Case study: Teaching Finnish - English Language for Specific Purposes (LSP) Legal Translation at the University of Helsinki

Finland is widely recognized as one of the top countries to live in, with transparency and an excellent education system, which provides for top English proficiencies. The applied English translation case study that is examined in this paper focuses on Finnish into English legal translation teaching coupled with studying at the University of Helsinki. Scrutiny of the course structure, teaching materials and teaching methods was undertaken as part of the empirical research and the efficiency of the new teaching method and course structure inspired this paper. Methodology also included interviews/surveys to obtain up to date data. The case study in brief illustrates that students at the outset of the course acquired the basic concepts of Finnish and comparative law. This was done in a blended learning environment with reverse classroom makeups and small group discussions being used instead of teacher-fronted lectures. Students were also asked to look up information on the Internet and undertake translations comments, company visits, and translating an entire court case. From the teacher’s perspective Moodle was used as a file managements system. Results suggest that the students are satisfied with this method and see it as beneficial. It can be used for benchmarking for legal translation courses in others settings.Peer reviewe

Current Trends in Translation Teaching and Learning in 2014

Peer reviewe

STUDIUM PRZYPADKU: DYDAKTYKA TŁUMACZENIA FIŃSKO-ANGIELSKIEGO JĘZYKA SPECJALISTYCZNEGO NA UNIWERSYTECIE W HELSINKACH

Finland is widely recognized as one of the top countries to live in, with transparency and an excellent education system, which provides for top English proficiencies. The applied English translation case study that is examined in this paper focuses on Finnish into English legal translation teaching coupled with studying at the University of Helsinki. Scrutiny of the course structure, teaching materials and teaching methods was undertaken as part of the empirical research and the efficiency of the new teaching method and course structure inspired this paper. Methodology also included interviews/surveys to obtain up to date data. The case study in brief illustrates that students at the outset of the course acquired the basic concepts of Finnish and comparative law. This was done in a blended learning environment with reverse classroom makeups and small group discussions being used instead of teacherfronted lectures. Students were also asked to look up information on the Internet and undertake translations comments, company visits, and translating an entire court case. From the teacher’s perspective Moodle was used as a file managements system. Results suggest that the students are satisfied with this method and see it as beneficial. It can be used for benchmarking for legal translation courses in others settings. Finlandia jest uważana za jeden z najlepszych krajów do życia, biorąc pod uwagęprzejrzystość systemu i wysoki poziom edukacji, którego efektem jest wysoki poziom znajomościjęzyka angielskiego. Artykuł koncentruje się na nauczaniu tłumaczenia prawnego z językafińskiego na język angielski na Uniwersytecie w Helsinkach. Badaniom empirycznym poddanazostała struktura kursu, materiały i metody dydaktyczne. Inspiracją tego artykułu stały sięefektywność nowych metod badawczych oraz struktura kursu. W celu potwierdzenia danychzostały przeprowadzone wywiady i ankiety.Studium obrazuje, że w trakcie kursu studenci nabywają podstawy wiedzy z zakresuprawa fińskiego i komparatystyki prawa. Zastosowano zintegrowaną metodę kształcenia (blendedlearning) zamiast tradycyjnych wykładów, wykładowcy stosowali platformę Moodle. Rezultatywskazują, że studentom odpowiada taka metoda prowadzenia zajęć. Metoda ta może zostaćzastosowana także w kursach o innej tematyce niż tłumaczenie prawne

