In an article published in Translation Studies, Maria Calzada Perez explores the interplay between translation theory, approaches and methods in translator training and complexity theory. Following Kiraly (2006, 2019), she argues that translation teaching should be based on the triad “autonomy, experience and expertise” and needs to be open to the acknowledgment of ‘complexity’ in the learning process. This entails the design of innovative teaching methods, where the traditional translation class is abandoned in favour of more challenging activities based on “authentic projects”, which inevitably bring both teachers and learners “at the edge of chaos” (Calzada Perez 2019). Against this background a number of projects have emerged that exploit the complex multilingual nature of Wikipedia as a source for real-life authentic translation tasks as part of the curricular teaching activity or in dedicated workshops, In particular, the present paper reports on a Wikipedia-based translation ‘marathon’ at the University of Bari. The basic assumption is that while greatly contributing to the development of a comprehensive translation competence, projects of this kind are in line with the guidelines for Higher Education as “a post-positivist scenario where ‘education’ becomes ‘learning’, conceived almost exclusively in student-centred constructivist terms” (Biesta 2013; Martinez-Carrasco 2018) and represent a particularly appropriate offer for a generation of learners that are identified with the so-called ‘digital natives’.
Out of the (sand)box: Developing translation competence via Wikipedia Translatathons
Maristella Gatto
2023-01-01
Abstract
In an article published in Translation Studies, Maria Calzada Perez explores the interplay between translation theory, approaches and methods in translator training and complexity theory. Following Kiraly (2006, 2019), she argues that translation teaching should be based on the triad “autonomy, experience and expertise” and needs to be open to the acknowledgment of ‘complexity’ in the learning process. This entails the design of innovative teaching methods, where the traditional translation class is abandoned in favour of more challenging activities based on “authentic projects”, which inevitably bring both teachers and learners “at the edge of chaos” (Calzada Perez 2019). Against this background a number of projects have emerged that exploit the complex multilingual nature of Wikipedia as a source for real-life authentic translation tasks as part of the curricular teaching activity or in dedicated workshops, In particular, the present paper reports on a Wikipedia-based translation ‘marathon’ at the University of Bari. The basic assumption is that while greatly contributing to the development of a comprehensive translation competence, projects of this kind are in line with the guidelines for Higher Education as “a post-positivist scenario where ‘education’ becomes ‘learning’, conceived almost exclusively in student-centred constructivist terms” (Biesta 2013; Martinez-Carrasco 2018) and represent a particularly appropriate offer for a generation of learners that are identified with the so-called ‘digital natives’.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
