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Contents
Teaching Business Translation. A Task-based Approach
Pages 1-26
Author: Defeng Li
In line with the growing interest in the social constructivist approach to
translator training, this article proposes that task-based teaching (TBT), a
method initiated and popularized in the field of second language instruction,
should be adopted in business translator training. However, given the
considerable differences between teaching a second language and training
translators, adjustments will have to be made to the TBT methodology to enable
its application in the translation classroom (Gonzalez Davis 2004). It is
proposed here that task cycles in translator training consist of six stages,
including pretask, task, convening, analysis, revising and reflection. While the
adoption of this model may pose challenges for translation teachers and
students, these are outweighed by the advantages of TBT, an approach that (1)
shifts the focus from teaching to learning, (2) draws students’ attention to the
translation process, (3) develops reflective practices among students, and (4)
most important of all, activates and develops translation competence, the
ultimate goal of all translation training programmes.
Keywords: Task-based teaching, Teacher-centred learning,
Learner-centred learning, Social constructivism, Transmissionism, Business
translation, Translation competence
Undergraduate Consecutive Interpreting and Lexical Knowledge. The
Role of Spoken Corpora
Pages 27-50
Author: Richard Bale
With a decreasing number of students enrolling on undergraduate courses in
foreign languages in the UK, universities have a smaller pool of students from
which to recruit. Many of these applicants come with poor foreign language
skills. These weaknesses, which are prevalent in formal spoken registers, are
particularly noticeable in those degree programmes containing interpreting
modules - for these require a high level of competence in the students’ foreign
language(s) as well as their mother tongue. This paper suggests that
undergraduate interpreter training should address both the need to acquire
interpreting skills and to enhance students’ foreign language competence. It
reports on the findings from an empirical case study based on the BACKBONE
corpus. Over a six-week period, eight English and German native speakers used
corpus-based exercises to practise interpreting and to learn terminology related
to education. Students’ interpreting competence and lexical knowledge were
tested at the start and end of the study. The findings indicate that those who
engaged more with the materials made greater improvements in lexical knowledge
in both the terminology and interpreting tests.
Keywords: Undergraduate interpreter training, Spoken
multimedia corpora, Lexical knowledge, BACKBONE corpus
The Effectiveness of Targeted Subject Knowledge in the Teaching of
Scientific Translation
Pages 51-70
Author: Hala Sharkas
A great number of undergraduate and postgraduate translator training
programmes include scientific translation among the areas of curricular
specialization offered to their students. In these pedagogical settings,
trainers are often faced with translation students who have little or no subject
knowledge in the field of science. This article sets out to gauge the extent to
which reading introductory specialized texts written originally in the target
language may help trainee translators to produce accurate translations of
scientific texts. To assess the effectiveness of targeted subject knowledge in
the teaching of scientific translation, two groups of undergraduate translation
students were instructed to translate a passage from a scientific report. While
the two groups were allowed to use specialized dictionaries, only one was
provided with an introductory target-language article on the same topic prior to
translating the text. It was hypothesized that a smaller rate of translation
errors by students reading the introductory text would confirm the effectiveness
of elementary background knowledge in helping produce accurate
translations.
Keywords: Targeted subject knowledge, Scientific and
technical translation, Translation teaching, Accuracy, Documentary
research
Examining Students’ Perceptions of Computer-Assisted Interpreter
Training
Pages 71-89
Author: Lily Lim
Audio-cassette recorders have traditionally been central to interpreter
training facilities, including labs and interpreting suites. With the growing
ubiquity of information and communication technologies, however, integrating
computers in the interpreting classroom and exploring their pedagogical
potential has moved higher up the research agenda of interpreter trainers. This
study explores the effectiveness of a Computer-Assisted Platform (CAP) in
assisting student interpreters with their interpreting practice. Rather than
examining the usefulness of this platform from the teacher’s viewpoint, this
research focuses on the students’ perception of what computer-assisted training
offers them, comparing it with their learning experience using audio-cassette
recorders. Subjects in this study identified five attributes as central to their
perceptions of CAP-based interpreting training. The findings also suggest that
subjects prefer the computer-assisted approach to the traditional form of
interpreting practice involving audio-cassette recorders. The paper articulates
the reasons for their preferences, and explores the potential of the CAP as an
alternative approach to interpreter training.
