Studies on Translation and Multilingualism Translation and Language Learning: the Role of Translation in the Teaching of Languages in the European Union
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Studies on translation and multilingualism Translation and language learning: The role of translation in the teaching of languages in the European Union 1/2013 Translation Europe Direct is a service to help you find answers to your questions about the European Union. Freephone number (*): 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (*) Certain mobile telephone operators do not allow access to 00 800 numbers or these calls may be billed. More information on the European Union is available on the Internet (http://europa.eu). Cataloguing data can be found at the end of this publication. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2013 Manuscript completed in July 2013 ISBN 978-92-79-30926-7 doi:10.2782/13783 © European Union, 2013 Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged. Printed in Belgium PRINTED ON CHLORINE-FREE BLEACHED PAPER Directorate-General for Translation, European Commission Translation and language learning: The role of translation in the teaching of languages in the European Union A Study 15 July 2013 Anthony Pym, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, European Society for Translation Studies Kirsten Malmkjær, University of Leicester Maria del Mar Gutiérrez-Colón Plana, Universitat Rovira i Virgili Research assistants: Alberto Lombardero, Universitat Rovira i Virgili Fiona Soliman, University of Leicester TLL project site: http://www.est-translationstudies.org/research/2012_DGT/tll.html Disclaimer: This study was carried out on behalf of the Directorate-General For Translation of the European Commission. The views and opinions expressed in the study are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of the European Commission. [TYPE TEXT] [TYPE TEXT] [TYPE TEXT] Table of Contents General introduction ............................................................................................. 1 1. Methodological issues ....................................................................................... 5 1.1. Research questions ...................................................................................................................................... 5 1.2. What do we mean by language learning? ........................................................................................ 6 1.3. What do we mean by translation? ....................................................................................................... 6 1.4. Selection of case studies ............................................................................................................................ 8 1.5. Cities and regions as case studies ......................................................................................................... 8 1.6. Variables of interest .................................................................................................................................... 9 1.7. Research instruments ................................................................................................................................ 9 2. Review of previous research ............................................................................ 11 2.1. Historical debates over translation and language learning.................................................. 11 2.2. Empirical research .................................................................................................................................... 14 2.3. General guidelines on translation and language learning ..................................................... 26 3. General survey results ..................................................................................... 31 3.1 Response levels ............................................................................................................................................. 31 3.2. Experts’ views .............................................................................................................................................. 32 3.4. Teachers’ views ........................................................................................................................................... 33 3.5. Focus groups ................................................................................................................................................ 35 3.6. Answers to the research questions .................................................................................................... 37 4. Reports on case studies ................................................................................... 43 4.1. Croatia ............................................................................................................................................................ 43 4.2. Finland ............................................................................................................................................................ 47 4.3. France.............................................................................................................................................................. 54 4.4. Germany ......................................................................................................................................................... 61 4.5. Poland ............................................................................................................................................................. 68 4.6. Spain ................................................................................................................................................................ 75 4.7. United Kingdom .......................................................................................................................................... 82 4.8. Schola Europaea ........................................................................................................................................ 94 4.9. Australia ......................................................................................................................................................... 98 4.10. China .......................................................................................................................................................... 106 4.11. United States .......................................................................................................................................... 113 4.12. Comparisons of case-study countries .......................................................................................... 121 5. Classroom activities involving translation ....................................................... 125 5.1. General models of translation activities ...................................................................................... 125 5.2. Examples of activities............................................................................................................................ 127 6. General conclusions and suggestions for future research ................................ 135 Guidelines for future actions .............................................................................. 139 Appendix A: Questionnaire for experts............................................................... 141 Appendix B: Questionnaire for language teachers .............................................. 143 Appendix C: Translation as a set of transferable skills ......................................... 147 Glossary of key terms and teaching methodologies ............................................ 151 References ......................................................................................................... 159 Acknowledgements ........................................................................................... 177 Notes on the research team ............................................................................... 180 [TYPE TEXT] [TYPE TEXT] [TYPE TEXT] Translation and language learning 1 General introduction The active promotion of a Europe that is multilingual and multicultural largely requires that individual citizens be plurilingual or polyglot. This requires the learning of languages, but not only that. The European Council, meeting in Barcelona in March 2002, called for ‘action to improve the mastery of basic skills, in particular by teaching at least two foreign languages from a very early age’. This ‘Barcelona objective’ was then the basis for the 2003 Action Plan Promoting Language Learning and Linguistic Diversity1, where the improvement of language teaching was recognised as a major element in achieving that aim. This was followed in 2006 by a report on The main pedagogical principles underlying the teaching of languages to very young learners2, which offered a review of current research on language learning. In 2007 the European Framework for Key Competences for Lifelong Learning3 mentioned ‘mediation’ in passing but conceptualised language proficiency in terms of the four traditional basic language skills. Also in 2007 there was a more general report on The diversity of language teaching in the European Union4. Meanwhile, data on progress in language learning have been collected in the Eurydice reports on Key Data on Teaching Languages at School in Europe (2005, 2008, 2012)5, in the Eurobarometer reports Europeans and their Languages (2006, 2012)6, which include information on the most common and effective ways of learning a language, and in the First European Survey on Language Competences: Final Report (European Commission 2011)7. Remarkably, none