Needs assessment in translation teaching

Abstract

As we are advancing into the new millennium, changes are taking place in translation markets and technology is fast becoming omnipresent. In the face of changes and new technology, translation programs and courses must respond to the changing needs of society. It is argued in this paper that in the process of planning/restructuring/innovating translation programs to address the changing social needs, needs assessment is crucial. Rather than sitting behind closed doors charting out the possible needs of our students, which often are considerably different from the actual needs of translators (Cheung, Xu, Chan and Yim 1993), we need to carry out serious needs assessment to find out what the real needs are. It is further argued that needs assessment should be a continual process and take place throughout the instructional program (Burnaby 1989;Savage 1993), thus influencing materials selection, curriculum design and teaching approaches. Major assessment methods for translation programs/courses are then described in brief for reference. The paper concludes that (1) Whatever the format and focus of the needs assessment, the basic purpose is to determine what are the real needs of our students:and (2) When curriculum content, materials, and teaching approaches match social needs, student motivation and success are enhanced.

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