Capítulo 5 - Collaborative translation work in L2 class

Paola Casella
Is lecturer of Italian language and literature at the Institute for Roman Studies at the University of Zurich, Switzerland, since 2002.

Karen-Lynn Bucher M.A.

Is an e-learning coordinator at the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at the University of Zurich, Switzerland. Besides, she is a research assistant at the University of Teacher Education Central Switzerland (PHZ)

1. ABSTRACT

In this best practice example, we present a didactic scenario which Dr. Paola Casella applies in L2 Italian language courses at level C1-C2¹ at the Institute for Roman Studies at the University of Zurich, Switzerland. With support of the E-Learning Coordination of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at the University of Zurich, she successfully developed and implemented this blended learning course based on collaborative translation work.

The objective of this course is that students improve their linguistic competences. They experience the advantages of collaborative translation within an online learning environment. The students translate German Wikipedia articles into Italian working individually as well as in groups leading to an article published on the Italian version of Wikipedia. The collaborative translation work corresponds to the very idea of Wikipedia itself, namely the collaborative writing.

According to the constructive learning paradigm the didactic structure integrates the following three aspects: individual work with self-reflection, external evaluation (review by peer group and teacher), and synthesis (compositional teamwork phase in view of a common product).

Technology advances such as learning management systems (LMS) provide several tools which facilitate collaborative learning. The learning environment we refer to in this best practice example is the LMS OLAT (Online Learning And Training), an open source LMS solution developed by the University of Zürich. We do not intend to describe in extension the single tools² which are used in this scenario. We rather focus on the didactic structure of the course setting not determined by the specific use of OLAT. Thus, it is possible to adapt this didactic setting using any common LMS software.

2.  COLLABORATIVE TRANSLATION IN L2 ACADEMIC LANGUAGE COURSE

In this L2 academic translation course at level C1-C2 the students’ main assignment consists in translating German articles from the online encyclopedia Wikipedia into Italian as the target language. At the end of the course the students publish their translated articles in the Italian edition of Wikipedia, l’enciclopedia libera in italiano³ on it.wikipedia.org.

The didactic intention combines a receptive understanding of acquiring knowledge with a productive understanding of learning: The students make themselves familiar with new lexical fields and linguistic structures. In writing an article (and publishing it online to a larger public) their learning results in a representational object.

The learning objectives are defined as follows:

1. Linguistic competence: Students enhance their vocabulary and improve their written linguistic competence. They become aware of linguistic characteristics of descriptive texts. They especially practice translation of reported speech, impersonal, participial, and nominal phrase structures from German to Italian.
2. Context knowledge: Students recognize the relation between translation and cultural transfer which implies that cultural elements are conveyed through translation. Concerning encyclopedias it also means that contents are intended for people with various cultural backgrounds. The context of online encyclopedias implies a new perspective regarding globally shared and easy accessible knowledge.

3.  TECHNICAL PERSPECTIVE

The learning environment described in this course is realized by using OLAT (On-line Learning And Training)⁴, an open source, cross-platform LMS solution, developed by the University of Zürich since 1999⁵. OLAT allows any kind of online learning with very little didactical restrictions. This is achieved by letting the user choose between different tools such as forums, wikis, or tests while creating an individual course environment. Thanks to this fully modular approach, the course author can create a tailor-made learning environment with virtually no restrictions, whatever the didactical scenario may be.

The tools that are used in this course are some elements of the LMS OLAT such as file dialog, discussion forum, wiki, and a survey application. The element «file dialog» is a tool which is suitable for sharing files and discussing them online. «Discussion forum» obviously is designed to open (not file-based) discussions. The wiki-tool is applied to create content by a group of users⁶. Concerning tools which support collaborative work, wikis have been proven to be successful especially for collaborative writing projects (Richardson 2006)⁷. The survey application is useful for the course evaluation.

In addition external tools such as the online scheduling tool Doodle⁸ and the online vocabulary trainer Vokker⁹ (all open access) are used in this course. Doodle is a tool that helps scheduling meetings or choosing among any kind of selection. The online vocabulary trainer Vokker allows anyone to set up his or her own vocabulary lists on which to be tested. This tool simulates the system of flashcards and learning box.

4.  DIDACTIC SCENARIO

In the following we describe in detail the single steps of the blended learning translation course at level C1-C2. This way the reader will be able to adapt the didactic scenario for his or her own classes. The steps integrate a three-phase didactic structure of (1) self-reflection, (2) external evaluation (review by peer group and teacher), and (3) synthesis (compositional phase) into the process of individual and teamwork translation.

Step 1: As common for blended learning scenarios, our class starts off with a face-to-face lecture. This is important for the introduction of the translation practice (theoretical input) and for planning the Wikipedia translation project (organizational matters). The students receive an annotated bibliography on translation manuals, Italian grammar, and dictionaries, as well as instructions for the tools that are used in class. Right from the start the discussion forum offers a platform for informal exchange among students and between teacher and students.

