Developing student translation competence: A practical approach employed in ...
In view of the concept of translation competence, this paper examines how ...
12th Portsmouth Translation Conference
“Those who can teach”: Translation, Interpreting and Training 10thNovember 2012
ABSTRACTS Renad Abbadi (Al-Hussein Bin Talal University , Iran) Developing student translation competence: A practical approach employed in teaching EnglishArabic translation courses. Translator competence, in general, is viewed as a combination of knowledge and skill, including linguistic, cultural, technological and professional skills. Research in translation studies (Gile, 1992; Molina and Albir, 2002; Ronowicz and Imanishi, 2003, Abbadi, 2010) has shown that translation errors may not be just simple linguistic errors; they may be the results of a lack of competence in the following fields: source language comprehension, target language production, and pragmatic competence and translation skills. In view of the concept of translation competence, this paper examines how English-Arabic translation students improved their translation performance, through compiling translation portfolios after analysing and correcting a corpus of erroneous translation texts. The corpus exhibits a range of errors likely to be committed by student translations and helps students touch upon their underlying translation problems. The paper discusses and reports the results of a case study conducted on student translators’ enrolled in two translation courses at AHU over two consecutive semesters.
Zainab Abuelmaatti (Effat University, Saudi Arabia) Curriculum Development: an interdisciplinary approach to translator training The process of curriculum development often takes into account the mission, vision, and goals of the educational institution. Curriculum development processes involve a number of major activities that go far beyond the actual act of producing a well-developed program: ensuring curriculum quality and applicability; integrating and aligning the curriculum; implementing the curriculum efficiently, and; evaluating the program at a regular basis. “Curriculum” refers to all the experiences and skills the learners have to acquire in a program of education to achieve the vision, goals, and intended learning outcomes of the institution and program.
Higher-education institutions often aim to provide quality education through providing interdisciplinary environments that encourage research and support civic engagement. Such institutional goals must be reflected in the programs developed by the institution. Translator training is especially challenging. Translators are responsible for converting oral and written material from one language and culture into another. It is crucial, thus, that students of translation/interpreting programs be fluent in the languages of their interest and familiar with the cultures. Language skills can be developed in a variety of ways. Being raised in bi/multi-lingual households facilitates mastering a foreign language. However, mastering a foreign culture is a skill that is near impossible. This is especially true in contexts where students of translation/interpreting programs have no access to the foreign culture(s) except through media and social media. This is why a number of translation/interpreting programs offer participants study-abroad opportunities where they spend 6 months to a year in the country of their choice of language. Other strategies of familiarizing translation/interpreting students with the foreign language(s) and culture(s) include incorporating linguistics, literature, and modern media in the program touching on cultures in contact and globalization. Participants will thus master the language and inhabit the culture. This paper looks into the kind of courses curriculum leaders need to consider in developing translation/interpreting programs that meet the needs of the market as well as relate translation theory to the non-prescriptive translation practice outside the classroom. The courses the paper investigates have the ultimate goals of meeting the institution’s vision and maximizing student learning by providing quality in the content of learning focusing as such on what is learned and how it is taught.
Mehdi Asadzadeh (Islamic Azad University, Maragheh, Iran) Translation of Education Material for Migrants Having access to a classroom where the education is being offered in their mother tongues is a nonnegotiable right of the migrants. The growing number of migrants all over the world, with speedier continuum in developed countries, highlights the need for having sufficient and proper educational materials in migrants’ originating languages in host countries. To address this need, strategic planning for developing and disseminating educational material is of urgent priority. That the translation plays an undeniable role in such plan is truly undeniable, but the point to be emphasized here is that the strategists, education policy-makers of the host countries, and the translators should identify and incorporate into translation projects the most pressing educational needs of students. The emphasis would better be placed on developing materials as part of a strategic initiative to publicize education in their native languages, and reach an educational system that, while being easily integrated to hosting society aim-wise, is in full consistency with the migrant community social and cultural-wise.
A comprehensive approach for selection of educational material for translation should take into account the societal, economic, religious and organizational factors that define the environment in which the translated educational material are to be provided to students. Material development would ideally be in the context of a plan that considers the significant cultural barriers that a migrant student usually encounters in the hosting society. Present paper attempts at providing a model of translation for migrant students where the highest respect towards both source and target languages is shown and, resultantly, the right ‘right’ of the migrant students to be educated in their mother tongues while being a part of the host community is granted to them according to the so-called ‘humanitarian standards’.
