An Investigation of Final Tests of Translation as Practiced in Iranian Undergraduate English Translation Program
The present study examined how translation teachers
develop final tests as measures for checking on the quality of
students’ academic translation in Iranian context. To achieve this
goal, thirty experienced male and female translation teachers from the
four types of the universities offering the program were invited to an
in-depth 30-minute one-session semi-structured interview. The
responses provided showed how much discrepancy exists among the
Iranian translation teachers (as developers of final translation tests),
who are least informed with the current translation evaluation
methods. It was also revealed that the criteria they use for developing
such tests and scoring student translations are not theory-driven but
are highly subjective, mainly based on their personal experience and
intuition. Hence, the quality and accountability of such tests are under
serious question. The results also confirmed that the dominant
method commonly and currently practiced is the purely essay-type
format. To remedy the situation, some suggestions are in order. As
part of the solution, to improve the reliability and validity of such
tests, the present summative, product-oriented evaluation should be
accompanied with some formative, process-oriented methods of
evaluation. Training the teachers and helping them get acquainted
with modern principles of translation evaluation as well as the
existing models, and rating scales does improve the quality of
academic translation evaluation.
[1] F. Arango-Keeth, and G. S. Koby, “Assessing assessment: Translator
training evaluation and the needs of industry quality assessment,” in
Beyond the Ivory Tower: Rethinking Translation Pedagogy, B. J. Baer.
Ed. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company, 2003, pp.117-
134.
[2] L. Bowker, “A corpus-based approach to evaluating student
translations,” The Translator, 6 (2), 2000, pp. 183– 210.
[3] B. Hatim, and I. Mason, Translator as Communicator. London:
Routledge, 1997.
[4] G. McAlester “Comments in the Round-table discussion on translation
in the New Millennium,” in Translation Today: Trends and Perspectives
G. M. Anderman, and M. Rogers, Eds. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters
Limited, 2003, pp.13-51.
[5] S. Bassnett, Translation Studies, 3rd ed. London: Routledge, 2002.
[6] G. Mahn, “Foreign language proficiency criteria in translation,” in
Translation Excellence: Assessment, Achievement, Maintenance, M. G.
Rose, Ed. Binghamton: SUNY, 1987, pp.44-45.
[7] M. Williams, Translation Quality Assessment: An Argumentationcentered
Approach. Ottawa: University of Ottawa Press, 2004.
[8] A. Darwish, Transmetrics: A Formative Approach to Translator
Competence Assessment and Translation Quality Evaluation for the New
Millennium. Retrieved March 21, 2007 from http://www.atturjuman.
com, 2001.
[9] K. Malmkjaer, “Linguistics in functional and through the front door: A
response to Hans G. Honig,” in Translation and Quality C. Schaffner,
Ed. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters Limited, 1998, pp. 70-74.
[10] J. Drugan, Quality in Professional Translation: Assessment and
Improvement. London: Bloomsbury, 2013.
[11] H. Honig, “Positions, power and practice: Functionalist approaches and
translation quality assessment,” in Translation and Quality, C. Schaffner
Ed. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters Limited, 1998, pp. 6-34.
[12] J. House, Translation Quality Assessment: Past and Present. London:
Routledge, 2015.
[13] J. Munday, Evaluation in Translation. London: Routledge, 2012.
[14] P. Newmark, “No global communication without translation,” in
Translation Today: Trends and Perspectives, G. M. Anderman and M.
Rogers, Eds. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters Limited, 2003, pp. 55-67.
[15] Z. Dornyei, Research Methods in Applied Linguistics. Oxford: OUP,
2007.
[16] L. Cohen, L. Manion, and K. Morrison, Research Methods in Education,
6th ed. London: Routledge, (2007).
[17] L. F. Bachman, Fundamental Considerations in Language Testing,
Oxford: OUP, 1990.
[18] T. F. McNamara, Language Testing. Oxford: Oxford University Press,
2000.
[19] K. Klaudy, “Quality assessment in school vs. professional translation,”
in Teaching translation and interpreting 3: New Horizons, C. Dollerup,
and V. Appel Eds. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing
Company, 1996, pp.197-203.
[20] M. Sainz, “Student-centred correction of translations,” in Teaching
translation and interpreting 2: Insights, aims, visions, C. Dollerup and
A. Lindegaard Eds. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins
Publishing Company, 1994, pp. 133-141.
[21] P. Newmark, A Textbook of Translation. New York: Prentice-Hall,
1988.
[1] F. Arango-Keeth, and G. S. Koby, “Assessing assessment: Translator
training evaluation and the needs of industry quality assessment,” in
Beyond the Ivory Tower: Rethinking Translation Pedagogy, B. J. Baer.
