@CIOL_Linguists
SPRING 2024 The Linguist 31
SECTION HEADER OPINION & COMMENT
How to foster exploration and engagement through a
semi-structured approach to translation teaching
BILIN LIU
Translation, in all its facets, is a discipline that
thrives on open-endedness, allowing for
diverse perspectives and creative
interpretations. However, in translation
education, I have observed a prevailing trend
of well-structured and routinised courses.
Whether practical or theoretical, instructors
often approach their teaching with clear
objectives for each session, leaving limited
space for students to explore the possibilities
inherent in the act of translation.
While this model of teaching demonstrates
professionalism, it may hinder novice
translators and translation researchers from
fully grasping the expansive nature of the field,
and can inadvertently encourage adherence to
established academic conventions. Although
this approach may not apply universally to all
translation classes worldwide, it is prevalent in
universities in China, where I studied.
Last year, I began teaching tutorials for
undergraduates enrolled in the Applied
Translation Studies course at the University of
Hong Kong. My role is to assist them in
comprehending and applying translation skills
as both a linguistic and vocational practice.
After conducting three rounds of tutorials
following a structured approach, I noticed
that the students exhibited less engagement
and interaction than anticipated. This
made it challenging for me to assess their
understanding of the subject matter and
evaluate the effectiveness of my teaching
methods. Consequently, in the final tutorial, I
decided to relinquish some control and
empower the students to play a more
dominant role by encouraging their active
participation in discussions.
Drawing inspiration from a pair of qualitative
research approaches (the structured interview
and semi-structured interview), I began a
pedagogical experiment I refer to as a semi-
structured teaching model. Remarkably, this
approach yielded more positive outcomes
than the strictly structured classes. It is worth
noting that a semi-structured class does not
imply complete teacher passivity. On the
contrary, the instructor is expected to fulfil
multiple roles simultaneously.
The instructor adopting a semi-structured
approach (SSA) assumes the role of
introducing new knowledge, similar to those
designing structured lessons. However, the
emphasis is not on providing excessive
information at the outset, but rather on
guiding students towards independent
learning before the scheduled class.
Our topic was localisation, so I assigned
two tasks: first, I asked students to read a
The teacher guide
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