Sabine Braun & Catherine Slater (University of Surrey) Interpreting in Virtual Reality: Training Interpreters and Clients in a Bespoke 3D Environment The increase in global migration and multilingualism has generated a high demand for qualified business and public service interpreters. Higher education programmes for these fields of interpreting have emerged across Europe, but they require resources and self-study opportunities to support trainee interpreters in acquiring the relevant skills. Alongside this, there is also a growing awareness that a client-side understanding of how to work with an interpreter is particularly important in business and public service contexts, but clients are still rarely trained and, where this does happen, training is separate from interpreter training. With this in mind, this presentation will report on a European collaborative project called Interpreting in Virtual Reality (IVY), which uses an avatar-based 3D virtual world – Second Life – to simulate professional interpreting scenarios in which trainee interpreters can practise and enhance their interpreting skills using bilingual materials designed specifically for trainee interpreters. Clients, meanwhile, can access the 3D environment to observe and explore, and learn about working with an interpreter. Both user groups can furthermore interact live in role-play simulations (e.g. in a virtual courtroom). The presentation will start with an overview of the bespoke IVY environment, including its different working modes, the customised bilingual content with which it is populated, and the opportunities for learning and practice. The second part will focus on the findings from the pedagogical evaluation of the environment, which involved interpreting students, clients of interpreting services and interpreter trainers and was aimed at assessing the learning potential of the environment and its suitability for training interpreters and clients together. This project is co-funded by the EU Lifelong Learning Programme (511862-2010-LLP-UK-KA-KA3MP, 2011-2012).
Sabine Braun & Judith Taylor, University of Surrey CPD for legal interpreters: Training in video-mediated interpreting Criminal justice services are increasingly turning to videoconference technology as a means of achieving efficiency in national and cross-border proceedings. This development also concerns proceedings that require the assistance of an interpreter, leading to different forms of videoconference-based interpreting. European legislation, especially the new European Directive 2010/64/EU on the right to interpretation and translation in criminal proceedings, explicitly refer to the use of videoconferencing as a means of accessing a qualified legal interpreter. At the same time, research makes it clear that the use of video-mediated interpreting in criminal proceedings is especially challenging (Braun & Taylor 2011). However, training opportunities for interpreters in this field are virtually non-existent. This paper addresses the growing demand for CPD in this area and will report on the experience of creating and delivering a CPD module in video-mediated interpreting for legal interpreters. The module was used to provide small-group training to prepare more than 350 of the interpreters who are registered with the Metropolitan Police Service for work in the force’s new videoconferencing hubs in London. The first part of the presentation will briefly highlight some of the major developments and research findings in relation to video-mediated interpreting in legal settings. This will be followed by the introduction of the CPD module with a focus on showing how the research findings were used to a) provide relevant background information for the course participants, b) shape the practice-based sections (role plays), and c) inform the discussion and the guidelines provided in the module. The final part of the presentation will focus on the feedback from the Metropolitan Police registered interpreters and how this fed into the further development of the module for future use. This module was designed with financial support from the Criminal Justice programme of the European Commission (AVIDICUS Project, JUST/2010/JPEN/AG/1558, 2011-2013).
Lucy Brooks, MCIL, CL (Translator) Managing Director, eCPD Ltd Worthing High quality CPD on a budget or progressing your career without breaking the bank All professional translators and interpreters, especially those belonging to a professional institute - in whatever country they may reside - are strongly recommended, and in some cases, required, to enter into a programme of Continuing Professional Development throughout their careers. My presentation, which has been given in the form of a webinar in 2011, first explains the concept of CPD and how it is applied within the language industry. It further explains to practitioners the importance of setting themselves a programme of structured learning, and then covers the need to
keep good records and review and reflect on activities on an annual or more frequent basis. In my presentation I will explain the three main methods, or levels, of obtaining CPD: formal, semiformal and informal. I will then further analyse these into five different categories of CPD within those levels. I focus on low-cost and free resources, many of which can be pursued from home or office. I offer many practical ideas to practitioners regarding ways of maintaining and updating skills, and I provide many on-line and off-line resources i, as well as ideas for pursuing a structured course of learning without breaking the bank. And lastly I will explain how a structured programme of CPD can enhance a practitioner’s business and career. i
Available as a handout
Svetlana Carsten (The National Network for Interpreting, University of Leeds) ‘Learning from screen: the answer to classroom-learning shortfalls?’ A case study in interpreting training In order to develop its own theories, Interpreting Studies has borrowed from many areas of research – linguistics, psychology, discourse analysis and more. To provide a theoretical justification for interpreting training materials and approaches also requires casting one’s net wide, especially when the materials are no longer conventional and not for use in the classroom. With the advent of the new communication technologies, new VLEs and online resources, learning from screen opens up a new set of challenges. The electronic learning journal Fenman offers a compelling overview of the ongoing research and development in learning technologies. The new generation of e-researchers warn that ‘every single screen in online learning programmes [should be] doing something useful for learners’ and those who develop online resources should be aware of ‘what is going on in [an] online learner’s mind.’(Race, 2002) The presentation will provide an overview of the NNI web project (part of Routes into Languages) and the EU-funded ‘Online resources for conference interpreter training’ (ORCIT) project and will address the question of relevance of the traditional pedagogical approaches to online learning: to what extent, for example, are Bloom’s Taxonomy of Learning Domains (1954) or Conscious Competence Learning Model (Gordon Model, 1970s) applicable to the screen and multimedia learning.
