‘IT FELT LIKE WE WERE ALL HANGING OUT WHILE TALKING ABOUT TRANSLATION THEORY’: LESSONS LEARNED FROM A FLIPPED TRANSLATION THEORY COURSE IN EMERGENCY REMOTE TEACHING DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

The role of translation theory in translator education seems to be undergoing a crisis as universities struggle to provide graduates with practical, market-driven skills that will increase their employability. The overnight transition to online delivery in the time of educational disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has only heightened the challenges in making theoretical courses relevant for students. This paper explores the application of the flipped classroom model in a translation theory course on the graduate (MA) level, delivered in the context of emergency remote teaching. The course is described and evaluated with the help of student feedback (N=30) elicited via an online questionnaire. The main source of data are responses to open-ended questions, which are analysed qualitatively. The data are coded for general perceptions of the flipped classroom and its four course components (videos, experimental translation assignments, forum discussion assignments, synchronous Zoom discussions), as well as for perceptions of teacher support. Lessons are drawn for emergency remote teaching but also for future face-to-face teaching of theory-oriented translation courses. Keywords: flipped classroom, teacher support, translation theory, emergency remote teaching, YouTube, Zoom

Assessing Translation Students in a Brazilian University

From a Translation Studies perspective, translation assessment is gradually becoming more popular thanks to increasing academic interest in translator education. In fact, we believe that evaluation should be more deeply explored in order to systematise and consolidate how it is carried out, especially in a particular Brazilian context. As we still witness an unwelcome focus on summative assessment of students with little room for constructive feedback from educators, the purpose of this article is to discuss ways to assess translation students that move beyond traditional approaches. The focus here is on formative assessment, whose emphasis on feedback better suits the dynamic nature we believe translator education should have. Furthermore, we shall review the concepts of translation competence and translation error as important elements within translation evaluation, as well as peer and self-assessment, which promote a more student-centered and participatory environment.

A self-efficacy scale for measuring student progress in translation company simulations

Applying factor analysis on survey data, this paper develops a concise scale of translation service provision self-efficacy aimed for diagnosing learning needs and assessing progress in pedagogical translation company simulations. First, a model of translation service provision activities based on the translation service provision standard ISO 17100 and a business process model of translation service is constructed and operationalized as a draft scale. The draft scale is then tested in an international survey (n = 380) conducted in connection with translation company simulation courses in university-level translator education. Exploratory factor analysis is used to identify dimensions and adequate items for a concise scale that comprises two four-item subscales: a project management self-efficacy subscale and a translation-production self-efficacy subscale. The scale is validated through confirmatory factor analysis. It is expected to be useful as a light-weight measurement instrument for frequent testing or as a compact part of more extensive scales.

Design, implementation and evaluation of a data-driven learning didactic unit based on an online series corpus

This paper presents the implementation of a didactic unit based on Singer’s proposal for data-driven learning (DDL) within a task-based (TB) framework in the context of Chilean translation education. The didactic intervention has four stages: 1) data collection from students’ preferred multimodal consumption in order to generate a written corpus based on the transcription of popular online TV series, 2) the design of a didactic unit that graduates concordance software use and student autonomy by means of linguistic tasks, 3) the application of the approach in an English Language 7 course unit with 24 participants at the Translation Studies undergraduate program at Universidad de Santiago de Chile, and 4) the evaluation of the intervention by means of an online questionnaire. Students’ and lecturers’ perceptions suggest that a DDL-TB approach is suitable for language teaching in translator education. Further recommendations to improve future DDL-TB projects are also provided.

“Black Holes” in Comprehension, or on the Complexity of the Translated Text in Children’s Reception

The aim of the article is to investigate the effect of vocabulary items that are difficult in reception on comprehension and evaluation of the whole literary text by children. Apart from focusing on ambiguous lexis complicating reception, the paper reflects upon the benefits of investigating such vocabulary in terms of translator education at the graduate level. The analysis was made on the basis of the Polish translation of the poem Мороз и морозец by S.V. Mikhalkov translated by L. Lewin. In order to compare the relationship between the text’s reception and the density of ambiguous vocabulary the author confronts the reactions of actual readers to the two translations – Lewin’s and her own. While the former is dense in ambiguous items, the latter is, on purpose, lexically simple. The participants of the study, children, were asked questions and involved in a discussion focusing on meanings of selected words and their impressions from the reception of the two translations. The interview led to conclusions on the influence of potentially ambiguous vocabulary on the actual reception of the whole text.

Taking Stock of Written Retrospective Protocols Used in Translator Education

Of all the online and offline methods for probing into the translation processes of student translators, written retrospective protocols are reportedly the earliest, most widely and easily administered didactic and assessment tool used in and outside classrooms. Despite their recorded advantages, a close examination of both English and Chinese literature reveals a plethora of approaches to their implementation. They differ with respect to factors that include, but are not limited to, the name, contents, nature and number of problems covered, writing guidelines, language of writing, time and frequency of writing, theoretical components, meta-language and theories used, assessors, assessment rubrics, provision and training, uses and follow-ups. Although these differences may be only a matter of trainers’ personal preferences that suit particular settings, they do have important didactic implications. This paper, therefore, sets out to capture such diversity, with a view to establishing a framework of reference to inform better use of this instrument of intervention in translator education.

FROM SKILL-ACQUISITION TO DYNAMIC LEARNING: LEARNING-ORIENTED ASSESSMENT IN THE SIGHT TRANSLATION CLASSROOM

Assessment, previously associated with the evaluation of learning outcomes, has recently been recognised as an integral part of the learning process. Learning-oriented assessment (LOA) is an educational model that foregrounds the role of assessment in classroom-based learning activities. However, in translator education, assessment is mostly approached from a skill-acquisition perspective; translation is regarded more as a skill to acquire than as a learning activity. This article presents an alternative view of assessment in translator education by presenting the findings of a 12-week case study, conducted with 20 students registered in a sight translation module, which based its teaching (and assessment) on LOA principles. Classroom observation was conducted to align LOA with the classroom context, and follow-up interviews were carried out to investigate students’ perceptions regarding the in-class activities. In order to evaluate the feasibility and accountability of the model, the three tenets of LOA were aligned with module design and discussed alongside students’ perceptions. The findings indicate the suitability of incorporating LOA into translator education, with implications for translation trainers and researchers concerning the integration of assessment and learning. Keywords: learning-oriented assessment, translator education, sight translation