The importance of translation-specific research methods

Translation specific research methods is the missing link at many translation departments in the Arabian context and elsewhere. The reason being is that research methods in translation studies is a very recent emerging practice in academia. Recent in even the best institutions hosting MA/doctoral degrees in translation. In the Arabic context, we need to integrate this new knowledge now. Of course, there will be an ongoing the usual   rift from the gatekeepers of existing and non-discipline specific methods/methodologies ( from neighboring disciplines- Philology, linguistics and comparative literature...or even applied linguistics). We think that it is a good practice for all translation studies departments to embark on that initiative and update their curriculum. 

Time to point out the misconceptions that many administrators and faculty alike have on translation in general and, especially translation studies. I personally took a big risk going to enroll in an education department in Canada to do my PhD in translation education and training (faculty of education). Why? because it is only in the faculty of education sciences I could have a solid training in research methods and methodologies.  I adapted the learnt methods/approaches to the field of translation education or translation studies alike. I never regretted that. I updated my knowledge and learnt new ones. New way of addressing research methods for translation and interpreting studies, especially the applied dimension of translation studies.

Translations Studies workshop at the British Institute in Amman, Jordan,...

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Teaching in a university context? The myth of teaching 'any course' in my program!

Teaching, learning, and performing dynamics become nowadays complex in a university context due to many factors, yet academics may ignore the extent to which they need to seriously fill that gap through extended training and development. Each field, discipline and area of knowledge or profession may require from its partitioners (educators) to acquaint themselves with the scholarship of teaching and learning specific to the field( history, medicine, sciences, translation, business studies...etc). The administration's best friend ( Implementing overlapping tactics to get you out of what they call ' comfort zone') does not play in favor of learning and students alike. The learner, then,  gets second hand services and disoriented and superficial knowledge about the discipline or course they studying. Worse than that, teachers or faculty, instead of excelling in designing and managing quality learning/performing environments for their students, they resort to a de-contextualized textbook that students refer to like a sacred resource!! and which they call the recommended 'syllabus' or ' declarative content to be use'....exactly the type of practices undertaken in secondary school context!!

With the high interest in the role of quality in teaching and learning in a university context ( besides research), there has been a widespread and  emerging as well as innovative literature published in the scholarship of teaching and learning disciplines. Also, some universities start launching credit -based short postdoctoral training and development programs for their PhD graduates or future university faculty to prepare them to operate in their respective discipline with a quality assured approach. This is the case of some of Canadian universities. Instinctive, impressionist and fragmented approaches to teaching and training in a university context would yield weak and inefficient learning and performance outcomes. Things become more serious when the discipline is professionally oriented  such as the case in medicine, engineering, and translation/interpreting...etc.

Teaching exclusively with textbooks seems to be an example of such weak pedagogy that enhances flat learning and leads to only an assessment type of exclusively declarative knowledge without stressing on skills and other sustainable and lifelong abilities ( for certain subjects like translation/interpreting). Besides, relying heavily on textbooks will always lead to Pharon types of attitudes in teaching whereby the instructor thinks HE CAN TEACH ANY COURSE that is allocated to him by the administration as long as there is a textbook to use. Wrong! This is an ill-planned approach on the part of administration and, on the part of faculty or instructors, it leads to de-professionalizing the latter's profession and diminishing his status. Nobody can teach any content if there will be less reliance on that BIBLE type of textbook. To keep the status of  university instructors live and kicking, these need to reflect on their practices, engage in classroom type of research and manage their learning and teaching environment based on guidelines and frameworks in teacher education ( Andragogy for adult students, and university-based types of pedagogies)

Teaching is a profession. The instructor or faculty is a professional.The instructor needs to DESIGN A CUSTOMIZED LEARNING ENVIRONMENT to maximize  students learning and performance opportunities. This needs to be done in alignment with contextual curriculum and course level guidelines/ syllabus.There will be careful and strategic choices made by the course manager and designer (faculty) whereby thriving learning environments need to be created and mobilized to achieve specific learning outcomes. Responsible and dynamic adults students (not passive empty containers) will thrive in such a rich and diverse and stimulating learning environment if faculty designed active type of pedagogies ( Problem based techniques, project based learning scenarios, collaborative learning...etc). Thus, less textbooks...and more thriving and stimulating learning and performance environment.