Step 2: The teacher selects articles from the German version of Wikipedia which are suitable for translation and not yet existing in the Italian version of Wikipedia. Those articles need to be written in a correct style and the content has to be of interest for an Italian reading public. Some of the selected articles are culturally Swiss related (e.g. Opernhaus Zürich, Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Hugo Loetscher, Thomas Hürlimann); others concern different critical approaches (e.g. «Forma chiusa e aperta nel dramma»). The students choose their preferred article from the teacher’s list by using the tool Doodle.

Step 3: One article or part of it (depending on the length of the chosen article, usually around 400-500 words) is translated individually as homework by 2 or 3 students. Later this will allow at least two students to compare their drafted translations since they are working on the same original text. This provides the basis for peer review and collaboration among the students. At the same time the students work on a shared wiki in which they collect vocabulary and idiomatic expressions relevant for the topic of their articles. Later, as the list of words within the wiki grows, it can be exported into the vocabulary trainer Vokker and studied online in various ways.

Step 4: The students share their individually translated text by uploading the corresponding file to the «file dialog» on OLAT. Furthermore they add a self-reflection about their translation work in which they refer to difficulties which they came across while translating. They also ask their fellow students for suggestions on their translation. To ensure a low threshold for exchange these drafts of translations are declared as work in progress and are not final products. The opportunity to share difficulties and ask for suggestions is crucial at this stage and constitutes a highlight of the entire didactic scenario.

Step 5: The following online assignment for the students is to read and reflect upon all drafts and self-reflections written by their fellow students. They also have to respond to contributions of their fellow students within the online dialog, at least to the ones who have worked on the same original text as themselves. These responds are supposed to be constructive feedback. At this point the students experience the effectiveness of sharing a work in progress: They gain insight into the work of their fellow students and compare it with their own. Thus the students apprehend the translation work from different perspectives and evaluate different solutions.

Step 6: In a face to face class, the students and teacher discuss all translated texts and comments from the online exchange and elaborate alternative solutions. Based on specific practice-oriented problems students and teacher consider various aspects of the use of the target language such as syntax structures and semantic nuances conveyed by specific linguistic choices. This step guarantees a backflow which is one of the most important aspects of blended learning scenarios. It constitutes the added value to a mere distance learning setting.

Step 7: As homework the students revise individually their reviewed drafts and study corresponding vocabulary and grammar. They also do research on links and sources in the target language about the topic of their Wikipedia article. If necessary they update and complete data. The sources and all external and internal links are also collected within a wiki on the LMS OLAT.

Step 8: In a face to face class the students work in groups to elaborate a common version of the translated article by merging the former individual translations and all the comments and suggestions made by the fellow students and the teacher. This editorial work begins in class and continues online (see following step).

Step 9: The merged version of the translated article is handed on to each other within the study group by email. Everyone of the study group revises the merged version using the word function «track changes». The final version of the article is then published in the file dialog forum on OLAT. All students have to read the final versions completed by the other study groups.

Step 10: In a face-to-face panel, students and teacher discuss the final merged versions making last stylistic suggestions. Therefore the focus now lies on the texts as independent articles in the target language, not merely as translation work.

Step 11: The last work step is mainly editorial and layout work. In order to meet the requirements for the publication in the online encyclopedia Wikipedia, certain «wiki-syntax» rules have to be taken into account. Finally the students’ articles are edited with links and sources and laid out with images in the enciclopedia libera in italiano on it.wikipedia.org

Step 12: At last the published articles are presented in class. If it is the case that modifications have already been made by other users of Wikipedia, the history of modified versions is considered as well.

5. EVALUATION

With support of the E-Learning Coordination of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at the University of Zurich the L2 translation course of Dr. Paola Casella is evaluated at the end of every semester. For this survey we use a survey application within the LMS OLAT. The survey data show that students attending the L2 German-Italian translation course find its setting very motivating and helpful. They particularly appreciate the process-oriented combination of individual and collaborative work sharing problems and exchanging suggestions. Furthermore the online publication of their translation work represents an additional reward of their work besides credit points. There are sometimes reservations towards the continuous deadlines and the previously strict defined workflow which both are necessary to ensure the effectiveness of the homework and online phases.

As factors of success we mainly identify the possibility to read and comment on translations of fellow students online, and the collaborative teamwork in the class which leads to a specific product published on it.wikipedia.org.

REFERENCES

CHETTY, G. (2006): An investigation into the use of wikis for collaborative writing in L2 academic writing workshops. A pilot study. University of Edinburgh. Retrieved from http://www.era.lib.ed.ac.uk/bitstream/1842/2069/1/gchetty1.pdf (May 2009).

REINMANN, G. (2005): Blended Learning in der Lehrerbildung. Grundlagen für die Konzeption innovativer Lernumgebungen. Lengerich: Pabst Science Publishers.

RICHARDSON, W. (2006): Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms. Thousand Oaks, California: Corwin Press.

SALMON, G. (2002): E-tivities. The Key to Active Online Learning. London: Kogan Page.