Cover not available

Article published In: Translation and Interpreting Studies
Vol. 20:3 (2025) ► pp.391–429

Get fulltext from our e-platform
JBE logo with link
PDF logo with download linkDownload PDF
EPUB logo with download linkDownload EPUB
authorization required

Language proficiency in translation and interpreting programs

Insights from administrators and instructors

ORCiD logo with link | The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
ORCiD logo with link | University of Arizona
Published online: 17 November 2025
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/tis.24139.cil
Abstract
This article examines the relationship between language proficiency and translation and interpreting (T&I) education in U.S. programs, focusing on language preparedness and development. This mixed-methods study investigates course prerequisites, proficiency requirements, and perceptions of administrators and instructors regarding students’ expected versus observed proficiency levels. Findings reveal a mismatch between expected and average proficiency when entering a program, with both groups acknowledging that T&I courses contribute to students’ language development but noting that current program practices often fail to align students’ actual proficiency with their needs. At the graduate level, instructors criticize proficiency requirements, and some administrators continue to view translator training as distinct from language teaching, reflecting issues related to program identity and adherence to professional norms. The study highlights a lack of articulation between prerequisite courses and introductory T&I courses, with misaligned proficiency guidelines and unrealistic expectations. The article concludes with recommendations for improving T&I program design.
Article outline
  • Introduction
    • T&I programs in language departments: The importance of articulation
  • The study
  • Methods
    • Programs
      • Program A
      • Program B
      • Program C
      • Program D
      • Program E
    • Participants
    • Data collection: Research instruments
    • Data analysis
  • Results
    • Language proficiency and T&I readiness (RQ1)
    • Perceptions of language preparedness (RQ2A) and current proficiency requirements (RQ2B)
    • Admission and/or proficiency requirements
    • Directionality
    • Student needs and profiles (RQ3)
    • Language development (RQ4)
    • Attention to language deficiencies (RQ4a)
    • Proficiency and outcomes assessment (RQ4b)
    • Program development (RQ4c)
  • Discussion
  • Conclusion and recommendations for improving program articulation
  • Note
  • References
References (65)
References
Adab, Beverly. 2000. “Evaluating translation competence.” In Developing Translation Competence, ed. by Christina Schäffner and Beverly Adab, 215–228. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Angelelli, Claudia V., and Christian Degueldre. 2002. “Bridging the gap between language for general purposes and language for work: An intensive superior-level language/skill course for teachers, translators, and interpreters.” In Developing Language Proficiency at the Professional Level, ed. by Betty Lou Leaver and Boris Shekhtman, 91–110. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Barrette, Catherine M., and Kate Paesani, eds. 2005. Language Program Articulation: Developing a Theoretical Foundation. Boston: Heinle and Heinle.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Beaudrie, Sara M., and Cynthia Ducar. 2012. “Language placement and beyond: Guidelines for the design and implementation of a computerized Spanish heritage language exam.” Heritage Language Journal 9(1): 77–99. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Biggs, John. 2014. “Constructive alignment in university teaching.” HERDSA Review of Higher Education 11: 5–22.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bowen, David. 1989. “Pendulum swings in language teaching and translation.” In Translator and Interpreter Training and Foreign Language Pedagogy, ed. by Peter W. Krawutschke, 26–38. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bowen, Margareta. 1989. “Language learning before translator/interpreter training.” In Translator and Interpreter Training and Foreign Language Pedagogy, ed. by Peter W. Krawutschke, 51–64. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Campbell, Stuart. 1998. Translation into the Second Language. London: Routledge.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Carreira, María. 2014. “Professional opportunities for heritage language speakers.” In Handbook of Heritage, Community, and Native American Languages in the United States, ed. by Terrence G. Wiley, et al., 66–75. London: Routledge. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Carreres, Ángeles. 2014. “Translation as a means and as an end: Reassessing the divide.” The Interpreter and Translator Trainer 8(1): 123–135. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
CEA Standards for English Language Programs and Institutions. 2019. Retrieved from [URL]
