The development of Ukrainian university students’ discourse-oriented translation competence in Chinese and English as foreign languages

Abstract

The manuscript covers some methodological issues related to the development of Ukrainian university students’ discourse-oriented translation competence in Chinese and English as foreign languages at the State Institution “South Ukrainian National Pedagogical University named after K. D. Ushynsky”, Odesa, Ukraine (Ushynsky University). Against the backdrop of the competence-based curriculum design for training translators, this research is aimed at investigating the structure of the discourse-oriented translation competence and possible means that contribute to its development within specialized translator training in Chinese and English majors. The importance of the study is actualized through the analysis of translation competence models which can be applied to different professional spheres alongside teaching methods and technologies that can provide for students’ academic success. In this perspective, the discourse-oriented translation competence indices as well as evaluation criteria of students’ proficiency level (excellent, sufficient, satisfactory, and low) were determined. The authors used the research tools as follows: the methods of systemic and content-based analyses to examine and generalize the theoretical foundation for the topic under focus, to systemize the outcomes of the study; focused observation using two similar multiple-choice questionnaires and the register as tools for data collecting in three groups of bachelor students majoring in Translation Studies (Chinese/English major and Chinese/English minor) and one group of Chinese/English teachers at the platform of Ushynsky University.