On April 20th, 2018, in the lecture hall of 111 College of Foreign Languages, Nankai University, students of all grades of the College of Foreign Languages came together to listen carefully to Professor Li Jun’s academic guidance lecture on “Advanced Translation and Compound Talent Cultivation”.
Li Jun is a senior economist, translator, and member of the College Education Guidance Committee of the Ministry of Education. He used to be a French teacher at Beijing Foreign Studies University, a diplomat at an embassy abroad, a foreign language department director at the Foreign Affairs College, and a deputy director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs's senior translation training center. He is currently a professor at the Foreign Languages Institute of the Capital Normal University. His main research directions are translation, international relations, economic diplomacy, international negotiation, cross-cultural communication. He has performed 700 simultaneous interpretations and has translated 30 million words. He is a special guest of the French Channel of CCTV, international radio stations and French media.
At the beginning of the lecture, Professor Li Jun first introduced in detail the importance and necessity of translation in today's society, and pointed out that the number of translators, especially senior translators, is becoming increasingly scarce. He said that a compound foreign language talent should have the following four characteristics: a good professional quality, a solid foundation in foreign languages, a broader knowledge and a strong ability to work.
Professor Li Jun believed that translation is a comprehensive embodiment of foreign language knowledge and its application, which can enhance understanding and cross-cultural knowledge. He suggested that translation practioners should focus on the three major aspects, bilingualism ability, topical knowledge, and professional quality. At the same time, he proposes to strengthen non-literary themes practice.
He encouraged classmates to understand the target countries’ language, enrich their knowledge, expand their knowledge scope, pay attention to current events, use various resources to learn more about culture, foreign trade and other aspects, and at the same time, lay a solid foundation and focus on practice. Students must learn to study by themselves and study actively and pay attention to extracurricular activities. Prof. Li Jun also briefed the students on the status quo of the translation industry, shared some of the techniques of translation and interpreting in the translation process, and provided some suggestions and opinions on the cultivation of senior translator. The students were well-received, and they solved the puzzle of future development and direction through interactive sessions.
The academic lectures conducted a thorough discussion on the content and methods of the cultivation of compound talents and advanced translation talents, which led to reflections on translation teaching practices and made everyone have a clearer and more profound understanding of becoming a foreign language compound talent and senior translation talent, which benefited everyone a lot.
After the lecture, Prof. Yan Guodong, Dean of the College of Foreign Language, and Yang Yuping, a French major teacher, had an in-depth exchange with Professor Li Jun. All the participating teachers and students took photos with Professor Li Jun and the lecture was a complete success.