Cerezo Herrero, Enrique. 2025. The Routledge Guide to Teaching Foreign Languages for Translation and Interpreting. London: Routledge. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ciller, Julio, and Ramsés Ortín. 2020. “Evaluación de programas de lengua: Perspectivas profesionales e investigadoras.” Revista Internacional de Lenguas Extranjeras / International Journal of Foreign Languages 2(12): 1–20. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Colina, Sonia. 2002. “Second language acquisition, language teaching and translation studies.” The Translator 8(1): 1–24. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2003. “Towards an empirically-based translation pedagogy.” In Beyond the Ivory Tower: Rethinking Translation Pedagogy, ed. by Brian James Baer and Geoffrey S. Koby, 29–59. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2006. “Spanish second language acquisition: Applications to the teaching of professional translation (and interpretation).” In The Art of Teaching Spanish: Second Language Acquisition from Research to Praxis, ed. by Rafael Salaberry and Barbara A. Lafford, 213–234. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2015. Fundamentals of Translation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2024. “Incorporating translation in the language classroom: Roles, activities and curricular integration.” Lecture, Center for Translation and Global Literacy, University of Iowa, June 5–9.
Colina, Sonia, and Claudia V. Angelelli. 2015a. “T&I pedagogy in dialogue with other disciplines.” Translation and Interpreting Studies 10(1): 1–7. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2015b. “Translation and interpreting pedagogy.” In Researching Translation and Interpreting, ed. by Claudia V. Angelelli and Brian James Baer, 108–117. London: Routledge.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Colina, Sonia, and Barbara A. Lafford. 2017. “Translation in Spanish language teaching: The integration of a “fifth skill” in the second language curriculum.” Journal of Spanish Language Teaching 4(2): 110–123. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Colina, Sonia, and Claudia V. Angelelli. 2024. “Historical perspectives on the learning and teaching of translation and interpreting.” In The Routledge Handbook of the History of Translation Studies, ed. by Anne Lange, Daniele Monticelli and Christopher Rundle, 339–354. London: Routledge. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Corbin, Juliet, and Anselm Strauss. 2015. Basics of Qualitative Research: Techniques and Procedures for Developing Grounded Theory. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Davis, John McE., and Todd H. McKay. 2018. A Guide to Useful Evaluation of Language Programs. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Díaz-Galaz, Stephanie, and Elizabeth A. Winston. 2025. “Interpreter, training, and education.” In The Routledge Handbook of Interpreting and Cognition, ed. by Christopher D. Mellinger, 417–437. London: Routledge. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Dollerup, Cay. 1994. “Systematic feedback in teaching translation.” In Teaching Translation and Interpreting 2, ed. by Cay Dollerup and Annette Lindegaard, 121–132. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ecke, Peter, and Alexander Ganz. 2016. “Student analytics and the longitudinal evaluation of language programs.” In Issues in Language Program Direction: Innovation and Accountability in Language Program Evaluation, ed. by John Norris and Nicole Mills, 62–82. Boston: Cengage Learning.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Ferreira, Aline, and John W. Schwieter. 2025. “Interpreting and language comprehension.” In The Routledge Handbook of Interpreting and Cognition, ed. by Christopher D. Mellinger, 224–237. London: Routledge. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Gasca Jiménez, Laura. 2021. Traducción, Competencia Plurilingüe y Español como Lengua de Herencia. New York: Routledge. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Gironzetti, Elisa, and Flavia Belpoliti. 2018. “Investigación y pedagogía en la enseñanza del español como lengua de herencia (ELH): una metasíntesis cualitativa.” Journal of Spanish Language Teaching 5(1): 16–34. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hagemann, Susanne. 2019. “Directionality in translation and revision teaching: A case study of an A–teacher working with B–A students.” The Interpreter and Translator Trainer 13(1): 86–101. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hague, Daryl, Alan Melby, and Wang Zheng. 2011. “Surveying translation quality assessment: A specification approach.” The Interpreter and Translator Trainer 5(2): 243–267. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hubert, Michael D. 2017. “Teaching translation to foreign-language majors.” In Teaching Translation: Programs, Courses, Pedagogies, ed. by Lawrence Venuti, 55–62. New York: Routledge. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Jourdenais, Renée. 2025. “Interpreting and second language acquisition.” In The Routledge Handbook of Interpreting and Cognition, ed. by Christopher D. Mellinger, 101–115. London: Routledge. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kern, Richard. 2000. Literacy and Language Teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Klee, Carol, Charlotte Melin, and Dan Soneson. 2014. “From frameworks to oversight: Components to improving foreign language program efficacy.” In Issues in Language Program Direction: Innovation and Accountability in Language Program Evaluation, ed. by John Norris and Nicole Mills, 131–153. Boston: Cengage Learning.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kramsch, Claire, and Anne Whiteside. 2008. “Language ecology in multilingual settings: Towards a theory of symbolic competence.” Applied Linguistics 29(4): 645–671. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Labrum, Marian. 1991. “What everyone should know about translation.” ATA Chronicle 20(7): 21–22.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lacorte, Manel. 2017. “Spanish and Portuguese programs in higher education institutions in the United States: Perspectives and possibilities.” Hispania 100(5): 185–191. