Teaching Methods of Translation toward English Major Students

Xiyue Bai
201020383
Foreign Language Department
Northwest University

Abstract Based on modern educational theories and the foundation of the combination of task-based teaching approach and cooperative learning, this paper focuses on converse thinking mode and open teaching method in teaching translation course. The reversed thinking mode would help to avoid the phenomenon of theory disengages practice and it stresses practicalness. The application of open teaching method will also be discussed in the case of teaching fundamental translation course. Open translation teaching method is student-centered, leading by teacher, which emphasizes that students find, search and solve issues by themselves and helps students with their translation skills and creativity.
Key Words: Translation, Reversed thinking, Open mode, Teaching

I. Current Chinese Translation Course Teaching Status As is well-known in China that there are no translation courses for lower grade English major students in Chinese colleges until they enter into junior year or senior year. For some colleges with only two credit hours in one week. It’s unlikely for the teachers to finish the course completely in such a short time if they need to introduce basic concepts of translation, home and abroad translation histories and theories, to make the students be familiar with basic skills and practice various forms of translations. There’s a significant chance that students couldn’t build a whole concept of translation system, or to realize the importance for them to master translational skills. It is just a suggestion that colleges could run translation courses for English majors so that students could get the hang of translation skills after years training and finally on top of it. The most common way of teaching translation is still teacher instructs first then students reflect. For example, teacher corrects mistakes after students translating one piece of article or some sentences, and then the model translation would be provided with teacher’s comments. This way contains not only rationalities but also limitations. It helps students to finish translation individually. However, it is obvious that students’ translations are hard to go beyond themselves because they are lack of theoretical basis and translational skills before the model translation comes up. The standard model would also drag learner’s confidence down and kill students’ creativity. In addition, translation materials are chosen by teacher, which leads students’ passive learning attitude and results in necessary communications and discussions would be hard to achieve between students and teacher. According to the analysis to current situation this article would talk about further research in this field in order to provide more thinkings on translation teaching method.
II. Reversed Thinking Translation course is an important basic course in university professional foreign language education, and it is also the stiff index to test students’ synthetic application abilities of languages. The goals of the course are to help students to build the ability to receive and express bilingual information and their proper philosophy of translation. In order to educate students to meet the requirements of future job in the society and become comparatively applied qualified translators, translation courses should improve students’ bilingual ability; expand students’ scope of knowledge and the understanding of characteristics of multiple cultures. To master translation theories and skills are necessary, as well as written translation ability. From the angle of teaching, enough contents and time with effective instructions would lead to best effect. With clear goals, a better teaching method seems valuable, and it starts with an effective thinking for teaching. Some people consider the cognitive process from theory to practice and back to theory again and then finally reflects to practice; while some others think it reversely, practice to theory, reflects on practice then comes up with a theory. Actually the two ways can not be separated. Theory to practice is the way of deduction in teaching, which is a consequent process; while it would be a reversed process when people sum up a theory from previous experiences, which makes an induction in teaching. In the case of teaching translation courses, theory to practice means introduce translation theories to students first, and then analysis examples to prove the theories are correct. It will leave students a deep impression in this way. However, the defect of the failure of applying theory into practice reflects from students’ tasks. They only follow their minds and care just a little about the theories. A solution for the problem in this phenomenon is to employ the inductive approach first then to conductive. It’s from practice to theory, a reversed process of teaching. The student participatory teaching approach emphasizes students’ exploring process. Students would become the center. Teacher’s job is more like a supervisor to instruct students to analysis and understand their own translation. Students would proofread each other’s translation, compare them and sum up their own opinions towards translations. So that students would complete their studying process from practice to theory and react on practice. This mode meets the psychology of learning. To be specific, the process followed the order below (from students’ angle of view): first touch by doing translation assignments (strange signal stimulation)—in class correction by teacher (transfer curiosity)—practice again (curiosity of confirmation)—sum up with theories of translation skills (sense of achievement). The process for teachers includes assignments before class, in class comparative explanation, set the assignments for after class confirming practice, students’ own theories and instructions. It fulfills the reversed teaching method and helps students to participate the teaching process actively.
III. Open Teaching Mode Open teaching mode in translation course is a discussing progress that students present their own translation process with teacher’s instructions, then answer questions and discuss with other students and teacher. This mode combines task-directed and co-operative teaching means. The detailed process is mainly as follows: 1. Task Assignment. The relationship between tasks for translation course and classroom teaching is not “instruction in class plus after-school review”, but “task before class plus analysis in class”. As a part of after-class practice, the tasks teacher needs to assign should contain specific requirements. This part has to be translated with high quality. The materials teacher picks could be harder compare to students’ actual translating ability, but avoid large quantity. There will be no reference translation provided so that students would be curious and trust themselves. It is necessary to offer related background information. The materials are better to be related to next class and should be typical, intellectual, vivacious, and advanced with various types to arouse students’ interests. 2. Accomplish Task. Teacher will divide students into groups and let them finish this part. Group members need to talk about their own piece of translations, then come up with one translation and prepare for the presentation. This stage is important because group members need not only understand more deep on source text, pay attention to their own translation, but also obtain different ideas from other group members and solve problems. The issues that they can find answers will be discussed in next stage. Teacher plays the role of an instructor, aiming to build the capacity of self-directed learning and the spirit of team work. This stage performs an important role in building students’ all-round skills. 3. Class Presentation. Teacher will host the presentations. The presentations will be performed by a leader of each group. PowerPoint maybe used to help students with illustrating translation ideas, key points, syntactic structures and translation skills. Question time will be provided for other students. One group at a time would save some class time. Teacher should try not to break in during presentations and take notes if necessary with the aim of making comments later. 4. Question and Answer. Students still play the main role in this part. Questions can be asked by other audience or teacher on translation, pronunciation, language structure, etc. Teacher should give his/her advice according to the performance and the reaction of the whole class. A comparatively approved translation model should be presented at the end of the class.
IV. Conclusion This mode is effective to improve the ability of practical translation. It is also vital to get familiar with evaluate others’ translations. In addition, the process to look for information is beneficial to build students’ creativity. It helps to activate the classroom atmosphere, harmonize the relationship between teacher and students. But it contains limitations too. The greatest one is this teaching method can be employed as class activity but hard to replace classroom teaching. Limited class time with huge number of students is impossible to give each student a chance to perform on stage. For students themselves, the discussion may be hard to go deep restrained by their preparation, translation experience and their linguistic attainments. On the other hand, according to Eugene who said that the best way to learn translation is to listen to the experienced translator explains how to clearly express the context of original text (Eugene A. Nida, 2003). Further research would be necessary on how to employ open teaching approach better in teaching translation.

Statement This article is translated by author who published it on a Chinese magazine Journal of Northwest Normal University （ISSN1001-9162/ CN 62-1086/C, May 2011.）

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