Jonathan Evans (University of Portsmouth) Retranslation in translator training: a critical practice This paper will argue for the centrality of retranslation to the translation curriculum, both for critical studies and practical workshops. The creation of multiple translations of the same source text offers opportunities for studying the processes of translation and reception from many angles. It shows the provisional nature of translation as an activity, demonstrating the axiom that there is no perfect translation. It allows readers to compare multiple approaches to the same text. As such, it can provide material for studies using approaches ranging from historical and sociological to textual and normative, as well as offering an important pedagogical aspect. As a practical exercise, retranslation forces translation students to reflect on their own translation activity and consider how their translation will differentiate itself from previous translations, as Toury (1995: 166) notes that all retranslations must do. Students need to carefully analyse the previous translation(s) as well as the source text in order to discover a way of proceeding that will result in a new translation which balances accuracy and creativity. A retranslation is, as Berman (1995: 55) notes, implicitly (and sometimes explicitly) critical of the previous translation. Retranslation therefore offers a combination of theory and practice that can be seen to be central to the academic discipline of Translation Studies. As a practical activity, retranslation uses both critical and creative skills; combined with a translation commentary it can be used to develop students’ critical understanding of translation theories and practices. It is, therefore, a form of what kydd calls (in relation to film) a ‘critical practice’ (2011). This paper will conclude by suggesting ways that retranslation can be used in the classroom, referring to current practice and using examples of retranslations of poetic and philosophical texts as well as theories of learning and teaching. Select Bibliography Berman, Antoine. 1995. Pour une critique des traductions: John Donne. Paris: Gallimard Given, Barbara. 2000. Teaching Styles: A Guide for Teachers and Parents. Oceanside: Learning Forum Kussmaul, Paul. 1995. Training the Translator. Amsterdam: Benjamins kydd, Elspeth. 2011. The Critical Practice of Film: An Introduction. Basingstoke: Palgrave MacMillan Rogers, Jenny. 2001. Adults Learning, 4th edition. Maidenhead: Open University Press Toury, Gideon. 1995. Descriptive Translation Studies and beyond. Amsterdam: Benjamin
Ni FeiFei (University of Hong Kong) Towards an online platform for computer-aided distance learning/teaching of translation: Indepth data annotation and inter-modular navigation This paper will first introduce an online platform for computer-aided teaching and learning of translation, focusing on its in-depth bilingual data annotation guided by a research-informed system of 198 tagwords which covers textual phenomena related to bilingual writing and translation skills. It will also demonstrate how the tagwords can be used to guide online navigations among its four modules, viz. the corpus, annotations, exercises, and knowledge-based topical boards, to enhance
the learner’s study experience and to increase teaching efficiency, either in classroom or on line. The paper will then report on a survey conducted to assess the plausibility of the platform’s design and its effectiveness in consolidating learners’ basic writing/translating skills via self-learning. There were 30 students whose majors range from language to electronic engineering participating in the survey. The survey uses information focus and its English-Chinese textual manifestations, designated by a series of tagwords, as its ‘test cases’, and the students were first asked to answer a pre-learning questionnaire regarding their knowledge of the topic. Sessions were then organized to let them familiarize themselves with the operation of the platform and, guided by the set of tagwords, study through navigating among interconnected text annotations, consulting relevant topical boards, and doing self-assessment exercises. A post-learning questionnaire survey was then conducted for the students to report their learning results, which have been reviewed in conjunction with the machine-generated individual study reports, as well as their feedback on such issues as the userfriendliness of the system, difficulty of the annotations, helpfulness of the topical boards and exercises, together with suggestions for improvement. Keywords: translation teaching/self-learning, online platform, annotation, tagword
Justyna Giczela-Pastwa (University of Gdańsk) Translation theory - an indispensable professional prerequisite or a tedious curricular obligation? The paper has been inspired by translation theory teaching experience, in particular by the skeptical response of (especially BA-level) students to university courses presenting and exploring contemporary translation theories. Much has been written on the legitimacy of teaching theory to translation students and its place in academic curricula. However, these are mostly contributions of researchers, academics or other translation professionals. So far considerably less attention has been paid to the voice of translation trainees, and relatively little has been said about possible reasons for not fully positive attitude. The paper outlines briefly various approaches to teaching translation theory on academic courses, however, its main focus is on the results of a survey conducted among students of Translation Studies at University of Gdańsk, Poland (levels: BA, MA, Postgraduate; specialisation tracks: literary/audiovisual translation, specialised translation). The ultimate aim of the survey is to identify possible reasons for the students' skeptical attitude and to investigate if such observable approach changes in any way with growing translation experience and awareness, or if it depends on a field of translation specialisation. The paper ends with tentative conclusions regarding possible methods of encouraging trainees to perceive translation theory as a reliable and useful tool for anyone planning a career in translation. Bibliography:
