Teaching Translation Theory in Blended Mode: A Moroccan MA Case

In 2010 I taught the course Approaches in Translation Studies for the first time, to MA students at Hassan II University in Mohammedia, Morocco. The experience convinced me of one thing: a theoretical subject like translation studies (TS) is best taught in blended mode, bridged to practice, and aimed squarely at critical thinking.

Choosing the Content, Facing the Expectations

I did my homework and settled on Munday's book as the backbone of the course, supplemented by other readings in TS. Then came the harder question: how to deliver it. Should I rely on lecturing alone, or add other pedagogical techniques?

The students' conception of TS was that it is "only theory" and that they did not need it. This was a professional MA; they were there to sharpen their practical skills. I explained from day one that the course would embed both theory and practical insights from the real world of translation, so there was no need to panic. My position was that MA students should not merely sharpen practical skills (that belongs at BA level) but develop a translation-specific metalanguage and learn to approach translation work and texts critically. A chance to reflect a little. We do two things: educate and train.

Getting to Know the Students

As I always do, I spent the first days getting to know the group and asking key questions to reduce the distance and learn about their characteristics and profiles. This helps me design better content and learning environments, including assessment measures and activities (formative, summative and performative).

Bringing Practice into Theory

MA students need theoretical insights to build a metalanguage they can use to comment on their translations and to write research in translation. Because TS was a new domain for them and their prior knowledge was limited, I started with something familiar: the equivalence issue from a linguistic perspective, followed by a brief discussion of Nida, whom everybody knows.

From there I showed the shift that took place after Holmes's map, and used the map to draw their attention to the areas of research and knowledge that inhabit the field. A chronological presentation of modern approaches then followed, according to Munday's classification. This gave the students a visible picture of the field and of how the course would be organised over the term.

I taught approach by approach, from the linguistic up to the most current trend in the discipline: all seven approaches in Munday's book, enriched with insights from other recommended references. For research-based MA students, this is exactly what they need.

Blended Delivery: Chat, Forums and Reflective Summaries

To help students reflect on the lectures, I integrated some technology. I asked them to synthesise each approach in pairs, outside the classroom, using chat or forum tools to discuss the approach critically and relate it to the real world of translation: problems and issues encountered in their practicum classes or, for those with professional experience, actual instances they had lived through themselves. I formed the pairs according to profile, chiefly degree of translation experience.

At the end of each chat, students copied the conversation into a Word file and sent it to me, together with an individual reflective summary of the approach discussed in class. This assignment was assessed formatively.

What I Learnt

Reading the synchronous conversations they had pasted, I saw several things to adjust in the syllabus for 2011: students' prior knowledge, and how they could genuinely practise critical thinking and activate their discussion through the technology, which in turn would help them use the metalanguage and practise good writing. I realised that the blended mode could be a better way to facilitate a student-centred approach to a theoretical subject like TS.

In 2011 I began working this way with a new cohort, but I could not complete the whole programme that year (we covered four of the seven approaches) before I emigrated to Canada for family reasons.

So, translation studies can be taught:

• in parallel with technological support tools (Skype, chat, or other Web 2.0 and 3.0 learning objects);
• as a programme-based subject, bridged to the other courses in the programme;
• with the aim of developing critical thinking and a metalanguage for translation studies.