Introduction
As the Kingdom’s need for language teaching increases, it is incumbent upon the College to provide citizens with the language skills necessary to support the needs of the economic, scientific, and intellectual sectors of the country.
The College began as the European Languages and Translation Center in 1397 Hijri.
In 1411 Hijri, it was transformed into the Institute of Languages and Translation. In 1415 Hijri, the Institute was renamed the College of Languages and Translation.
This change initiated by the kind gesture of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, who was the first minister of education, reflected his devotion to empha the high status of the Kingdom in the international arena and to lay the foundation for the strong and unique relations it enjoys with Muslim and international communities.
The College offers ten bachelor degree programs in ten modern languages: English, French, German, Spanish, Russian, Italian, Turkish, Hebrew, Farsi, and Japanese.
Each program consists of three sub-divisions: first, preparation in any of the ten modern languages; preparation in the Arabic language; and finally, theoretical and pragmatic training in written and oral translation. The undergraduate plan is a five-year-long program.
The translation program at the College includes training in written and oral translation involving all four levels: bi-lingual, consecutive, simultaneous, and visual.
The College takes into consideration these types of translation when assessing the actual needs of the public and private sectors inside the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Great emphasis has been placed on various fields of written translation.
There is a pressing need for translation of references and course textbooks for colleges in applied sciences, a process regarded as the main area of contribution in the Arabization of curricula. Also, there is an increasing demand for oral translation from the public and private sectors.
