The development of translation and interpreting curriculum in china’s mainland: a historical overview

Abstract

Translation and interpreting teaching is a complex process that involves goals, objectives, curriculum, teaching materials, teaching methodology, testing, teachers and students. In-depth studies of how translation and interpreting are taught can set the course for continuous improvement in translation itself. This paper looks at the translation and interpreting curriculum development in China’s mainland over the past 70 years and divides it into four types: (1) Language-based curriculum. (2) Skill-based curriculum. (3) Translation-competence-based curriculum. (4) Translator-competence-based curriculum. The historical development of translation and interpreting curriculum indicates that curriculum is growing more mature and systematic with the development of translation studies and translation teaching in China, reflecting that teaching philosophy is changing from behaviorism to constructivism and humanism. Future trends of translation and interpreting curriculum in China will have more integration of translation technology, more cooperation with enterprises and translation companies, and more relevant research on curriculum design.