Baer, B.J. and Koby, G.S. (eds) (2003) Beyond the Ivory Tower.American Translators Association Scholarly Monograph Series, vol. XII. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company. Calzada Pérez, M. (2005) 'Applying translation theory in teaching'.New Voices in Translation Studies, 1(2005), pp. 1-11. Chesterman, A., Wagner, E. (2002) Can Theory Help Translators? Manchester: St. Jerome Publishing. Fawcett, P. (1981) 'Teaching translation theory'. Meta: Translators' Journal, 26(2), pp. 141-147. Gouadec, D. (2007) Translation as a Profession. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company.
Sarah Griffin-Mason (Translator) Drafting a professional CPD ladder for the Institute of Translation and Interpreting The Institute of Translation and Interpreting (ITI) is a professional body that represents the interests of members of the Translation and Interpreting sectors. ITI strongly promotes the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) of all of its members. In the current tough competitive climate, a wide range of professional skills can help a Translator or Interpreter to develop their career in many ways—from searching out more lucrative niche markets to developing a portfolio approach—helping them to improve their own professional practice, find new and better clients, and ultimately prosper in their chosen field of work. Joint-Chair of the Education and Training Committee, Sarah Griffin-Mason, will present the draft professional CPD ladder currently under development by the Institute, explaining the range of skills a professional translator could and should aim to acquire as they progress through their career. There will be detailed discussion of the essential key skills of the Translating and Interpreting careers and a range of “bolt-on” related skills that can prove useful and provide a competitive edge. There will be ample time allowed for questions, comments and suggestions from conference attendees at the end of the session.
Natascha Jäger (Sony Professional Solutions Europe) Exams in the real world: a case for the university-trained translator With a rising number of postgraduate courses in localisation-related disciplines at British universities, novice translators boast more specialised qualifications than ever before. Yet some would argue that an academic background is of peripheral relevancefor the practical profession of translation. Based on my personal experience as in-house translator in marketing communications at Sony Europe, this presentation will ask: What assets can university-trained translators bring to the real-life working environment? I will introduce the localisation workflows from translation to sign-off at Sony and look at the skills that are required to master them. Attendees will be familiarised with the CAT and workflow
management tools we use and see examples of real-life projects. I will place a particular focus on the review stage of the translation process, examining the complex relationship between the translator (both internal and external), the external agency reviewer and also other internal stakeholders at Sony. When translations are altered and rated in "scorecards", it is only natural for disagreements to arise. This scenario, in which translators not only need to render the words but also argue and comment on their choices, is not too dissimilar from a university translation exam and will be used as an example of a situation where an academic background might be a particular advantage.
Caterina Jeffcote (University of Portsmouth) Touching base with theory Translation workshops (real or virtual) are heavily engaged with the practical translation techniques of different text types and genres. This workshop will be looking at the practices of various institutions and professionals and the teacher and student expectations in such workshops. Questions to consider are the following:
• • • • • • •
Who teaches theory? How much time can there be allocated for theory in a practical translation workshop? New theories Old theories Favourite theories Differentiation between theories and strategies. How can we explain those to the students? Practical application of theory in the translation classroom
Finally, to what extent is theory considered useful by either students or teachers in a practical translation workshop?
Dorothy Kelly (Avanti Research Group, University of Granada, Spain)
Defining translator trainer competence In recent years, despite a welcome increase in interest in translator training in general, little attention has been paid to the figure of the trainer. When the issue is addressed, authors tend to centre on whether or not trainers should be professional translators, without taking into account other essential elements of trainer competence. An interesting recent exception is the work carried out in the framework of the European Master’s in Translation project coordinated from the Directorate General for Translation at the European Commission and its sister project, Optimale.
