Developing translation competence in economics major students as a part of the foreign language course

This study examines translation competence building in university students majoring in economics. The research question is the translation competence of the economist. It is shown that competence should be developed through university education since translation skills are one of the key prerequisites for a successful career in the international economy. Written translation and sight translation are identified as the most relevant kinds of translation for the economist. The fundamentals of developing the translation competence in the economics students as part of the language for specific purposes course and the applications of key learning principles at Moscow State Institute of International Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russian Federation (Odintsovo Branch) are analyzed. The value of such learning principles as scientific approach, awareness, consistency, availability, and visualization is emphasized; it covers the skills and abilities relevant for both translators and economists. The following areas of curriculum development and teaching that meet today’s challenges are analyzed: teaching aids selection and systematization; offline and online interaction with the students; curriculum and administrative support for the educators. The conclusions are as follows: the key requirement is making the translation course contents match the foreign language course; the focus is on studying the specialized terminology and building the information/terminology search skills in native and foreign languages. Another focus area is promoting the student learning activities, their motivation and intrinsic readiness to perform specialized translation.