by Georgia and Gioia

We will be exploring the use of translation for language learners in an informal teaching context. We are particularly interested in how student confidence and cultural knowledge impacts upon foreign language learning. In our workshop we will create a ‘translation conversation’ in the first language of the students, in which we will address the key points of the text that we will analyse. We aren’t looking to teach translation techniques, but investigate how far the collaborative translation model can succeed in promoting an inclusive ‘linguistic sensitivity’ amongst language students. We’ll be looking, for example, to tackle questions of accents, stereotypes, and to see to what extent the cultural insights this format emphasizes can impact upon language learning.