This presentation will offer a brief analysis of what TS literature says about trainer profiles, and will then address growing concern over trainer quality and hence trainer training. In order to address the issue, the paper will attempt to describe trainer competence as a set of subcompetences. These subcompetences are seen as belonging to three major areas: professional translator competence; knowledge of Translation Studies as an academic discipline; and teaching skills. Special emphasis will be placed on the third, which has thus far been neglected in our field. Data from a study including selfevaluation of translator trainers in Spain will be incorporated.
Defeng Li (University of London) Towards a Model of Developing Translation Training/Education Programmes Translation Studies as a discipline has witnessed rapid growth over the past decade, and this has been best reflected in the number of books on the subject that have been turned out every year, the launch of several journals devoted to translation and interpreting studies, and the number of conferences related to translation and translation studies held worldwide. Surveys carried out by different institutions on global translation market have estimated the value of translation services at billions of US dollars per year. Though how accurate some of the predictions and estimates are remains to be confirmed, all agree that as a result of globalization and expansion of information technology, the need for translation and interpretation services has increased tremendously. Consequently, a number of countries have launched or are launching translation training/education programmes either at the undergraduate level or the postgraduate level, or both (e.g. China, Britain) for various reasons and towards different goals. This paper will examine the recent rapid development of translation programmes in Chinese Universities and examine the various factors that have worked together to bring forth the birth of new BA and MA translation programs in the country over the past 5 years. The ultimate goal of the project is to suggest a model of programme development and evaluation for translation training/education. Such a model will be of great benefit to countries attempting to launch translation programmes in practical terms, and it will also be of considerable significance to translation teaching research since this is an area that has hardly been researched (cf. Kelly 2005).
Saihong Li-Rasmussen (University of Salford) The Application of Advanced Learning Technology in Assisting the Teaching of Business and Consecutive Interpreting The present study aims to investigate how to use both existing and emerging technologies effectively to create dynamic and more accessible learning resources to allow both learning and teaching with greater freedom. The use of Smartphones, virtual learning environments (VLEs), podcasting / vodcasting, QR codes and interactive voting response systems to assist my teaching of business and consecutive interpreting was analysed in this case study. Although the use of
technology to support and enhance student learning and assessment is well documented in literature (Hepplestone et al., 2011), to date few, if any studies appear to have been carried out within the context of Interpreting and Translation Studies, especially pertaining to the discussion of the application of advanced learning technologies in the teaching of Business Interpreting (BI) and Consecutive Interpreting (CI).The BI and CI module for PG programmes at the University of Salford aims to ensure that high standards of professionalism, both in interpreting practice and on theoretical levels are maintained. In this case study, questionnaires supplemented with interviews, have been used to investigate the viability of using the advanced learning technology in the process of learning and teaching and identify the beneficial effects on students’ learning and satisfaction. The results of this study indicate that the students have benefitted from the use of advanced learning technologies, without the learning experience actually becoming about learning how to use the technologies themselves. The technologies used remained, as intended, simply a means to an end. Thus, the learning experience remained all about the BI and CI, rather than focus shifting to the advanced learning technologies themselves. My study also shows that technology provides us with great potential, but we do need to handle it with care. It is like a butterfly in hand – it is so beautiful if it can last.
Gary Massey, Maureen Ehrensberger-Dow & Andrea Hunziker Heeb (Institute of Translation and Interpreting, Zurich University of Applied Sciences) Considering the process in translation training (workshop)
The notion of considering the translation process in translation teaching and training is not new: students have long been encouraged to reflect on their translation processes, sometimes by annotating their translations or providing retrospective reports. More recently, a growing body of research by investigators in a number of countries suggests that many process research techniques can be usefully applied to translator training in order to stimulate students’ and professionals’ reflections on decisions made and actions taken during translation (cf. Massey & Ehrensberger-Dow 2010; 2011). The transparency that process techniques provide might facilitate needs-oriented teaching and coaching more than purely product-oriented evaluations can, since many of the considerations in reaching translation solutions can be observed rather than simply assumed. In this workshop, we would like to present some examples of how some teachers in our institute have started including considerations of the translation process in the classroom. Various combinations of screen videos, eye-tracking records, participation observation, retrospective verbalisations and follow-up interviews have provided students and teachers on our BA and MA translation programmes with useful information on students’ problem awareness and identification, their search behaviour, resource use, revision practices and work efficiency. The goal of the workshop will be to explore the pedagogical potential of applying various translation process research techniques to translation teaching and to empower the participants to do so in
their own classrooms. There will be demonstrations of various process research techniques in classroom settings and ample time for the participants to discuss issues such as: • • • • •
usability of process research techniques and tools opportunities for peer learning possibilities for independent study diagnosis and evaluation with recordings of processes costs and benefits of including processes in translation teaching.
