An Experimental Study Of Peer Feedback In Translation Classes For Chinese Non-English Majors

The importance of accurate translation is commonly recognized. However, in China, where language teaching is characterized by large classes, many college English teachers find marking students'translation tedious and unrewarding. Considering the limited time allocated to teaching college English and large student ratios, this thesis advocates an alternative way of improving students'translating skills by peer feedback. Three theories are used to support this activity: the theory of Collaborative Learning, the theory of"zone of proximal development"(ZPD) of Vygotsky and Gagne's Conditions of Learning and Information Processing Mode.The purpose of the research is to investigate the effect of peer feedback on learners'translation development. Three questions are addressed: (1) Does the activity of peer feedback influence Chinese non-English majors'perception of translation? (2) What are students'attitudes toward peer feedback in translation class? (3) Compared with the traditional way of teacher feedback, can peer feedback activity lead to more progress in translation?Two English teaching classes of freshmen (N=80) in Changchun University of Technology were involved in the research. They were randomly assigned to experimental and control conditions. The Experimental group received guidelines of peer feedback before the study and students'translations were discussed through peer feedback sessions. Whereas the Control group followed the traditional way of teacher responding. The instruments were two questionnaires designed by the author administered in a pre-test, post-test, experimental group-control group design: Questionnaire I was given to all students before and after the study. Questionnaire II was only administered to the Experimental group after the study. Translation ability was measured at the beginning and end of the study which lasted 16 weeks. Frequency count of students'response to questionnaire showed that more students in the Experimental group than the Control group favored translation and revision. Students viewed peer feedback as useful and helpful to the improvement of their translation quality. An analysis of pre-test and post- test revealed that students from the Experimental group made more progress than those from the Control group.The findings of the study demonstrate the positive effect of the use of peer feedback in Chinese non-English class. Furthermore, it is revealed that peer feedback plays a complementary role to teacher feedback in that it helps the students foster learner autonomy and facilitate their translation skills, enhancing communicative competence. Finally, possible solutions to the potential problems are suggested. It is concluded that incorporating peer feedback into translation classes for Chinese non-English majors is both feasible and beneficial. Hence, the study has implications for the theory and practice of teaching and learning college English translation.