Effects Of Collaboration In Parallel Corpus-based Translation Teaching

So far, Corpus Linguistics has been developing for more than 30 years. With the modern computer technology, Corpus Linguistics adopts the data-driven positivism as its methodology and conducts the multifaceted and all-around research on behavioral laws of language, verbal communication and language learning. In recent years, many scholars have conducted a lot of research in corpus-based translation teaching, and the teaching effects achieved fully confirm its potential for facilitating the translation teaching. The traditional mode of translation teaching lacks certain vitality, and the workshop-type and individualized translation working mode is not applicable to the industrialization in the information age. Therefore, the combination of information technology and translation teaching is the development trend of the future translation teaching. Being inspired by the current research, with the theoretical framework composed of the Constructivist Learning Theory and Data Driven Learning and the combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods, the purpose of the research is to explore the effects of collaboration in parallel corpora-based translation teaching. Collaboration in parallel corpora-based translation teaching provides a means of solving translation problems, while the application of corpora solves many technical and effect problems, such as word stuffing, collocation and equivalence, thus helping students enhance their translation efficiency and forming their own translation guidelines. Specifically, the research mainly investigates the following questions: (1) Under what circumstances can the effect of the collaborated translation be maximized; (2) In the translation teaching, when should the translation teacher adopt the teaching mode of collaboration to optimize the teaching quality?Based on the Constructivist Learning Theory of Jean Piaget and Data Driven Learning of Tim Johns, the author explores the position of collaboration in parallel corpora-based translation teaching and its advantages. In the collaborative learning, in order to achieve the learning objectives of the group, each individual can fully verify the problems by means of discussion and negotiation. Translation teaching is a"learning process", and the teacher should adopt the Constructivist Learning Theory for instruction, create the situation, guide the students to collaborate in learning, and actively and positively participate in the mutual interaction between the teacher and students, while the students learn the skills through collaboration, experience the skills, accumulate the experience, construct the knowledge and cultivate the capabilities.The subjects of the research are sixty English-major sophomores. Before choosing the subjects, the author conducts the English proficiency test among 99 students from four classes, and sixty students are finally chosen as subjects on the basis of the test results. During the experiment, subjects are required to translate three different texts in the same field. Students in the experimental group and control group start the translation at the same time. With the help of parallel corpora, students in the control group independently complete the task, while 30 students in the experimental group are divided into six subgroups, with each group made up of five students. And the test to be translated is divided into six paragraphs accordingly. When Subgroup 1 translates the first paragraph, Subgroup 2 will translate the second paragraph. Subgroup 3 translates the third paragraph, Subgroup 4 the fourth paragraph, Subgroup 5 the fifth paragraph and Subgroup 6 translates the sixth paragraph. After each subgroup finishes translating their own paragraph and begins translating the left five paragraphs, they just refer to translations for the left five paragraphs offered by other five subgroups. During the process of referring to translations for the left five paragraphs, the five students in the subgroup will handle the five translations through collaboration, and each student will handle one paragraph. After the students finish translating their own paragraph, there will be five translations for the five paragraphs. And finally, the five members in the subgroup will make a summary on those five translations, and combine those five translations for left five paragraphs with their translation for the first paragraph which is done by them. Finally, each subgroup will have its own translation. The step is to analyze the results of three experiments.By analyzing the data of the experiments with the help of SPSS, the following conclusions can be reached: (1) through the collaborative learning, the lexical density of translations done by students in the experimental group is greater than that of translations done by students in the control group. In translation practice, collaborative learning benefits students a lot in expanding their vocabulary. (2) Through collaboration, students in the experimental group can better handle difficulties they encounter in translation and reduce the occurrence of translation problems such as word stuffing, collocation and equivalence. (3) In terms of the overall translation level, through collaboration, translations done by students in the experimental group are of higher quality than that done by students in the control group. (4) The higher the match value of the text to be translated in the translation memory is higher is, the lower the efficiency of collaborated teaching will be. And the lower the match value of the text to be translated in the translation memory is higher is, the higher the efficiency of collaborated teaching will be.For this reason, findings of the research are of active referential significance to facilitating the translation teaching, and also of great referential value to teachers while choosing the appropriate translation learning materials and effectively enhancing the translation efficiency and level of students.