Developing Students’ Translation Competence: The Role of Tasks and Teaching Activities

Abstract

The aim of this study is to identify the teaching procedures generally conducted by translation teachers, and investigate their impact on the development of students’ translation competence (TC). The study emphasizes the importance of substituting the traditional “read and translate” method for a student-centered teaching approach that relies on hands-on tasks and engaging activities.  These teaching procedures include intra- and extra-mural activities and tasks addressing different sub-competencies and skills and aiming at developing students' general TC. In order to study the impact of these teaching procedures on TC, we implemented a descriptive method that draws upon self-report data and observation of translation teachers and students in a classroom setting. We observed a group of MA translation students in the Faculty of Letters and Humanities in Tetouan and King Fahd School of Translation in Tangiers- Abdelmalek Essaadi University, Morocco. The observation reports and teachers questionnaires provided significant data about classroom practices, while the survey of students’ levels of TC revealed that the respondents’ mastery level of TC ranges from low to high across the different sub-competences. We subsequently compared students’ mastery levels to the general patterns governing the teachers’ teaching procedures, and the findings showed a clear correlation between the two. Accordingly, the type and focus of the tasks and activities performed by students have a direct impact on their TC development.