A Holistic, Interdisciplinary and Socially Engaged Approach to Translator Education

Learning through Meaningful Projects

Abstract

In the face of the contemporary market for translation services, it is becoming increasingly apparent that translation pedagogy should holistically embrace the teaching and learning process by integrating as many in- and out-of-classroom activities as possible into the real-life experience of students, thus leading them to acquire broadly defined skills and competences that are vital in the translation profession (cf. EMT Competence Framework 2022). A holistic approach to translation teaching and learning may be also reflected in an attempt to reconcile the two extremes of ‘creativity’ and ‘automaticity’ in translation, i.e., the creative contribution of the translator as an intermediary in intercultural communication on the one hand, and the requirement to know and use the latest technologies (CAT tools, machine translation, terminology databases, etc.), on the other hand. A holistic approach may also be associated with socially engaged pedagogy and the application of Project Based Learning (PBL), based on constructivist premises that we acquire knowledge by participating in intersubjective interactions. The paper attempts to show how translation teachers may holistically respond to the above-mentioned needs by using PBL methods and socially relevant interdisciplinary content in their teaching of the art and craft of translation.