References Massey, Gary & Maureen Ehrensberger-Dow (2010).Investigating demands on language professionals. Bulletin suisse de linguistique appliquée (Special issue) 2010(1), 127-141. Massey, Gary & Maureen Ehrensberger-Dow (2011).Commenting on translation: implications for translator training. The Journal of Specialised Translation16, 26-41. Julie McDonough Dolmaya (York University) Developing (a)synchronous learning environments for delivering online interpretation courses When York University launched a new two-year Master of Conference Interpreting (MCI) program in March 2012, the first year of which was to be offered online, course developers had to overcome a variety of challenges, including adapting pedagogical exercises to an online environment and working with tools that would allow both asynchronous and synchronous online learning. How, for instance, were students to work in pairs or small groups to practice consecutive and simultaneous interpreting together online? How could synchronous in-class discussions be facilitated? How could students complete tests and exams that required them to demonstrate their ability to simultaneously or consecutively interpret a speech or conversation? How could instructors “peek” over a virtual student’s shoulder to assess his or her note-taking skills? Questions such as these were tackled in the summer of 2012, while about twenty curriculum developers prepared lesson plans, exercises, and marking schemes for court, healthcare, and conference interpretation courses in five language pairs (English and French, Mandarin, Portuguese, Spanish or Russian).
After briefly describing the MCI program and reviewing some of the literature on best practices for online learning, this presentation will focus specifically on how the pedagogical exercises incorporated into the various courses were adapted for an online environment. It will explore the technical challenges of delivering interpreting courses online and discuss the specific tools used for the in-class exercises and tests.
Rita Mebitaghan (Delta State University, Abraka) On training the translator teacher: A reflection on the Nigerian experience
This paper discusses training for Translator Trainers (TT), as it relates to the Nigerian situation. The need for Translator Training cannot be overemphasised in the translation teaching process. Current trends in translation studies reveal the need for continuous trainer training program; yet there seem to be little of it available (Kelly:2005). This is particularly true of the Nigerian situation. Using Nigerian Trainers as case study, this paper attempt to examine TT experience as it relates to his task of training translators. The research data corpus is made up of inferences drawn from administered questionnaires on TT. The analysed data will help to determine the state of translator training in Nigeria and to what extent resources are available for TT. Through a descriptive survey, attempts would be made to examine translation teaching and teaching methods in Nigerian Institutions. From our findings, we hope to initiate and introduce action plan for translation training with the expectation of contributing to the improvement of translation teaching in Nigeria. It is our hope also that our suggestions would serve as relevant models to institutions where Translator Training is underplayed. Carol O’Sullivan (University of Portsmouth) Constrained literature and transferable skills for translators (please note that this workshop is now a paper) This workshop is based on the argument that translation exercises involving formally constrained texts offer a fruitful way of releasing students' creativity and facilitating a shift from sourcelanguage-based to target-language-based decision-making (see O'Sullivan 2012). The workshop begins with a very brief introduction to the literature of constraint. It then offers two short exercises to demonstrate the method. The first is an icebreaker exercise in which all participants will be asked to write a short lipogrammatic text in their mother tongue. The second exercise will place participants into groups to undertake a very short exercise based on a specific constraint (e.g. sound, specific letters, specific rhythm, vocal patterning). This will be a multilingual exercise; all languages are welcome. Groups will convene to discuss their solutions, and the final section of the workshop will be a brief discussion of the challenges that may arise for trainers (e.g. working with nonEuropean languages; student profiles; curriculum capacity). Maria Piotrowska (Pedagogical University of Cracow, Poland) Acquiring transferrable skills in translator training at beginner level (Workshop) The beginner level in translator training has not attracted too much attention and sufficient focus in specialist literature recently although the area of translation pedagogy has expanded greatly in the past few decades. The proposed workshop is a sample teaching unit within undergraduate or graduate translation programmes offering hands-on learning experience for beginners of translation. The content of the workshop is three-fold:
1. Introduction and Presentation - demonstration of the module in its curriculum framework and theoretical foundations; 2. Practice - sample classroom techniques of problem-solving and strategic translating for novice translators; 3. Discussion - the translation textbook for beginners - a useful didactic tool or utopia. In the introductory part, the module content and its characteristics within the curriculum are described. Following Kiraly’s assumptions of empowerment and transferable skills as well as Levy’s decision-making, in the presented practical learning unit the stress is put on training the acquisition of the strategic competence, as well as the skill of implementing appropriate techniques for particular translation problems, particularly at the cultural level. It is shown how such fundamental terms as the translation unit, context clues, procedure and strategy can be empirically taught with the use of Hervey and Higgins’s cultural transposition cline, or other methodological tools. What is an added didactic value are self-reflective techniques learnt by students in the process of training. A compensational model for strategy and technique use that is implemented in teaching practice by the author is briefly commented upon as a simplified didactic tool in teaching beginners and enabling them to be self-reflective in their translating practice. The practical part based on the English language source materials is followed by a discussion on available textbooks for written translation at elementary level with some feedback provided by English-Polish translation students. The empirical focus is English-Polish, however some general, not language-specific observations concerning student empowerment and self-reflection being a necessary component of the strategic competence, are also made.
