Task-Based Approach in Teaching Scientific Translation
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18533/journal.v8i4.1616Keywords:
task-based approach, translator training, social constructivism, scientific translation, translation competenceAbstract
To respond to the recent shift in translation teaching from a teacher-centered tradition towards a student-centered approach, this paper seeks to study the application of the task-based approach in teaching scientific translation in the theoretical framework of social constructivism. It proposes that task cycles in translation teaching consist of six stages, namely, pre-task, task, reviewing, analysis, revising and reflection. With an undergraduate translation course—Translation of Specialized English for Electrical Engineering—as an example, the paper examines how the task-based approach can be incorporated into classroom practice in translator training. It is found that task-based teaching can effectively contribute to the cultivation of students’ translation competence. However, as a highly demanding teaching and learning method, the adoption of the task-based approach in translator training can only proceed in an orderly way and step by step.
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