Abstract
Difficult global circumstances pose a challenge for face-to-face exchange in higher education level language pedagogy, creating the need for innovative digital alternatives which can be integrated into internationalisation strategies. This chapter presents such an endeavour merging translation and telecollaboration which fosters an interplay of intercultural and functional communicative competence. Combining approaches from translation studies and foreign language pedagogy, it is proposed that telecollaboration creates a plurilingual and pluricultural space within which participants from varying linguacultural backgrounds may collaborate on a common product – a translation. The translation process itself requires intercultural exchange in which participants engage in an immediate manner through online interaction. Preliminary results from a study focussing on a telecollaborative translation course implemented with Durham University German students and prospective English teachers from Karlsruhe University of Education, Germany are presented.
TopThe Status Quo – Differing Starting Points For A Common Project
The following sub-chapter will present the different reasons for the development of the TraDuKa telecollaborative translation course against the backdrop of the current situational factors affecting the teaching and learning of German at Durham University, UK and of English at Karlsruhe University of Education, Germany respectively.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Telecollaboration: Telecollaboration is a form of virtual exchange where two cohorts work together in online formats to solve complex tasks.
Functional Communicative Competence: Knowledge of and ability to employ a particular linguistic system in interaction situations.
Ab initio German Studies: The programme of study for students at Durham University (UK) with no ‘A’-Level (school leaving certificate) in German.
Translation Studies: The branch of research which investigates translation, translation processes and the role of the translator from different (inter)-disciplinary perspectives.
English Teacher Education: The teacher training programme at Karlsruhe University of Education (Germany) for prospective teachers of English at primary and secondary level.
Virtual Exchange: Virtual exchange is a general term for pedagogical online intercultural and linguistic exchange endeavours with partners in different geographical locations.
Translation in Other Learning Contexts: The study of the pedagogic implementation of translation in areas other than translator education.
Action-Research: A research framework which involves practitioners investigating their own practice through iterative cycles of planning, action, and reflection.
Intercultural Communicative Competence: The goal of modern foreign language pedagogy in Germany. It involves the development of learners into ‘intercultural speakers’ who are able to communicate and mediate between interlocutors of divergent linguacultural backgrounds.