A Findings Report In Translation Teaching Of Undergraduate English Majors--Problems Strategies And Perspectives

A new and dynamic atmosphere for translation has emerged since China adopted its " open door and reform " policy. With the booming economy, more and more qualified translators and interpreters are needed by all sorts of institutions. Although literary translation remains as a very important art of translation practice, translations concerning international trade, foreign affairs, technology, information science etc. are the main tasks of around 500,000 translators. They not only translate into but also from Chinese for the promotion of Chinese culture, economy, science etc. in the world. The urgent need for qualified translators and interpreters has prompted higher educational institutions with foreign languages departments to establish translation as a degree course.Different perspectives held on the definition of translation, teaching translation and translation teaching, linguistic competence and translation competence, linguistic studies and translation studies, translation and culture, translation theory etc. will definitely exert a far-reaching influence on the teaching of translation.An in-depth and thorough investigation among five universities, including Nanjing University and Southeast University, was carried out with an aim to find out the status quo of translation teaching of undergraduate English majors in China as well as the requirements and needs from the translation market. After analyzing the status quo of translation teaching with reference to the six important factors and discussing the requirements from the translation market, certain disconnection was detected. In regard to this disconnection, suggestions concerning the settings and arrangement of translation curriculum, teacher training and some specific teaching strategies were proposed.Hopefully, this research can provide some helpful insight into innovation for the translation teachers in their teaching practice.