Current Trends in Translation Teaching and Learning E

Current Trends in Translation Teaching and Learning in 2014 This is the fifth volume of Current Trends in Translation Teaching and Learning, but the first totally electronic edition. Hence, the new name: Current Trends in Translation Teaching and Learning E. It was decided that producing a free online version is the best way to make the up-todate articles focusing on translation education available to as many people as possible. This volume has been in the making for the past year and puts forward articles that focus on many of the current themes in teaching and learning translation. It is hoped that it will reach as wide an audience as possible, so feel free to distribute it either using the link provided or as a pdf file. The first article in this volume by María Brander de la Iglesia and Jan-Hendrik Opdenhoff from the University of Granada addresses teaching retour interpreting in interpreter education. Second language metaphor translation is dealt with in the interesting article by Dermot Heaney from Università degli Studi di Milano. Designing an undergraduate economic, financial and commercial translation courses is addressed by Kenneth Jordan-Núñez from San Jorge University.2 Rudy Loock from Université Lille Nord de France and UMR 8163 du CNRS and Cindy LefebvreScodeller from the Université de Limoges have written an interesting article on refering to the dead in French obituary translation. Anikó Makkos from University of West Hungary and Edina Robin from Eötvös Loránd University contributed an article on explicitation and inplication in back-translation. This edition also includes Wang Shu-huai from Huazhong University of Science and Technology description of translation teaching in China, an area “Westerners” know little about. After a double blind review process, selected papers were published in this volume. There is also a companion website located at http://www.cttl.org. I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to the following individuals: the writers for submitting their contributions to a blind review process, because without their courage and effort an edited collection like this would not be possible; the members of the editorial review board for their thoughtful and timely reviews. I would also like to warmly thank Ville-Veikko Jylhämäki from the University of Helsinki for his editorial assistance. His dedication to this project and keen eye have contributed to the high quality of this volume. I would also like to thank members of the independent specialized translation class who 3 helped proofread and edit this volume. They are: Noora Eskelinen, Essi Fröberg, Taika Ismälä, Maija Käcklund, Riikka Korpela, Torsti Laine, Jonna Latva-aho, Hanna Ruuhonen, Jenni Salovaara, Hannamari Sivonen, Matias Tamminen, Taru Tirkkonen, and Laura Tolvanen. I hope the readers will find reading Current Trends in Translation Teaching and Learning E both interesting and rewarding. Mikel Garant November 27, 2014Peer reviewe

Exploratory Practice: St Petersburg Study Trip

This paper discusses a recent study trip to St Petersburg, Russia. 21 Finnish and foreign students and 2 instructors visited NCC and Finpro in addition to a full cultural program. Experiential learning or learning-by-doing (see Dewey, 1938; Gibbs, 1988; Kolb & Kolb, 2005) is a fundamental concept in education that is especially useful to describe the experience of the students discussed in this paper. The participants saw firsthand what is going on in St Petersburg, Russia, which broadened their perspectives and enhanced their learning. Such study trips are an excellent way to enhance learning. - See more at: http://tamkjournal-en.tamk.fi/exploratory-practice-st-petersburg-study-trip/#sthash.GCp8QsfS.dpu

The re-introduction of oral entrance examinations at a translation studies department

Abstrac

A case for holistic translation assessment

This paper presents a linear study of assessment practices in the English section of the University of Helsinki, Department of Translation Studies. A qualitative methodology involving interviews and open-ended questionnaires was used to gather data in 1997, 2001 and 2008. Results suggest that a paradigm shift in Translation Studies has occurred during this period as exemplified by the generally accepted grading methods. Points-based error focused grading which was the norm has been replaced across the board by holistic grading methods. Further, the current translation instructors tend to see points-based grading systems as suspect while holistic grading tends to be seen to be more related to training future translators for real world tasks.Peer reviewe

A case for holistic translation assessment

This paper presents a linear study of assessment practices in the English section of the University of Helsinki, Department of Translation Studies. A qualitative methodology involving interviews and open-ended questionnaires was used to gather data in 1997, 2001 and 2008. Results suggest that a paradigm shift in Translation Studies has occurred during this period as exemplified by the generally accepted grading methods. Points-based error focused grading which was the norm has been replaced across the board by holistic grading methods. Further, the current translation instructors tend to see points-based grading systems as suspect while holistic grading tends to be seen to be more related to training future translators for real world tasks.Peer reviewe