I have been participating in JLD’s online English-Japanese certification workshop every year since 2024, and this year marks my third time. I first attended three years ago at IJET31, held at Tokyo Big Sight, where I took part in an in-person workshop led by Akiko and Izumi. That was when I first learned about the ATA certification exam.
During the pandemic, Melbourne experienced the world’s longest lockdown—262 days—and since on-site interpreting was not possible, I worked on translation projects from morning to night, handling government announcements related to COVID-19 and other health information. However, translation work has since decreased. As I live in Australia and my main work involves interpreting in the medical and legal fields, I keep asking myself, “In the age of AI, is it really worth the expense of taking the ATA certification exam?” In response to that question, I was told, “If you want to work as a translator for agencies in the U.S., having this certification ensures a steady stream of inquiries.”
During this workshop, my group discussed exam preparation. The ideal strategy is to complete a practice translation in one hour and spend the remaining 30 minutes reviewing it. However, in my case, I tend to get bogged down in individual words and consult the dictionary too much, which leaves me short on time for review or causes me to lose sight of the overall meaning—so I feel I still need a lot more practice. On a more granular level, it’s important to note that “the Americas” refers to the “North and South American continents” and not the “United States of America.” Other participants also offered advice, such as: “Since the ATA certification exam uses a penalty-point system, if an English sentence is a single clause, don’t force it into separate sentences—translate it as a single clause. Also, it’s best to translate verbs and adverbs using the same part of speech as much as possible.”
On a personal note, I have been participating in a volunteer-led online study group since 2024. Last year, I took the certification exam at the culmination of a year of continuous study, but unfortunately, I did not pass. Since I took the exam from a hotel during a business trip, I couldn’t use a large screen, and there were many technical issues, such as the onboarding process taking a long time; I feel that stress also played a role. To avoid these issues the next time I take the exam, I plan to attend the ATA Conference and take the exam on-site. It’s unclear whether my income as a freelancer will allow me to travel all the way to San Francisco, but IJET34 will be held in Melbourne this September, so I hope many of you will be able to attend.
Finally, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to all the graders for everything you did—from preparing past exam questions to evaluating all participants’ work, and for your thoughtful responses to each individual’s questions. I would also like to extend my sincere thanks to the Tech Team and everyone involved in the event’s organization.
Author: Mikoto Araki
Editor: audra lincoln
Leave a Reply