Keywords: Chinese/English, Interpreter training,
Computer-Assisted Platform, Student perception, Three-channel mode
Virtual Worlds in Interpreter Training
Pages 91-106
Author: Mehmet Sahin
With translators and interpreters being increasingly expected to develop
sophisticated computer skills to succeed in the translation and interpreting
industries, interpreter trainers must explore new and effective ways of
integrating new technologies in their courses. Virtual worlds have quickly
exceeded the affordances of social networking tools and are now assuming an
important place in educational settings worldwide. This article outlines the
main features of a popular virtual world (Second Life) and explores how it might
be used as a platform for interpreter training. After contextualizing the
pedagogical use of virtual worlds within the wider approach to computer-assisted
interpreter training, the article examines the advantages derived from learners’
access to multi-sensory stimuli as well as quasi-professional practice settings
that Second Life facilitates. This is followed by an overview of the ways in
which Second Life supports blended learning without compromising the degree and
quality of practice and feedback involved in such courses. The final section
outlines the main steps to cover in setting up an interpreting course using
Second Life.
Keywords: Interpreter training, Virtual worlds,
Information and communication technologies, Computer-assisted interpreter
training, Second Life
FEATURE ARTICLE
The Quest for ‘Perfection’. Multidisciplinary Reflections on
Aptitude and Affect in Interpreter Selection and Training
Pages 107-127
Author: Alessandro Zannirato
This paper explores the hypothetical construct of interpreting aptitude,
with particular reference to its current operationalization for student
selection purposes. The idea that there is a universal ‘ideal’ student profile,
identifiable through a yet to-be-developed ‘perfect’ screening examination, is a
recurrent theme in the interpreting literature. Indeed, the debate over
interpreting aptitude has recently concentrated on personality-related traits of
successful interpreters, and on potential interventions to test such traits in
order to screen suitable candidates. After providing a brief theoretical
overview of the research on interpreting aptitude and personality, this article
describes some conceptual and practical challenges posed by the above-mentioned
views, and presents reflections on alternative conceptualizations of
interpreting aptitude that may inform not only student selection, but also
training practices.
Keywords: Interpreting aptitude, Student selection
practices, Personality, Affect in interpreting
REVIEWS
Jody Byrne. Scientific and Technical Translation Explained: A Nuts
and Bolts Guide for Beginners
Pages 129-133
Reviewed by Elisa Calvo Encinas
Louise Haywood, Michael Thompson and Sandor Hervey. Thinking
Spanish Translation. A Course in Translation Method: Spanish to
English
Pages 133-139
Reviewed by Maria Gonzalez Davies
Jeremy Munday. Introducing Translation Studies: Theories and
Applications
Pages 139-142
Reviewed by Sara Laviosa
Sabine Braun and Judith L. Taylor (eds). Videoconference and Remote
Interpreting in Criminal Proceedings
Pages 142-147
Reviewed by Luis Alonso Bacigalupe
Lukasz Bogucki. Tlumaczenie wspomagane komputerowo (Computer-Aided
Translation)
Pages 147-151
Reviewed by Magdalena Dombek
Thesis Abstracts
Anne Lafeber. Translation at Inter-governmental
Organizations: The Set of Skills and Knowledge Required and the Implications for
Recruitment Testing
Beatriz Cerezo Merchan. La didactica de la traduccion
audiovisual en Espana: Un estudio de caso empirico-descriptivo [The
Didactics of Audiovisual Translation in Spain: An Empirical and Descriptive Case
Study].
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