A New Exploration On Translation Teaching For Undergraduate English Majors

With the arrival of "Information Age" and the rapid development of high technology, the internationalization of China has been raised to a great extend. In order to strengthen communications and cooperation with various fields of other countries, the demand for translators and interpreters has increased dramatically. Meanwhile, the quantity and quality of translators will be faced with more and higher requirements of the translation market. Therefore, as a compulsory course for English majors in many colleges and universities, translation teaching will be confronted with greater challenge. How to train a great number of qualified translators rapidly and effectively has become an issue that need be resolved.Traditional translation teaching that is "teacher and text-centered" can not equip students with practical ability to adapt to the demand of society. That's why the students under the traditional translation teaching mode can hardly meet the market needs. Considering the demands of society and market, a new teaching mode need be proposed. Douglas Robinson's teaching approach is different from the traditional translation teaching. He turns the "text-centered" teaching research to the "person-centered" teaching approach which is more macroscopic and practical. His practical and social teaching methods contribute to cultivating available translators for the real world. Suggesting a quicker and more effective way of training translators to meet the market demands with a profound understanding of translation teaching's essence, his approach will inspire Chinese teachers and researchers of translation alike. However, as there are differences between Chinese and western social culture and students' knowledge structures, Douglas Robinson's teaching approach can not be applied to Chinese translation teaching entirely.Based on reviewing the history of Chinese translation teaching and analyzing the status quo of translation teaching for undergraduate English majors as well as the requirements of the translation market, a new model which is suitable for undergraduate English majors in China is proposed. The model is favorable for the students to be professional translators who are able to adapt to the requirements of the real world. In the meantime, the model provides some helpful insight into translation teaching, thus facilitating the innovation and development of translation teaching.