Applying Task-based Language Teaching to Translation Instruction: Challenges and Prospects

Training competent translators who can effectively and readily meet the needs of the translation market is currently a major challenge for translation instructors; however, L2 teaching methodologies have marked a more accelerated progress in general. The present study was an interdisciplinary effort to examine the possibility of transferring these achievements to translation instruction, with a particular focus on Task-Based Language Teaching. To this end, first, the components of Task-Based Translation Teaching (TBTT) were extracted by reviewing the related literature, administrating an open-ended questionnaire to 17 translation instructors, and using Delphi technique with a panel of six experts. The findings pointed at 6 main components for TBTT, namely Authenticity and Contextualization, Balanced Focus on Meaning and Form, Process-orientedness, Interactivity, Learner-centeredness, Reflectivity and Evaluation, comprising 22 subcomponents. Next, a three-hour workshop was designed based on the same components and subcomponents to put the proposed framework on trial. The merits and demerits of practically implementing this framework was elicited from the 10 participants via a semi-structured interview. Content analysis of the interview transcriptions revealed a general positive attitude on the side of the learners despite some criticisms leveled at the method. While the most frequently stated advantage was the collaborative and student-centered nature of the method, the primary drawback was stated as its being time-consuming and challenging for teachers to design and operationalize. These findings can help translation instructors to revise or revisit their curricula and lesson plans or serve as a model for future endeavors in updating teaching methodologies in translation.