Thạc Sĩ Khảo sát các kỹ thuật dạy môn biên dịch tại khoa tiếng Anh trường ĐHTN

EXPLORING CLASSROOM TECHNIQUES FOR TEACHING TRANSLATION INENGLISH DEPARTMENT AT TAY NGUYEN UNIVERSITY

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Contents Pages
SUBCOVER PAGE . ii
STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS 1
LIST OF TABLES . 4
LIST OF FIGURES . 5
ABSTRACT . 6
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION . 7
1.1. Background of the Study 7
1.2. Aims of the study. 10
1.3. Scope of the study 10
2.3.1. Today’s translators’ required knowledge and skills . 16
2.3.2. Current teaching methods and techniques used for teaching translation. 18
2.3.3. Translation teaching in Vietnam 22
2.4. Chapter summary 24
CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY . 25
3.1. Introduction . 25
3.2. Research site . 25
3.3. Research approach . 25
3.4. Research methods 26
3.4.1. Classroom observations . 26
3.4.2. Interviews . 27
3.5. Participants 27
3.6. Data analysis . 28
3.7. Conclusion 28
CHAPTER IV: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION. 29
4.1. Introduction . 29
4.2. Findings and discussions . 29
4.2.1. Classroom techniques currently used by teachers in translation class 29
4.2.1.1. Teaching materials 29
4.2.1.2. Teaching techniques and methods . 34
4.2.1.2.1. Classroom arrangement . 34
4.2.1.2.2. Activities students involved 36
4.2.2.1. Teachers’ knowledge about the social requirements of today
translation profession . 40
4.2.2.2. Teachers’ views on the current classroom techniques . 42
4.2.2.3. Students’ knowledge about the social requirements of today
translation profession . 43
4.2.2.4. Students’ views on the current classroom techniques 43
4.3. Chapter conclusion 46
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS . 48
5.1. Introduction . 48
5.2. Summary of findings . 48
5.2.1. Classroom techniques currently used by translation teachers at Tay
Nguyen University 48
5.2.2. Teachers’ and students views on the current classroom techniques 50
5.3. Suggestions . 51
5.3.1. For teachers . 51
5.3.2. For students . 52
5.3.3. For administrators . 53
5.3.4. For future researcher . 54
5.4. Conclusion 55
REFERENCES 57
APPENDICES

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION
1.1. Background of the Study
It is undeniable that translation plays a significant role in human communication. It
has been proved through the history that translation can be traced back to the year
3000 BC (Newmark, 1988) and the need for it increases day by day due to the social
development and the demand for mutual understanding between peoples in the
world. It has recently become so effervescent an activity that the twentieth century
has been called the “age of translation” (Jumpelt, as cited in Newmark, 1988) or
“reproduction” (Benjamin, as cited in Newmark, 1988). Furthermore, the
globalization entails an increasing demand for translations thanks to the increase in
international relationship, trade, and tourism. According to Allied Business
Intelligence, the revenue of the world market in translation was US$11 billion in
1999 and supposed to be worth US$20 billion in 2004 (Sprung, 2000). The
European Commission even values translation market at over US$30 billion
annually, and estimates its growing rate at 15 – 18 percent per year (Anobile, 2000).
In an attempt to depict the panorama of the world demand for translation in the
research on Globalization and the Translation Industry in Saudi Arabia, Fatani (n.d)
stated:
In fact, the world market in translation, already thought to be worth in excess of
£10 billion a year, barely satisfies a fraction of the demand created by a global
economy
In Vietnam, the recent open-door policy and the integration into the World Trade
Organisation have undoubtedly given impetus to the economic, political, cultural,
and social exchange with foreign countries all over the world, which, as a
consequence, has also created favourable opportunity for the development of the
translation market. It is estimated that of 600 recruiting advertisements there are
about 15-20 seeking for translators and interpreters, three times higher than the
7 number of 4-6 in comparison with those seeking for teachers on Vietnamworks.com
– the biggest website for job seekers in Vietnam (Hiep and Huong, 2007).
With such demands for translation, the way how translators are currently trained is
one of the issues that should be highlighted. As Pym (1998) stated, “the market
demand for translations is often cited as a determinant on the way translators should
be trained”, the training program and methods need to gear students to knowledge
and skills essential for their future profession as translators.
In many countries in Europe, North America, and Australia, there have been
professional training programs appropriate with the requirements of respective
translation markets (Hoang, 2007). In parallel with the program, the training
methodology has also shifted with the aim of providing students with knowledge of
translation theories and processes, skills (such as documentation techniques,
terminology, use of tools, computer resources, etc.), and areas of specializations for
translators such as law, economics, medicine, etc.(Aula.int, 2005).
In Vietnam, although the translator training at undergraduate level has also been
implemented in several colleges and universities as in Hue, Ho Chi Minh, and
Hanoi, normally, translation is one of the subjects embedded in the undergraduate
foreign language program of some other institutions and the teaching of translation
still receives little attention. In most institutions, translation teaching is taking place
informally without either “clearly-defined curricular” (Gabr, 2001) or “proper
training methodology” (Gabr, 2001). The amount of time spent on acquiring the
knowledge and skills for translation is limited as it is used for linguistic and cultural
aspects of the two languages (Thang, 2007). Of all the factors affecting translation
teaching in Vietnam at present such as lack in materials and unsystematic syllabus
design, traditional teaching method is also a problem worth considering (Thang,
2007).
The English Department at Tay Nguyen University started its training



undergraduate in TESOL in 1996. However, translation teaching has recently been
8 launched since the training of undergraduate in English language began in 2005.
Beside the deficiency in materials, methodology is seen as the most problematic
issue to teachers in the Department as most of them are young and inexperienced in
translation as well as in translation teaching. Currently, the translation teaching in
the department based on the so-called “trial-error and arbitrary teaching methods”
(Caminade and Pym, as cited in Aula.int, 2005).
From the above mentioned about translation teaching in Vietnam in general and at
Tay Nguyen University in particular, it could be inferred that the teachers are
unable to keep track with global changes of the market demand as well as training
methodology. As a result, the students will be unable to function as professional
translators because they are encompassed by unauthentic and old materials and
lagging teaching methods, thus are not well equipped with required knowledge and
skills in accordance with the changing market demand.
Despite the reality that a well-design and systematic curriculum is one of the key
factors ensuring success in translator training, it is believed that appropriate
teaching methods in which techniques employed for teaching the subject effectively
also have no small contribution to taking shape of the required knowledge and
skills for students’ future performance in translation.
As a teacher of English with deep interest in translation, I believe that exploring
classroom techniques currently used in translation classes can be a significant basis
for the development of more effective techniques which then will contribute to the
improvement of teaching and learning translation. Inspired by this, I chose to
conduct my research on current classroom techniques for teaching translation in
English Department at Tay Nguyen University. I hope my research will make some
contribution to the improvement of teaching and learning translation at my
university.







4.2.1.2.3. Teachers and students’ roles . 38
4.2.2. Teachers’ and students’ views on the current classroom techniques 40
2

1.4. Significance of the study 10
1.5. Structure of the study . 10
CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW 12
2.1. Introduction . 12
2.2. Background: Language students and the translation market . 12
2.3. Issues on translator training . 16