Assessing translation students’ acquisition of professional competences
Juha Eskelinen | University of Helsinki
This article describes assessment methods in undergraduate translation courses from English into the students’ native language at
the University of Helsinki, Finland. We consider and attempt to develop assessment according to the principle of constructive
alignment in the process of both teaching and learning of translators’ professional competences (as defined by Gambier et al. 2009
and Kelly 2005), which are discussed in relation to our course aims and intended outcomes. The primary methods of assessment
described and analysed include students’ reflective translation commentaries, teacher feedback and end of course portfolios. We
argue, based on both our teaching experience and student comments, that in spite of some obvious challenges, this assessment
system is an effective way of measuring the students’ acquisition of translation competences, as well as acting as a scaffold in
the process.
Keywords: self-assessment, constructive alignment, course evaluation, undergraduate level, translation competence, continuous assessment
Published online: 06 December 2016
https://doi.org/10.1075/ts.5.2.08esk
https://doi.org/10.1075/ts.5.2.08esk
References
Beeby, Allison, Mauro Fernández Rodríguez, Olivia Fox, Amparo Hurtado Albir, Wilhelm Neunzig, Mariana Orozco, Marisa Presas, Patricia Rodríguez Inés, and Lupe Romero Ramos
Biggs, John
Biggs, John, and Catherine Tang
Brown, Sally
Chesterman, Andrew
Drugan, Joanna
Englund Dimitrova, Birgitta, and Elisabet Tiselius
2009 “Exploring
Retrospection as a Research Method for Studying the Translation Process and the Interpreting
Process.” In Methodology, Technology and Innovation in Translation
Process Research. A Tribute to Arnt Lykke Jakobsen, edited by Inger M. Mees, Fabio Alves, and Susanne Göpferich, 109–134. Frederiksberg: Samfundslitteratur.
Fox, Olivia
Gambier, Yves, et al.
2009 “Competencies for Professional Translators, Experts
in Multilingual and Multimedia Communication.” EMT expert group, DGT, Brussels. Accessed April 3, 2016. http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/translation/programmes/emt/key_documents/emt_competences_translators_en.pdf
Göpferich, Susanne, and Riitta Jääskeläinen
Johnson, Julie E
2008 “Mobility
Programmes as a Learning Experience for Translation Students: Development and Assessment of Specific Translation and
Transferable Generic Competences in Study Abroad
Contexts.” In Translator and Interpreter Training. Issues, Methods
and Debates, edited by John Kearns, 67–87. London: Continuum.
Kiraly, Donald C
Linnankylä, Pirjo
Lukinsky, Joseph
MacKenzie, Rosemary
Massey, Gary, and Maureen Ehrensberger-Dow
2011 “Commenting
on Translation: Implications for Translator Training.” The Journal of Specialised
Translation 161: 26–41. Accessed April 3, 2016. http://www.jostrans.org/issue16/art_massey_ehrensberger_dow.php.
Neubert, Albrecht
Orlando, Marc
Pakkala-Weckstrom, Mari
2011 “Students’
Working Methods and Motivation in Teaching University-level
Translation.” In Current Trends in Training European Translators and
Interpreters—A Selection of Seminar Papers from ESSE10. Current Trends in Translation Teaching and Learning IV. Translation
Research IX, edited by Mikel Garant and Mari Pakkala-Weckstrom, 87–100. University of Helsinki, Department of Modern Languages.
Schäffner, Christina
Way, Katherine
Cited by
Cited by 1 other publications
Pakkala-Weckström, Mari J.
This list is based on CrossRef data as of 11 november 2021. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.