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lacorte, Manel, and Jesús Suárez García. 2014. “La enseñanza del español en los Estados Unidos: Panorama actual y perspectivas de futuro.” Journal of Spanish Language Teaching 1(2): 129–136. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lange, Dale L. 1988. “Articulation: A resolvable problem?” In Shaping the Future of Foreign Language Education: FLES, Articulation and Proficiency, ed. by John F. Lalande II, 11–31. Lincolnwood, IL: National Textbook Co.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Llamas, Carmen, and Dominic Watt. 2014. “Scottish, English, British? Innovations in attitude measurement.” Language and Linguistics Compass 8(11): 610–617. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lord, Gillian. 2014. Language Program Direction: Theory and Practice. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Malmkjær, Kirsten. 1998. Translation and Language Teaching: Language Teaching and Translation. Manchester: St. Jerome.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Mellinger, Christopher D. 2017. “Translation, interpreting, and language studies: Confluence and divergence.” Hispania 100(5): 241–246. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Mellinger, Christopher D. and Laura Gasca Jiménez. 2019. “Challenges and opportunities for heritage language learners in interpreting courses in the U.S. context.” Revista Signos 52(101): 950–974. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Mraček, David. 2024. “Directionality in translation.” In The Routledge Handbook of the History of Translation Studies, ed. by Anne Lange, Daniele Monticelli and Christopher Rundle, 433–449. London: Routledge. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Norris, John M., et al., eds. 2009. Toward Useful Program Evaluation in College Foreign Language Education. Honolulu, HI: National Foreign Language Resource Center.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Norris, John M., and John McE. Davis, eds. 2015. Student Learning Outcomes Assessment in College Foreign Language Programs. Honolulu, HI: National Foreign Language Resource Center.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Özdemir, Osman, and Hümset Seçkin. 2025. “Exploring foreign language anxiety in higher education: Multifaceted insights into causes, impacts, and coping strategies.” Social Sciences & Humanities Open 11(2): 1–18. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Pavlović, Nataša and Bogusława Whyatt. 2025. “Training bilinguals to become translators.” In The Routledge Handbook of Translation, Interpreting and Bilingualism, ed. by Aline Ferreira and John W. Schwieter, 378–393. New York: Routledge. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Phipps, Alison. 2004. “Living in translated worlds.” In Modern Languages: Learning and Teaching in an Intercultural Field, ed. by Alison Phipps and Mike Gonzalez, 149–165. London: SAGE Publications. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
2009. “Natives or non-natives? That is the question… Teachers of translation into language B.” The Interpreter and Translator Trainer 3(2): 189–208. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Pokorn, Nike K., Jason Blake, Donald Reindl, and Agnes Pisanski Peterlin. 2020. “The influence of directionality on the quality of translation output in educational settings.” The Interpreter and Translator Trainer 14(1): 58–78. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Sasayama, Shoko. 2015. “Formulating effective student learning outcomes through utilization-focused evaluation: A case study of a university Japanese program.” In Student Learning Outcomes in College Foreign Language Programs, ed. by John M. Norris and John McE. Davis, 97–122. Honolulu: National Foreign Language Resource Center.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Tiselius, Elisabet. 2025. “Interpreting and language proficiency.” In The Routledge Handbook of Interpreting and Cognition, ed. by Christopher D. Mellinger, 238–253. London: Routledge. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Tiselius, Elisabet, and Rachel E. Herring. 2023. “What should be included in (public service) interpreter education?” Bridge: Trends and Traditions in Translation and Interpreting Studies 4(1): 46–71.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Van Wyke, Ben. 2017. “An undergraduate certificate in translation studies.” In Teaching Translation: Programs, Courses and Pedagogies, ed. by Lawrence Venuti, 17–24. London: Routledge. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Yan, Jackie X., and Honghua Wang. 2012. “Second language writing anxiety and translation: Performance in a Hong Kong tertiary translation class.” The Interpreter and Translator Trainer 6(2): 171–194. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Zhao, Ran, Matthew D. Coss, Henry Ruan, Bailu Li, and Jing Ma. 2023. “Examining secondary–postsecondary articulation of Chinese language programs: A survey of US college placement procedures.” Foreign Language Annals 56(3): 690–719. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Zlatnar Moe, Marija, Tamara Mikolič Južnič, and Tanja Žigon. 2015. “I know languages, therefore, I can translate?: A comparison between the translation competence of foreign language and interlingual mediation students.” Translation and Interpreting Studies 10(1): 87–107. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Mobile Menu Logo with link to supplementary files background Layer 1 prag Twitter_Logo_Blue