BELIEFS ABOUT TRANSLATOR COMPETENCE AND TRAINING PRACTICES: TEACHERS’ AND STUDENTS’ PERSPECTIVES
Journal
THE JOURNAL OF TEACHING ENGLISH FOR SPECIFIC AND ACADEMIC PURPOSES
Date Issued
2025
Author(s)
Sonja Kitanovska-Kimovska, Milena Sazdovska Pigulovska, Solzica Popovska
DOI
10.22190/JTESAP241125006K
Abstract
There has been some research at the intersection of beliefs and translation (as a
form of applied language knowledge) in recent times. Investigations have focused on
translators’, students’ and teachers’ beliefs about different aspects of translation, including
translation as a product, a process or a subject of teaching and learning. The topics of
interest have ranged from translators’ beliefs about the professional world of translators
(Katan 2009), the impact of translators’ beliefs on translation quality (Araghizade 2016,
Yousefi 2017), teachers’ and students’ beliefs on the nature of knowledge and learning (Li
2017), teachers’ practices and beliefs about inclusion in the English language classroom
(Al Siyabi et al. 2024), teachers’ and students’ beliefs about translator competence and
training practices (Wu et al. 2019), to teachers’ beliefs on the role of machine translation
in translator education (Hellmich and Vinall 2021, Rico and Pastor 2022). This paper aims
to add to this body of knowledge by exploring teachers’ and students' beliefs about
translator competence and training practices in the Macedonian context.
The purpose of this paper is to identify and compare the beliefs held by translation students and
their teachers with reference to translator competencies as well as to explore the way in which
these are addressed in existing training practices. The study presented in this paper is conducted
among students and teachers at the Department of Translation and Interpreting at the “Blaze
Koneski” Faculty of Philology in Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia, using a mixed method
approach following Wu et al. (2019). The paper addresses three research questions: what
teachers and students believe are the components of translation competence, how much they
think these are addressed in current training practices and the similarities and differences
between the beliefs of both groups. The results of the study have pedagogical implications. They
help teachers become aware of their own beliefs about the importance of the different
subcomponents of translation competence and whether these are reflected in their teaching
practice. The results also help increase teachers’ awareness of the translation students’ beliefs
about translation competence as well as their perception of the teaching methods. Finally, the
results show if there are any mismatches between the beliefs of the two groups that need to be
addressed in future practice and research.
form of applied language knowledge) in recent times. Investigations have focused on
translators’, students’ and teachers’ beliefs about different aspects of translation, including
translation as a product, a process or a subject of teaching and learning. The topics of
interest have ranged from translators’ beliefs about the professional world of translators
(Katan 2009), the impact of translators’ beliefs on translation quality (Araghizade 2016,
Yousefi 2017), teachers’ and students’ beliefs on the nature of knowledge and learning (Li
2017), teachers’ practices and beliefs about inclusion in the English language classroom
(Al Siyabi et al. 2024), teachers’ and students’ beliefs about translator competence and
training practices (Wu et al. 2019), to teachers’ beliefs on the role of machine translation
in translator education (Hellmich and Vinall 2021, Rico and Pastor 2022). This paper aims
to add to this body of knowledge by exploring teachers’ and students' beliefs about
translator competence and training practices in the Macedonian context.
The purpose of this paper is to identify and compare the beliefs held by translation students and
their teachers with reference to translator competencies as well as to explore the way in which
these are addressed in existing training practices. The study presented in this paper is conducted
among students and teachers at the Department of Translation and Interpreting at the “Blaze
Koneski” Faculty of Philology in Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia, using a mixed method
approach following Wu et al. (2019). The paper addresses three research questions: what
teachers and students believe are the components of translation competence, how much they
think these are addressed in current training practices and the similarities and differences
between the beliefs of both groups. The results of the study have pedagogical implications. They
help teachers become aware of their own beliefs about the importance of the different
subcomponents of translation competence and whether these are reflected in their teaching
practice. The results also help increase teachers’ awareness of the translation students’ beliefs
about translation competence as well as their perception of the teaching methods. Finally, the
results show if there are any mismatches between the beliefs of the two groups that need to be
addressed in future practice and research.
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