Some Aspects of Intense ESP Translation Teaching

Abstract

Education globalization and unification motivate foreign languages study. The goal of this process is foreign language competence necessary for a modern professional. At present teaching translation and interpretation is an urgent question as there exists a new qualification within further education curriculum – translator in the sphere of professional communication. According to this education trend there appeared a shift from elitist translators’ training to the mass training of such professionals. The main difficulty is in a fact that training must pursue two incompatible goals. First, professional communication demands applied knowledge and practical skills focus (it means wide range of terminological and idiomatic language units). Second, the situation is complicated by the fact that communicative approach of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) teaching is primarily aimed at speech fluency and often neglects performance accuracy and thorough vocabulary study and proper word choice. This does not develop the formation of translation and interpretation skills to the necessary degree. The main task of today is to work out and to implement the best teaching methodology taking into consideration the new challenges and experience of the interdisciplinary approach. In the system “translation-student-translation” a student is a subject holding the central position and working out the strategy and tactics of relationships between the interpretation and the dictionary. Each translator’s task is solved in accordance with its only algorithm, defining the necessary choice of dictionaries. So, at the operational level of teaching the exercises provided by the educators combine the system for developing lexicographical and interpreting abilities and skills. Cognitive model of translation regards it as perception, comprehension, argumentation and information, it also views it as a reflection building meaning in the process of transforming the original text into the inner speech of the interpreter. Cross-cultural competence of an interpreter becomes significant as it is professional’s ability and personal willingness to solve difficult tasks of transmission of culturally marked information of translation discourse. The structural model of translator’s cross-cultural competence can be designed as synchronously working synergetic mechanism combining cognitive and operational modules. Tasks at courses are variable and depend on the stage of the study and the type of the selected translation. Thus, it is advisable to teach ESP translation within the complex approach to interactive method. We view interactive method as synthesis of tutorials having interactive function and computer linguo-didactics, as synthesis of cognitive and communicative approach of ESP forming. Interaction means information, activities, values, meanings exchange and personal development as well. Interactive study cycle includes different stages: certain experience (role-play, interactive exercise with feedback, case-study); understanding of this experience; introspection (reflexion); new skills practical implementation. Traditional teaching offers only generalization, and students become passive listeners, applying foreign language according to the personal degree of interest to the subject. Interactive teaching means teaching of communication by means of communication. Interactive teaching helps to enhance tutorial classes and computer studies; it makes foreign language communication more natural, so it improves the formation of the foreign language competence.