Wednesday, 18 May 2011 16:07

Teaching and capacity expansion in a modern translation/interpreting classroom

A number of new developments necessitate changes to training in translation/interpreting.

Firstly, the modern profession of translation and interpreting has transcended the age of print media (e.g., pen and paper), microphone and hard-copy dictionaries. Secondly, the maturation of the information-intensive society has brought about great changes in searching for, using, expressing and re-articulating information. Thirdly the development of translation theories has motivated academics and practitioners to re-envisage translation as a process involving choices and as a site of activism. Fourthly, tertiary teaching has evolved towards individualized teaching suitable for the expansion of different capacities in different learners. Fifthly, many existing training programs do not specialize in training professionally dedicated translators/interpreters but rather other professionals including teachers, those working in public relations, public speakers, marketeers, social workers, journalists and artists; but the latter continue to be taught to translate and interpret as if they wished to become professional translators/interpreters and using the same old media.

This panel is intended to explore the potential for developing programs that can facilitate capacity expansion by individual students. It welcomes papers in the following areas:

  • Developing curricula that facilitate expansions in different cognitive, expressive and multimedia capacities
  • Procedures, methodologies and case studies of assessing different performance capacity expansion projects
  • Case studies of how expansion of selective capacities has been taught
  • Empirical evaluations of the efficacy of a capacity expansion-based curriculum
  • Understanding and redefining different capacities required of a professional translator/interpreter in actual job markets
  • Understanding and redefining different capacities required of professionals (e.g., in PR, marketing, journalism, convention and performance) who needs to use translation/interpreting and other language skills in actual job markets
  •  Reconciling conventional training with capacity expansion training in terms of course requirements, student needs and market expectations

Chair

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. is a senior lecturer at the University New South Wales, Australia.  His research areas include communication and cultural studies, audience studies, translation studies and pedagogy. In translation studies, he has been mainly interested in critiquing existing knowledge and procedures of translation and interpreting and formulating new and alternative frameworks and procedures. He is also keen to change the way translation and interpreting have been taught and to introduce and test new and alternative ways of teaching the discipline. His contribution to the latter has been recognized with an ALTC (Australian Learning and Teaching Council) citation in 2009 and a UNSW FASS Dean’s Award for Best Contribution to the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in 2010.

© Copyright 2014 - All Rights Reserved

Icons by http://www.fatcow.com/free-icons