时间：2022-10-02 01:19:06
[a] School of International Education， Shandong University of Finance and Economics， Shandong， China.
* Corresponding author.
Received 6 November 2012； accepted 23 January 2013
Abstract
This paper investigates the translation learning of English majors. Specifically it reports on the effective ways of teaching and learning translation and English major’s translation learning techniques. It also discusses what is in a good translation syllabus. Data come from a questionnaire that was designed to investigate English major’s translation learning techniques consisted of 32 questions， with 30 ranking questions and 2 open-ended questions. Those questions are divided into 3 sections. The paper reports on 89 of 100 questionnaires.
Key words： Translation study； Translation syllabus； Translation teaching methods； Translation learning techniques
CHEN Hua （2013）. English Majors’ Translation Learning： A Questionnaire-Based Study. Higher Education of Social Science， 4（1）， -0. Available from： http：///index.php/hess/article/view/j.hess.1927024020130401.11188 DOI： http：///10.3968/j.hess.1927024020130401.11188
INTRODUCTION
The objective of the study is to better understand the translation learning of university English majors. The study is specifically trying to gather more information for teachers， by asking our students， on what are the effective ways of translation teaching and what are for English majors’ the most effective translation learning techniques. The study seeks to answer three questions. The first question is “How do the students view translation syllabus design？”； the second question asks “How do students view translation learning techniques？” and the last questions is “How do students view translation teaching methods？” These questions and the data from them are summarized in Appendix A.
Translation learning and the ability to translate between two languages， is an important part of language learning and also is critical in students’ language capability. There are many questions surrounding the topic of translation leaning， and debates spring up regularly on various issues in this field. This paper adds to the discussion from an English language teacher’s perspective and one who is teaching English major students in a key economic university in Shandong， China.
As more and more English majors have difficulty in finding a job. Even after they have graduated and have received their degree or certificate， some students are still not competent English speakers or users. This is a very severe question， and quite a lot of discussions and research has appeared in this field. One such study carried out says that “It is necessary to make the market demands clear in teaching regularities” （HE， YIN， HUANG， & LIU， 1999）. There are other studies on this topic， e.g. Catford （1965）， Nida and Charles （1969）， Hatim and LAN （1997）， as well as Wolfram （2001）. These studies have been conducted in diverse contexts， with widely differing student population， and using methodologies that are varied.
Furthermore， there have been a series of conferences on translation teaching in the last decade， ranging from domestic conferences to international conferences （MU， 1999， pp. 95-101， 294-316）. This has greatly improved the study on translation teaching and learning. The present study is aimed at investigating and analyzing English majors’ translation learning in Jinan， Shandong. It employs a questionnaire to further analyze and explain translation learning and teaching.
1. LITERATURE REVIEW
Translation is a significant process of language learning and development. Consequently， it is important to critique teaching methods and translation learning techniques. However， research has repeatedly shown that there is not enough time for students to learn proficiently how to translate. Most of the universities and colleges offer translation courses only for juniors and seniors. The overall time is up to 80 hours， including students’ formative practice and holiday time （WANG， 2001）. In China， teaching methods are in some ways out of date. Many teachers randomly choose translation materials.
In fact， findings from the few studies that have investigated translation teaching methods as well as learning techniques have examined the effect of proper teaching and effective learning. Mu Lei （2005） found significant relationships between the two. Moreover， Li Yuchen （1999）， Xu Bin （2006） suggested that translation learners need to improve their language capabilities while translation teachers improve their teaching methods in order to better teach students.
Most recent investigations of translation teaching and learning have focused on translation teaching methods， neglecting translation learning techniques. Numerous studies have investigated translation teaching methods. Most teaching methods are input based， assessing students’ translation practices， but not very many focus on students’ translation technique improvement （e.g.， WANG， 2002； WANG， 2003； MU， 2004； LIU & MU， 2006）.
Other studies of translation teaching and learning have been output based. These have specifically looked at the effect of translation learning techniques. Wang Zhanbin （2005） found that students’ efforts are not consistent with their achievements.
Overall， there are both positives and negatives in the previous studies. The current study sought to find a new viewpoint of the effect of translation teaching methods and learning techniques.
2. METHODS
This section describes the methods for this research. The questionnaire was designed to examine translation learning of English majors， specifically on the effective ways of translation and students’ viewpoints toward translation teaching methods as well as English majors’ translation learning techniques.
2.1 Participants
The subjects are 100 full-time third-year undergraduate English majors of the four classes in the School of Foreign Languages， Shandong Economic University. The participants completed the questionnaire in class time during the semester. They were given 30 minutes to complete it.
2.2 Materials
The questionnaire used in the study is based on the one designed by Wang Zhanbin （2005） but somewhat adjusted for this study. The questionnaire was piloted in one of the classes in the School of Foreign Languages， Shandong Economic University and some modifications were made before it was administered to the subjects. The present investigation addressed the following research questions： （1） How do students view translation syllabus design？ （2） How do students view translation learning techniques？ （3） How do students view translation teaching methods？
2.3 Procedures
In the summer of 2007， the research participants completed the questionnaire. The participants completed their questionnaire by themselves. Subjects received the questionnaire， being reminded how to answer two open-ended questions in their English-Chinese translation class. They were completed in class， and then submitted it to their instructor. All statistics were computed with SPSS software. The tables of these data are presented in the Results and Discussion section and Appendix B.