Akiko Sakamoto and Moritz Schaeffer (University of Leicester) On-line translation workshop for technology-savvy students: an opportunity or a misapprehension? This paper presents a case study where MA Translation Studies students were invited to take part in a workshop-style module which was run solely on the University’s on-line learning platform, Blackboard. In the spirit of social constructivism in translation pedagogy (Kiraly 2000) and Kolb’s experiential learning theory (Kolb 1984), the module was run during two semesters as a self-study course where students undertook translation assignments in an environment designed to replicate real professional working settings. The main purposes of the module were: 1) to complement the institution’s research-strong MA programme by offering the students opportunities for translation practice so that they can prepare themselves for their post-study careers; 2) to make the maximum use of digital technologies which young people are said to be conversant with, including on-line chat room, discussion board, blog, wiki, file-exchange facility, in order to enhance their learning; 3) to utilise screen-recording software as a tool for reflexive observation of their own translational processes. Throughout the course, student-led group study and active participation of each student was encouraged while tutors’ intervention was intentionally limited to a minimum. Four discussion sessions with the students took place during the course, two in the on-line chat room and the other two face-to-face, where the participants discussed issues they faced during the course. In the final
discussion session, the students’ views on learning in this specific format were collected. This paper reports the students’ perceptions of and attitudes to this specific format of learning and discusses its potential, as well as its limitations. References Kiraly, D., 2000. A social constructivist approach to translator education: empowerment from theory to practice, Manchester: St. Jerome. Kolb, D.A., 1984. Experiential learning: experience as the source of learning and development, Englewood Cliffs; London: Prentice-Hall.
Agata Sadza (London Metropolitan University) Group work in translator training: a case study of a module in Translation Project Management The proposed paper aims to discuss the effectiveness and applicability of group work in translator training and to the ways of resolving related difficulties and dilemmas. It will present an analytical and critical case study of teaching and assessment procedures applied in a semester-long module in Translation Project Management taught in a distance learning mode to postgraduate students of Translation and Intercultural Communication. The module in question was explicitly based on experiential learning through group work whereby the participants worked in groups of 4-6 on an extensive translation project requiring them to divide up the workload and perform various roles, including that of the Project Manager, Terminologist/Quality Assurance and Translator. One of the aims of the module was to accustom students to working in the professional environment by emulating a group experience that becomes increasingly common within the profession. While group tasks are becoming increasingly common and advocated in translation pedagogy, scholarly contributions are still quite scarce, and this paper will attempt to address this perceived gap. The paper argues that group work can be an efficient tool in translator training, however it requires a very careful design of the assessment procedure and its close alignment with the aims of the module. It will address the arguments that may be put forward in favour of group work and collaborative learning in translator training and with relation to translator competencies as well as the challenges related to the implementation and assessment of group work. It will present a brief review of the existing literature on group work both in translator training and other disciplines. It will also evaluate the effectiveness of the teaching and assessment procedures, based on students’ feedback and final grades and extrapolated with the relevant theoretical contributions. The final part of the paper will discuss relevant implications for future research and teaching practice.
Marwa Shamy ( Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh)
Language-specificity in simultaneous interpreting training Solidifying the foundations of simultaneous interpreting pedagogy entails systematizing what transpires in the interpreting class rather than leaving it entirely to the discretion of the respective instructor. This systemization would have to take the specificities of the language-pair in question into consideration. This paper attempts to contribute to determining the language-specific elements of a syllabus for simultaneous interpreting from English to Arabic. The aim is to identify the language-pair specific problem triggers which encumber students’ performances and which therefore need to be addressed in class and incorporated into the syllabus. The process of simultaneous interpreting is looked at from the perspective of Gile’s Efforts Model. The subjects were native Arabic speakers who had just completed the MSc course in Translating and Conference Interpreting English-Arabic at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh. Their interpreting output was analyzed based on performance-related, form-related and content-related quality criteria which were adopted from Bühler(1986) and adapted to the purposes of the study. The analysis gave insight into problem triggers which are derived from the language pair English/Arabic or from the characteristics of modern standard Arabic as a target language. The findings indicate that there is a need for targeted exercises in class that would enable students working from English to Arabic to develop the strategic behaviour necessary to overcome the language-specific problems automatically without wasting much processing capacity.
