Ecolinguistics and English for translators: A teaching proposal

Abstract

The importance of integrating sustainability into language education is currently being addressed in English Language Teaching (ELT) and Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). Therefore, the English course for translation trainees could become the moment in which socially engaged language educators can work towards developing a sense of a balanced relationship with nature by tackling the anthropocentric linguistic strategies in the source text. This is favoured by the specific teaching goals of ELT for translator training, involving awareness of variations in meaning, use, and register, and examination of the writer’s attitude and viewpoint. Combining cutting-edge research on teaching English in translator training with TESOL for sustainability, this contribution proposes a lesson plan that implements the theoretical principles connected to teaching sustainability and ecological issues aimed at translator trainees. Ecolinguistics will be used as a methodology to guide the analysis of environmental texts. The goal is to help students develop awareness of form and meaning, which is among the specific translation-oriented English teaching objectives. This article will thus provide English teachers working in translation courses with activities that are specifically created to suit the objectives of linguistic training for translators.