Let me try and answer, although I hope Didine shows up to put in her two cents and answer Didine-specific questions.
BlueFlower wrote:1) I think about what are "usual" language combination, and about the market demand.
Do ESIT students have to/ can they add another language to their language combination, during the master courses?
In this, I think I'll quote Mme. Donovan. She said this during one of the first classes in first year, and I quote her verbatim.
Mme.Donovan wrote:Many students during the first weeks ask me if they can add a language, or turn a C into a B. My advice is always the same, "wait until the end of the first semester to see how things are going at ESIT and get the feeling of your languages. If you still want to add/upgrade a language, I'll be glad to oblige". Well, so far in my years at ESIT no one, absolutely no one has requested that at the end of the first semester. What often happens is that languages get dropped or downgraded from B to C.
Sometimes languages are dropped or downgraded because the student doesn't feel they are strong enough. But no one adds or upgrades because they understand that in doing that, their workload would be increased. And they want to evade at at all costs.
That said, I think Didine will tell you what they told us at ESIT: at ESIT you learn the technique. Don't mind the languages, if you get the technique right you can apply it to any other language you know enough.
So don't worry about the languages you do at ESIT. When you finish you can declare any language you want. No one is going to look at what languages you did at ESIT, only that you were here.
That said, let me explain my case, for your interest. I've come to Russia to improve my Russian C. It's been tough.
Now, I had another option: I could go somewhere else to improve my English, make it a B. For me that would have been much easier. And there where many voices advicing me to do just that. In my case, however, I prefered the hard route, I knew that if I didn't do the effort of learning Russian well now, I never would.
I tell this story just to illustrate that, in the end, you have to decide what is more interesting for you.
BlueFlower wrote:2) as for the work amount at ESIT, is it 45 hours a week? And the (warmly!!!) recommended practice with your colleagues, "homework", projects students have to write, newspaper reading, television watching.... all this is another part of the continuous interpreting training, isn't it?
Thank you all!
and I believe you that despite all the sacrifices and the "rough" life here, the interpreting work is worth, once you've passed through hell!
Yes, all that is part of the training, and ever element has its importance. I would say 45h a week is a good estimate, but it can vary greatly (usually on the plus side). To think of all the nice hobbies I had before ESIT...
And yes, I also think that the sacrifice is well worth the effort. But damn, it's hard sometimes.
Cheers!
