As far as I remember, I have always enjoyed languages and foreign cultures.
After my Degree in Literature that I passed in France, I had the opportunity to go to live in London where I stayed 2 years and a half.
Then, I lived in other european countries.
As a result, I am able to speak 4 languages now : French, English, Spanish and Italian.
But knowing a language is not only being able to have a mundane conversation with a native speaker, it involves much more knowledge about the way a foreign speaker perceives the reality.
Personally, I am willing to know a foreign language in all its different subtilities, that is why I have continued to learn and improved my level in the languages that I knew, even though I was able to speak fluently these languages.
Thus, I passed the CPE (Certificate of Proficiency in English) of Cambridge obtaining a grade B and I have recently finished a Master in specialized translation in Spain, where I have been living for one year.
Regarding my experience as a translator, I have started to translate as a volunteer in 2007 for various NGO, essentially from English into French.
I also had the opportunity to translate from English and Italian into French when I was working in a company specialized in cosmetics in France.
I was translating commercial documents, websites, brochures etc.
I also have experience as a freelance translator but being aware of my needs to improve my translation skills and in order to become a certified professional translator, I decided last year to take a course to achieve a Master in Specialized Translation in the Spanish-French combination.
I obtained very good marks all along the academic year and most of all, I enjoyed this experience and I am willing to repeat it with a Master in Translation Studies in the English-French combination.
Concerning your programme, it was very appealing to me for many reasons :
First of all, even though I like the theory and the traductology field, I really appreciate the practical content of this course to have a clear feedback from professionals and tools to become accurate as well as productive.
Secondly, the distance learning option is very important in order to combine my studies with my professional and family obligations.
Furthermore, the Master in Specialized Translation that I took in Spain was also by distance learning and I really appreciated the flexibility of this kind of programme.
In addition to this, I am a very independant student which allows me to follow an on-line course without missing a classroom or a flesh and blood teacher.
The third reason why I am really interested in your Master in Translation Studies is its EMT label that proves the quality of your programme.
Besides, I am thinking about continuing my studies until a PhD in order to share my knowledge and my experience in the translation field with other students.
I hope I will have the pleasure to prove my abilities in the Master of Translation Studies of the University of Portsmouth.
I look forward to hearing from you and I remain at your disposal should you require any further information. Sincerely,