The incoming students are all native speakers of the same L1, German. In addition, they are already quite fluent in their L2. Their goal is strictly instrumental in that they want to obtain jobs using their language skills. Many of the graduates may never leave Germany. The faculty of the institute maintain a distinction between translation and interpretation.
Translation applies to written texts whereas interpretation applies to oral language.
Interpretation is further divided into consecutive interpretation and simultaneous interpretation. Consecutive interpretation means interpreting the utterance after the interlocutor has finished speaking. It is useful for informal conversations between two individuals. Simultaneous interpretation means speaking just a few seconds after the interlocutor, who may be delivering a formal address, as in the United Nations. With the advent of the European Union, the nature of translation work is broad, ranging from legal documents to lists of ingredients on the side of a cake mix box.