Teaching translation courses, back to basics, desirable or not?

Abstract

This paper puts focus on the traditional teaching tools. In order to find their answers the authors conducted a course of advanced translation using the traditional blackboard where students were only allowed to use paper dictionaries and conducted the same course in another class where data projectors and PowerPoint slides were used and students were allowed to bring all sorts of electronic devises and tools to the class including laptop and digital dictionaries. At the end of both courses students sat a test in order to see which method has been more successful. Students were also given a questionnaire to see which method is more appealing to them and motivates them more. Translation is one of the major contributing factors in the development of science and technology especially in non-English speaking countries. The reason is that an understanding of the flood of the new science and technology in these countries is gained mostly through translated texts. It is an open secret that providing translators who are the link between the world's science and technology and the university students with a teaching approach capable of capable of stimulating their internal talents and motivations is of prime importance. A major part of the teaching approach is the facilities used in the process of teaching. Today teachers have lots of new technologies, electronic instructional and communicational technologies at hand that are deemed as basis for institutional reforms and powerful agents for the development of new teaching strategies and material. Moreover, nowadays lots of pedagogues, psychologists, teachers and politicians are worried about the level of knowledge of the young people and wonder if they can keep up their steps with the development of science and technology. © 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd.