Teaching Translation in Iraqi Undergraduate Translation Programs

Abstract

The ultimate goal of an undergraduate translation program is to educate competent translators for the local and global translation markets. The present study concentrates on the translation programs at Iraqi universities while adopting a descriptive framework to show what translation students need to acquire through a 4-year study program. For this purpose, the researcher has reflected upon the application of the Social Constructivist Approach to teaching translation and the Translation Competence Development Model proposed by the PACTE research group (2003) according to which translation students need to develop linguistic as well as non-linguistic translation sub-competencies to become competent translators. In other words, students need to improve their bilingual, extra-linguistic, theoretical, instrumental, strategic, and psycho-physiological sub-competencies through completing their undergraduate studies. The curriculum assessment of some Iraqi universities` undergraduate translation programs has revealed that the development of non-linguistic translation competence is mostly missing in those programs. They generally emphasized the development of students` linguistic and bilingual abilities. In sum, these study programs, to provide their students with appropriate translation skills, knowledge, and abilities, need to be extended beyond the concerns of foreign language teaching.

Keywords

• teaching translation
• translation competence
• undergraduate translation programs