2.4 Data Collection
The questionnaire was administered in class time. The questionnaires consisted of 32 questions and focused on how the subjects felt about the role of translation teaching and learning， including students’ views on learning translation， on their work in and after class. This study analyzed 89 of these 100 questionnaires.
2.5 Data Analysis
For the analysis， the questionnaire was divided into 3 sections， based on their different characteristics， as measured by their overall appropriate use of teaching method as well as learning techniques. Afterwards， the author used SPSS software to analyze the data. The tables of the detailed information show different percentages from the results.
3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
In this section， the results and statistical analyses for the three research questions are reported on.
Research Question 1： How do students view translation syllabus design？
Table 1
Questions 6， 14 and 23 give an overview of research question 1.
Question 6 in Table 1 presents the statistics of students’ views toward the percentage of translation theory teaching in class. The results of this question show that 93.3% of the students consider that translation theory teaching is rather important and necessary while 6.7% of the students do not like it. It is estimated that translation theory should cover approximately 15% for those undergraduate English majors （MU， 1999）. This result indicates that there is of great necessity to have more time in class for university teachers to teach students translation theory.
Question 14 in Table 1 presents the time spent doing translation. The results show that the percentage on a little bit too little time was 47.2% while the percentage of too little time spent doing translation was 20.2%. The results indicate that universities and colleges should spend more time on translation courses for students.
Question 23 in Table 1 presents the way of testing， whether it should be open book or not. The results show that the percentage of those saying that translation tests should be open book were 67.4% while there were about 22.5% of the students holding the opposite opinion. This result indicates that universities and colleges could possibly employ both methods in testing.
The results of this study indicate that students should have more time to do translation practice in and outside class. Also teachers should spend more time explaining translation theories； schools should spend more time for students to have translation classes， including both translation work as well as interpretation. If there could be any way of integrating translation assessments， where students can use their dictionary when translating， it would be very good for the students.
Results from this research question are varied： students had different opinions towards translation syllabus design. In other words， if learners only follow the current translation syllabus， they feel that they cannot become very competent. They will learn better in translation if there could be a new and standard translation syllabus.
Research Question 2： How do students view translation learning techniques？ Table 2 gives an overview of the frequency and percent of questions about translation learning techniques.
5. Group discussion outside class is useful.
Strongly agree Agree
Disagree Strongly disagree
6. Do you think translation theory is necessary or not？ If yes， what is the percentage of theory to practice？ ____________
Yes No
7. I have done quite a lot of translation exercises outside class time.
Strongly agree Agree
Disagree Strongly disagree
8. The teacher in translation class should use______.
English Chinese Both English and Chinese
9. How much the teacher’s talk do you want in class？
100% 80% 50% 30%
10. What are the best translation materials to you？
Interesting materials Interesting activities
Detailed explanation Others （??????????????????_______）
11. What example should the teacher use in class？
Sentences Paragraphs
Long passages Others （??????????????????_______）
12. It is preferable to be given the answer immediately the task is finished.
Strongly agree Agree
Disagree Strongly disagree
13. What is the biggest problem you have in translation？
Understanding the texts Expressing your ideas
General knowledge Culture
14. 2 hours per week is not enough.
Strongly agree Agree
Disagree Strongly disagree
15. How many hours per week do you spend on practice translation？
0-1 1-2 3-4 5-6 Others （_______）
16. Do you prefer the traditional teacher-oriented method or student-centered method？
The former The latter Both
17. Do you think the teachers should explain in detail or just given an overview？
The former The latter Both
18. I like the way of teachers pointing out your translation mistakes and correct them immediately after the task is finished.
Strongly agree Agree
Disagree Strongly disagree
19. I want a career in translation.
Strongly agree Agree
Disagree Strongly disagree
20. Studying translation under different topic headings is useful.
Strongly agree Agree
Disagree Strongly disagree
21. How do you use your textbook？
Read textbooks carefully Read quickly for gist
Seldom read Never read
22. Do you prefer to select your own translation texts？
Yes No
23. Which is better： using or not using a dictionary when having translation exams？
The former The latter Both
24. I am familiar with the different kinds of translation certificates.
Strongly agree Agree
Disagree Strongly disagree
25. I like the different kinds of translation activities in school.
Strongly agree Agree
Disagree Strongly disagree
26. Have you ever participated in any kind of translation training previously？
Yes No
27. There is a close relationship between translation and other subjects.
Strongly agree Agree
Disagree Strongly disagree
28. How do you like to correct your translation mistakes： correcting on your notebook or just reading the answer the teacher gave you？
The former The latter Both
29. The main objectives of learning translation are： （in order of importance）
（most important）------ ------- ------- ------- ------ （least important）
（1） To find a really good job （2） Improving your skills and confidence （3） Enjoying translation （4） Passing the post-graduate exam （5） High marks （6） Family expectation （7） Others （_________）
30. The methods of learning translation well are： （in order of importance）
（most important）------ ------- ------- ------- ------- （least important）
（1） Enjoying translation （2） Making an effort （3） A good learning environment （4） A good teacher （5） A good learning method （6） Good textbooks （7） Sitting exams （8） Others （_________）
31. Any other comments about translation class？
32. Any other comments about the translation teachers’ qualities？
Appendix B
Table 4