Ed. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company, 2003, pp.117-
134.
[2] L. Bowker, “A corpus-based approach to evaluating student
translations,” The Translator, 6 (2), 2000, pp. 183– 210.
[3] B. Hatim, and I. Mason, Translator as Communicator. London:
Routledge, 1997.
[4] G. McAlester “Comments in the Round-table discussion on translation
in the New Millennium,” in Translation Today: Trends and Perspectives
G. M. Anderman, and M. Rogers, Eds. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters
Limited, 2003, pp.13-51.
[5] S. Bassnett, Translation Studies, 3rd ed. London: Routledge, 2002.
[6] G. Mahn, “Foreign language proficiency criteria in translation,” in
Translation Excellence: Assessment, Achievement, Maintenance, M. G.
Rose, Ed. Binghamton: SUNY, 1987, pp.44-45.
[7] M. Williams, Translation Quality Assessment: An Argumentationcentered
Approach. Ottawa: University of Ottawa Press, 2004.
[8] A. Darwish, Transmetrics: A Formative Approach to Translator
Competence Assessment and Translation Quality Evaluation for the New
Millennium. Retrieved March 21, 2007 from http://www.atturjuman.
com, 2001.
[9] K. Malmkjaer, “Linguistics in functional and through the front door: A
response to Hans G. Honig,” in Translation and Quality C. Schaffner,
Ed. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters Limited, 1998, pp. 70-74.
[10] J. Drugan, Quality in Professional Translation: Assessment and
Improvement. London: Bloomsbury, 2013.
[11] H. Honig, “Positions, power and practice: Functionalist approaches and
translation quality assessment,” in Translation and Quality, C. Schaffner
Ed. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters Limited, 1998, pp. 6-34.
[12] J. House, Translation Quality Assessment: Past and Present. London:
Routledge, 2015.
[13] J. Munday, Evaluation in Translation. London: Routledge, 2012.
[14] P. Newmark, “No global communication without translation,” in
Translation Today: Trends and Perspectives, G. M. Anderman and M.
Rogers, Eds. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters Limited, 2003, pp. 55-67.
[15] Z. Dornyei, Research Methods in Applied Linguistics. Oxford: OUP,
2007.
[16] L. Cohen, L. Manion, and K. Morrison, Research Methods in Education,
6th ed. London: Routledge, (2007).
[17] L. F. Bachman, Fundamental Considerations in Language Testing,
Oxford: OUP, 1990.
[18] T. F. McNamara, Language Testing. Oxford: Oxford University Press,
2000.
[19] K. Klaudy, “Quality assessment in school vs. professional translation,”
in Teaching translation and interpreting 3: New Horizons, C. Dollerup,
and V. Appel Eds. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing
Company, 1996, pp.197-203.
[20] M. Sainz, “Student-centred correction of translations,” in Teaching
translation and interpreting 2: Insights, aims, visions, C. Dollerup and
A. Lindegaard Eds. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins
Publishing Company, 1994, pp. 133-141.
[21] P. Newmark, A Textbook of Translation. New York: Prentice-Hall,
1988.
@article{"International Journal of Business, Human and Social Sciences:71218", author = "Hossein Heidari Tabrizi and Azizeh Chalak", title = "An Investigation of Final Tests of Translation as Practiced in Iranian Undergraduate English Translation Program", abstract = "The present study examined how translation teachers
develop final tests as measures for checking on the quality of
students’ academic translation in Iranian context. To achieve this
goal, thirty experienced male and female translation teachers from the
four types of the universities offering the program were invited to an
in-depth 30-minute one-session semi-structured interview. The
responses provided showed how much discrepancy exists among the
Iranian translation teachers (as developers of final translation tests),
who are least informed with the current translation evaluation
methods. It was also revealed that the criteria they use for developing
such tests and scoring student translations are not theory-driven but
are highly subjective, mainly based on their personal experience and
intuition. Hence, the quality and accountability of such tests are under
serious question. The results also confirmed that the dominant
method commonly and currently practiced is the purely essay-type
format. To remedy the situation, some suggestions are in order. As
part of the solution, to improve the reliability and validity of such
tests, the present summative, product-oriented evaluation should be
accompanied with some formative, process-oriented methods of
evaluation. Training the teachers and helping them get acquainted
with modern principles of translation evaluation as well as the
existing models, and rating scales does improve the quality of
academic translation evaluation.", keywords = "Iranian universities, students’ academic translations,
translation final tests, undergraduate translation programs.", volume = "9", number = "8", pages = "2930-6", }