Fouad  EL-KARNICHI
fouadelkarnichi@gmail.com

Translation Education needs to start earlier ...at the undergraduate level!!

Translation Education needs to start earlier ...at the undergraduate level!!

Teaching translation and educating translators at an undergraduate level is important if the vision and orientation given to the program is to not only supply economy/society with skilful language service providers and  competent technical scribers, but also critical agents and savvy human resources that can engage with the corresponding practice ( multilingual services) as professionals and diligent reflective practitioners.

Being involved in multinational communication and relations needs intercultural experts as well as acquainted individuals with the historical, cultural, social, political, ethical and experiential (practice-based) fundamentals and traditions of the practice itself ( translation or interpreting). It is a universe of knowledge and practice that has its own specifics and there is a wide corpus of scholarship about it ( see scholarship about translation theory, translation studies and its developments since mid 20th century). So, why sideline it?

Therefore, there is a need to approach the translatorial activity from an extended and fundamental dimension and not consider it as a supplementary element embedded in other neighbouring disciplines such as literary and language studies. The fact that there is a list of many universities worldwide offering doctoral degrees in translations ( PhDs) is a sign to revise our program structures and design when it comes to translation as an activity or discipline as per see ( especially the case of universities that do not have a tradition of integrating BA programs in their list of programs).

Last and not least, translation is a set of skills, knowledge and abilities that need time to be constructed and appropriated. This takes time. An MA program with its logistic and adminsirative restrictions, will certainly not be enough to provide human resources with such competencies. It all comes down to how we perceive the activity and the discipline: a set of interlingual, intercultural, behavioural and instrumental competencies  that need to be upgraded or a as a set of competences that comprise a combination of skills, knowledge and abilities.

Introduction au cours TRA1061 Traduction économique et financière

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The ' I can teach any course in translation' syndrome ( Arabic context)

In my experience of teaching translation at many departments of translation in the Arab context (Oman, Qatar, Morocco and Saudia), I always end up  meeting colleagues coming from neighboring disciplines of translation studies ( Literature, linguistics, TEFL..etc) volunteering or willingly choose to teach a course in translation ( or even in translation studies ). In other parts of the world( Canada for instance), this practice is non-existent. It will never happen if the instructor does not have solid evidence of his translation background. Practicing translation is not enough. There must be an epistemological commitment as well. An updated one, rather .Translation Studies is an inter-discipline that is constantly gaining pace and weight. Sticking to the early years approaches, philosophies, concepts and conceptions of translation will not help the learning curve of the student in the translation classroom. This is an issue in the Arabic context, whereby a great number of faculty are still impacted by their baseline disciplinary orientations ( literary, linguistics, applied linguistics, TEFL). Some of them have embraced their new new discipline; others, operate within translation and translation studies from the lenses of comparative linguistics or literature or even EFL.That might lead to mis-informing the translation students population who are themselves transmitting these insights to society ( other work context, classrooms, ...etc), leading to negative impacts on the emerging discipline in theory or practice. Society's perception matters. 

OK. In early stages of translation teaching (50's in Europe and Canada) and 80' or 90's in many countries of the Arab word,  we can accept  that the ' I can teach any course in translation'  syndrome holds due to -simply-  the nature of the texts books used and the fact that instructors coming from neighboring disciplines could easily understand and teach them in a lecture based type of courses if it is a theory course. In case of a practical course, the traditional model of apprenticeship ( usually teacher based and oriented) applies. Instructors resort to ad hoc or the 'read and translate' methods. Hence, at the time when translation teaching and translation contents were closely related to linguistics and literary studies, we can say that ' the I can teach any course in translation' applies, but not since a couple of decades ago or so'. Translation programs in the Arab world need to revise their practices and approaches to the interdisciplinary type of translation. Also, instead of teaching from a text book, we need to make extra efforts ( provided the workload is reasonable) to diversify our pedagogies and teaching methods through finding innovative resources and techniques to enhance students'' motivation and increase learning. These statements are not intuitive. i dedicated the last 10 years to study this phenomenon. it ended with   a PhD and three peer reviewed articles; two published one is in process.

