An Empirical Study of Translation Errors

Abstract

This study is an empirical study based on the students’ performance in one examination, analyzing the errors made by English majors in Chinese-to-English translation in one final examination for the course Intensive Reading. In this paper, the errors are listed, classified into several categories and then analyzed. The purpose of this study is to provide English teachers with a general picture of Chinese college students’ mastery of English and most important of all to give some suggestions so as to help students master English better. Some of the author’s own teaching experience is shared, especially how to cultivate students’ learning autonomy and critical thinking.