T&I Industry, Terminology
Presenting Language: English
Level: All Levels
ATA CEPs: 3.0
AST-12: Press Start! An Introduction to Video Game Localization
Video game localization is one of the fastest-growing areas of audiovisual translation, offering many interesting opportunities for translators who enjoy creative projects. This workshop will provide an introduction to video game localization. Attendees will learn about the steps involved in game localization, the type of content that requires translation within a game, as well as the challenges translators face. The speaker will also share tips on how to begin to specialize in this exciting domain.
Presenter: Marina Ilari, CT
Topics: Audiovisual, Independent Contractors, T&I Industry, Translation
Presenting Language: English
Level: All Levels
ATA CEPs: 3.0
AST-13: Inclusive About Inclusion: A Precision-Based Approach to Bias-Free Language
Bias-free language is friendly and fair—sensitive to differences and respectful of accuracy, and thus promotes clear communication. This is relevant for translators and interpreters, who facilitate clear communication across languages and must balance responsibility to the source content with fidelity to the target language. Descriptors and designations free from bias greatly contribute to clarity through precision. During this workshop, the speaker will discuss guidelines—based on the American Psychological Association concept of intersectionality—on how to address age, disability, gender, participation in research, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic status.
Presenter: Romina Marazzato Sparano, CT
Topics: Government T&I, Independent Contractors, Interpreting, Language Services Companies, Legal T&I, Medical T&I, T&I Industry, Translation
Presenting Language: English
Level: All Levels
ATA CEPs: 3.0
AST-14: Multilingual SEO 101: From Keyword Research to Content Optimization
The demand for search engine optimization (SEO) content in all languages is rising, opening up new opportunities for translators who are willing to learn the special requirements of this complex field. Attendees will learn how to perform keyword research, determine SEO potential, and best practices for writing content that catches the eye of human readers and search engines. Hands-on activities will provide attendees a chance to practice these skills and highlight common challenges encountered during the process. Attendees will leave ready to tackle their own multilingual SEO projects.
Presenter: Marion Rhodes, CT
Topics: Independent Contractors, Translation
Presenting Language: English
Level: Intermediate
ATA CEPs: 3.0
AST-15: Pricing Strategies in a Service Industry
The speaker will discuss some of the less obvious pricing strategies for language services providers of various sizes. Going beyond cost-driven pricing and simple rules of thumb, the speaker will address customer- and competition-driven pricing, as well as costs not relevant for pricing. More advanced concepts will also be covered, including economic value analysis, substitutes and complements, vertical and horizontal product lines, bundling, tying, price discrimination, pricing over time, competitive pricing, the psychology of pricing, and various legal aspects of pricing. All material will be presented in a way that ensures antitrust compliance in this sensitive area.
Presenter: Daniel Sebesta
Topics: Independent Contractors, Language Services Companies
Presenting Language: English
Level: All Levels
ATA CEPs: 3.0
Get Ready for ATA62!
Get a glimpse of ATA62 in Minneapolis, October 27-30, 2021.