Juliette Scott (Translator) Can the thoroughbred legal translator work with blinkers on? This paper will present a proposal tracing out some tentative recommendations for the commissioning of corporate and court-related legal translations from freelance linguists. As background, the results of a pilot study and preliminary findings in the subsequent main study canvassing those commissioning the above types of legal translation will be described. Respondents comprise corporate quality managers, in-house counsel, law firms, legal translation agencies, and court officials. Feedback from an experimental advisory webinar on the same subject will also be outlined. Questions asked of respondents pertain to levels of satisfaction, types and profiles of provider used and their qualifications, volumes of legally binding translated texts, quality issues encountered, differentiation of quality, and quality control. Participants were also given the opportunity to express their views freely with several open prompts. Potential means for improvement broached by the researcher in the paper will involve the translation brief, with reference to Skopostheorie, and its content: in addition to deadline, language pair and word rate – the standard information provided by translation buyers – other items to be specified will be proposed.
Such specifications include information such as the intended use of the text, details of the enduser(s) profile, the reason(s) why the text has been/was produced, why the text is being translated, and possibly information relating to the parties/items involved in order to provide a clear context. Lastly, instructions could be given as regards how to deal with legal concepts that do not exist in other legal systems or are interpreted differently (e.g. by translator’s notes). It is hoped that the recommended ‘brief template’ might go some way to providing legal translators with the contextual information that is often sorely lacking, thus enabling them to provide translations more in line with user expectations.
Daniel Toudic (Université Rennes 2) Translator training at the crossroads: a European perspective This concluding keynote speech will draw on the findings of the « Optimale » European academic network project to illustrate how academics from all over Europe (in its widest sense) are working together with the language industry and professions to implement advanced university-level translator training programmes that meet the challenges of rapidly changing professional environments and expectations. Although translation service provision is now a truly global industry, with rapidly expanding Asian markets in particular (cf. Common Sense Advisory Report, 2012), Europe is still a major player within that context, representing over 40% of worldwide market share. And despite the growing importance of Asian languages, mainstream European languages (whether used on this continent or across the world) still account for a huge share of the word volumes being translated today. Beyond the market, and despite the ever increasing trend towards single language use in many of the European Union’s institutions, translation is still a vital ingredient of the cement (just about) holding the Union together. In this talk, we shall be looking at some of recent trends in translator education and training in the 30 or so countries that have been working together within the « Optimale » project. We shall see how, despite the fragmentation of the translation markets and professions, consortium members have worked hand in hand both with language service employers and freelance translators to follow ongoing changes in professional needs and practices and propose innovative teaching and learning practises, to make translator training programmes more relevant to both professional and societal needs. We shall also look at what is being done to meet the technological challenge and enhance the added value of university-trained human translators in an increasingly competitive marketplace. Finally, we shall look at the relevance of advanced translation qualifications in the wider employment market across Europe.
Yujing Zhai (University of Leeds) Translation assessment and the social constructivist approach As an instrument of measuring translators’ competence, translation assessment is drawing increasing attention these days. However, a research into this area is still relatively in its infancy. With the reform happening to the translator education in general, translation assessment is meanwhile undergoing a shift, from the traditional paradigm to a new model. Traditionally, translation assessment is dominantly in the form of summative assessment. This traditional type takes the form of a translation examination paper, consisting of writing a translation of an unknown text, with or without dictionary (or dictionaries), in a limited period of time in a typical examination environment. However, in the context of competence-based training (CBT), a new model is called on for translation assessment. The literature reveals the expected qualities this new model should have: (1) competence-based objectives, (2) using both formative assessment and summative assessment, (3) using authentic tasks, and (4) student-centred assessment activities: collaborative and reflexive. It has been recognised by translation educators the reforming process of translation pedagogy on the whole needs to be carried out on the basis of a theoretical framework. In line with the approach of CBT, the social constructivism has been proposed as the guidance of the development of translation pedagogy. Therefore, this paper will discuss the influence of the social constructivist approach on the development of translation pedagogy, focusing on translation assessment. According to Don Kiraly in his “A Social Constructivist Approach to Translator Education: Empowerment from Theory to Practice”, in a constructivist pedagogical environment, assessment is not simply a testing and ranking process but an integral part of the teaching/learning dialogue. Through the discussion on the key concepts and principles of this approach, the author attempts to present how translation assessment should be designed and constructed in this theoretical framework. It is supposed that this paper will succeed in combining theory with practice, to inform and resource the translation educators.
