Voluntary Language Service in China
Compared with the wide-spread and well-received voluntary service in some western developed countries, voluntary language service in China is not that popular. But it is gaining momentum in the country now because an increasing number of people have come to realize the importance of language service in the development of society in many aspects. Especially many young people have accepted the concept of volunteerism and are willing to give their helping hands to the people in need.
In the recently concluded Beijing Olympics, more than 70 thousand volunteers from 98 countries and regions provided their services at the “Bird’s Nest” and the Olympic Village, of course, language service being a vital part. With elevation of China’s international status, it will certainly play host for many more international events which will attract people from all over the world. Therefore, it poses a great challenge for China to provide language services to help them communicate. As for large events such as Olympics or the World Exposition (to be held in Shanghai in 2010), volunteers are often in bad need due to the insufficient number of professionals available. As manifested in the case of Beijing Olympics, voluntary language service plays an indispensable role in ensuring the success of such events. Then how can we ensure the availability of high-quality voluntary language service?
Standards for language service volunteer recruitment. The successful performance of a language service volunteer largely depends on his communication skills of the language and understanding of his guest’s cultural background. To judge the competency of the candidates for the voluntary job, interviewers must have a set of standards to follow. Language experts may be involved to choose just the right volunteers. Since most of volunteers’ job may involve face-to-face language service, other factors such as mannerism also should be taken into consideration.
Training. Before volunteers take on any specifically designated job, it is necessary to give them training to educate them about the content of the language service they are going to provide. Meanwhile they also will have a sense of how well they are required to serve so that the general quality of their language service can be guaranteed at a uniform level. Beijing Olympics has set us a good example to follow. In last May, a multilingual transltion service center was established at Beijing Foreign Studies University, and later made a great contribution to the success of Beijing Olympic Games.
Management. In China, people who can speak two or more languages are in a small number compared with the huge population as a whole. They are valuable human resources which can benefit the whole society if well used. Good management of these resources means they can bring out maximum productivity. After the conclusion of an event, the language service volunteers leave their legacy behind, but they can play similar role again and again. To do so, an organization in charge of volunteers’ affairs should be established. It should take the responsibilities including volunteer registration, recruitment, and organization. With the help of such an institution, volunteers can be put into use in a quick and effective manner whenever they are needed to provide their language services.
