Learning outside the classroom: The role of the Spanish Translation and Interpreting Students Association in the competence acquisition process

The main aim of this article is to describe the role of the Spanish Translation and Interpreting Students Association (AETI) in the translators and interpreters training. To do so, an empirical study was carried out in which the evaluation of fifteen competences from the Libro blanco. Título de Grado en Traducción e Interpretación (ANECA, 2004) was compared between 60 students who are members of AETI and 60 who are not. The general results show that AETI works as a training complement because it serves as a source of information and training resources for students. By being member of AETI, students acquire some knowledge and abilities that are not always easy to develop in class.