INVESTIGATING TRANSLATION COURSES AT AN UNDERGRADUATE EFL TEACHER EDUCATION PROGRAM: VIEWS OF INSTRUCTORS AND PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the contribution of translation courses to pre-service EFL teachers’ professional skills. Also, it is aimed to get in-depth insights from both pre-service EFL teachers and instructors in order to identify the weaknesses and strengths of translation courses in EFL teacher education programs. This study was designed as a qualitative case study and the participants were two course instructors and ten pre-service EFL teachers. The convenient sampling method was used, and the relevant data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews. After data analysis, it was found that translation courses are very rewarding for pre-service EFL teachers in terms of increasing their linguistic competence, improving reading comprehension and making contributions to teaching language skills; however, it was also suggested that the number of translation courses should be increased and the content of these courses should be redesigned in order to turn them into introductory courses for pre-service teachers who plan to work as translators or pursue their education in master’s degree programs after graduation. Also, it was found that choosing course materials from wide range of topics in translation courses would make positive contributions to prospective teachers’ intercultural competence. In the light of above-mentioned findings, this study aims to fill in a gap in the existing research by touching upon the current issues in translation courses in EFL teacher education programs.  Article visualizations: