A hands-on CAT tools course for translators who work between Arabic and English: set up projects, build translation memories and termbases, run QA, and solve the right-to-left, font and file-format problems that generic tutorials skip.
Trusted Credentials
Why Learn CAT Tools
Most agency jobs now arrive as CAT packages, bilingual files or online projects. For Arabic⇄English translators, the tool is only half the job: right-to-left text, numbers, tags and fonts behave in ways that cost hours if you have not been shown how to handle them.
Contracts, policies and reports repeat clauses and terms. A well-kept translation memory and termbase mean the same clause is translated the same way every time, and QA reports show the client that it was checked.
Mixed-direction sentences, reversed brackets, numbers that jump, fonts that turn to boxes in the target file: these are daily problems in Arabic projects. The course teaches you to prevent them at setup and fix them before delivery.
Translators who can open a package, handle an XLIFF file or translate a spreadsheet and slide deck without breaking the layout can say yes to jobs they would otherwise turn down.
What You Will Learn
Taught on tools such as Trados Studio, memoQ, Phrase or Matecat, with an emphasis on concepts that carry over from one tool to another. The exact tool mix is agreed when you enrol.
How CAT tools segment text, the editor view, project settings, language variants (Arabic locales, US or UK English), and how to open and return packages and bilingual files correctly.
Creating, importing and maintaining TMs; exact and fuzzy matches; context matches; alignment of old translations to build a TM; and keeping client TMs separate and confidential.
Turning a client glossary into a termbase, adding terms while you translate, forbidden terms, and term recognition with Arabic prefixes and attached particles that defeat simple matching.
Built-in QA for numbers, tags, punctuation, terminology and untranslated segments; reading QA reports; filtering false positives typical of Arabic; and spell-checking Arabic inside the tool.
Bidirectional text, Latin terms and codes inside Arabic sentences, brackets and slashes, Arabic-Indic versus Western digits, dates, diacritics, and fonts that fail to render in Word, PowerPoint or PDF output.
Word, Excel and PowerPoint; XLIFF and other bilingual formats; scanned PDFs and what OCR does to Arabic; layout files at a basic level; and checking the final file, not just the editor.
Connecting machine translation inside a CAT tool, light versus full post-editing, typical Arabic MT errors, and client confidentiality when using MT. For prompt engineering and AI workflows, see our AI translation technology course.
How It Works
Message us with your language pair, the tools you have or plan to buy, and the kind of work you do. Beginners and translators who already use a tool but struggle with Arabic files are both welcome.
We confirm the format, the number of sessions, the dates and the fees in writing. One-to-one online sessions and private sessions for in-house teams can be arranged.
Each session works through practice files in Arabic and English: building a TM, fixing a broken RTL layout, running QA, returning a package. You can bring your own non-confidential files.
Participants who complete the course receive an SWLT certificate of completion. It is not a vendor certification from any software company.
Who It Is For
Transparent Pricing
Software licences are not included. Free or trial versions of most tools are enough to follow the course; ask us which to install.
FAQ
CAT stands for computer-assisted translation. A CAT tool splits a document into segments, shows source and target side by side, and suggests matches from your translation memory and termbase. The translator still translates; the tool handles reuse, consistency, formatting and checks.
We teach on tools such as Trados Studio, memoQ, Phrase or Matecat, and agree the mix when you enrol, based on what your clients use. The concepts (TMs, termbases, QA, file handling) carry over between tools.
No. You receive an SWLT certificate of completion. Vendor certifications are issued by the software companies through their own programmes, and SWLT is not an authorised partner of any of them. The skills you practise will help if you choose to sit a vendor exam.
This course is the foundation: working properly in a CAT tool, with TMs, termbases, QA, Arabic RTL issues and file formats, plus MT post-editing basics. The AI translation technology course goes further into AI assistants, prompting and AI-driven workflows. Many translators take this one first.
Not necessarily. Several tools offer free trials or free versions, and some are browser-based. Tell us what you have and we will advise which version to install before the first session.
Because Arabic is written right to left while digits, Latin words and some punctuation run left to right, and the software decides how to order them. The course covers the settings, direction marks and checks that keep mixed text in the right order in the final file.
Yes. You need to be comfortable translating between Arabic and English and using a computer, but no CAT experience is required. Translators who already use a tool can focus on the Arabic-specific and QA modules.
The course is led by Dr. Hani Elimam, founder of SWLT, an AIIC member and UAE Ministry of Justice licensed legal translator. He holds a PhD in Language and Management and a Master's in Interpreting and Translation from the American University of Sharjah, and translation technology is among his specialisations.
Sessions are live and instructor-led. One-to-one online sessions are available, and private sessions for in-house teams can be arranged. We confirm the format with the dates and fees.
Fees depend on the format and the number of sessions, so we confirm them in writing when you enquire, together with the next available dates. Send us a message on WhatsApp.
You May Also Need
AI assistants, prompting and MT post-editing workflows.
Contracts, judgments and legal Arabic for translators.
Preparation for the UAE MOJ sworn translator exam.
Translation and interpreting courses led by Dr. Hani Elimam.
Tell us your language pair, your level and the tools you use. We will reply with the format, the next dates and the fees.