Translation Studies has started to take new shapes and thence yielded different concepts not common in other neighboring disciplines. It started from the linguistic turn in early 50' and 60', then the communicative, cultural, textual, sociological, pedagogical and now technological turn ( Autermuul, 2004,  2010; Ohagan, 2019). First, translation is a professional practice as well as an academic discipline. It should be treated like other professions in academia. Only specialists can teach it: be it a course in theory or practice ( things may different for a foreign language department where translation is taught to only improve students foreign language competence). Evidence of this expertise should be demonstrated: publication, working as in-house and freelance in translation, participating and attending translation conferences, professional membership..etc. Second, some instructors/ administrators need to re-configure their view and conception of the multilingual domain through professional developments and taking of further training about the knowledge framework adopted by recent approaches and schools in translation. The profession changes, academia changes , so why sticking to the old models in teaching translation that are currently taking places in many undergraduate/postgraduate programs in translation in the Arabic context as per the result of our very recent doctoral thesis ( EL-Karnichi, 2017). Third, informing teaching/learning practices in translation classrooms from mainstream education studies ( adapted to adults and higher education) is also crucial.

To end up this short commentary I would like to stress that such syndrome underestimates and downgrades the translation profession and discipline, and that teaching is not a simple text-book delivery operation, it is an entire pedagogical design operation that requires the integration of various elements ( cognitive abstracts, situational contexts, realities, codes of ethics, reference frameworks...etc). It seems that there is a need of faculty/teacher development activities to work on in translation programs. I presume this is the case in many higher education contexts.

INTERDISCIPLINAITY

Corpus ( cont)

https://mediaserver.unige.ch/play/109599

CORPUS RESEARCH

Research methodologies in Translation or Interpreting Studies

My recent experience training on research methodologies in translation and interpreting studies with the Universite de Geneve ( School of Translation & Interpreting) has been an outstanding experience. It allowed me to cross check and update my knowledge in the field and eventually planning the designing of a course for graduates and undergraduates specifically on Translation/Interpreting research methodologies at my university. Hopefully, next year!.

Let us now regulate the predominant transfer of other research patterns from neighboring disciplines ( Linguistics, Applied linguistics, Literature). Faculty involved in research methods/methodologies should update their approaches ( not easy a task in humanities) and adopt a discipline specific paradigm. The need to align with international standards is crucial, although in emerging contexts of translation and interpreting studies.

Fouad

On the appropriation of a theoretical approach in translation studies.

On the appropriation of a theoretical approach in translation studies.

What to focus on in the theoretical aspects of teaching translation? theories, models, approaches, or perspectives...or all of them? should we balance our instruction on theoretical schools/trends to allow students to choose the theoretical hub they wish to belong to  or stress one aspect of the theoretical aspects of translation and let students appropriate it accordingly?

According to Gonzalez(2005), instead of privileging a theoretical school or approach in translation studies, the translator educator needs to survey in a balanced way in his or her instruction on the various existing and emerging approaches in the field to let student choose the approach he or she wishes to adopt or appropriate. In this regards, she criticized Hatim's heavy focus on the text typology as a model to adopt in undergoing translation research .

I think this is a sound approach, which is student focused rather than faculty's ( teacher's). What do you think ?

I see this is crucial for Masters students who are going to undertake their research projects. For undergraduates, it is good to highlight and discuss with them the historical development of translation theory and all its inherent concepts, especially at the method level ( strategies, techniques). A case to consider is surveying the concepts highlighted by Catford ( 1964); Nida( 1060'); Newmark( 1988); Jackobson( 1959)....then , at the end of the semester tackle the developments ( in brief) in the new field of translation studies.

The above is an illustration of a student centered approach to information dissemination. We all have our preferences and biases, but let us leave this for our research initiatives. In the classroom, let us think about the student profile and needs.

European Society for Translation Studies

European Society for Translation Studies: European Society for Translation Studies

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