Using Corpora in Translation Pedagogy

Abstract

In view of recent developments in applied linguistics and translation studies, this paper argues that translation pedagogy is now a broad and burgeoning area of transdisciplinary research and practice whose goal is to address questions concerning teaching methods, testing techniques and curriculum planning in language teaching as well as translator training. Starting from this inclusive stance, the paper firstly proposes to redraw James S. Holmes’s outline of applied translation studies. Secondly, it provides a critical analytical overview of corpus use in pedagogical translation at the advanced levels of linguistic competence in language B, as described in the Companion Volume to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) (Council of Europe 2020). Thirdly, it overviews exemplary corpus use in translator training. These two sub-domains of applied corpus-based translation studies are viewed through the lens of two major competence models that have been elaborated in Europe in recent years. So, corpus use in language teaching is illustrated in the light of the new descriptors of the CEFR (Council of Europe 2020). Corpus use in translator training is illustrated in the light of the new European Master’s in Translation (EMT) competence framework for 2018–2024 (Toudic and Krause 2017). After an introduction that outlines the background to the study, our paper critically reviews a sample of novel corpus-based teaching methods, and reveals commonalities and differences as to the place and role of corpora in 21st century translation pedagogy. The paper concludes by offering some recommendations for future research and practice.