Efficient assessment is one of the most challenging issues of language didactics because it requires teachers to develop diversified assessment tools and techniques complying with both course objectives and students’ needs. In education, two types of assessment are frequently referred to—summative and formative—with the latter being of particular importance in the translation classroom. The focus of this chapter is on the different feedback techniques teachers use to formatively assess university students’ translation tasks inside the classroom and how teachers, through these techniques, can face the challenge of closing the feedback loop that is always present in the teaching/learning process. The feedback loop is an iterative and continual process that involves the following stages: the teacher setting a task for students to carry out; students presenting answers for the teacher to provide feedback on; and, following this, students enacting the feedback to improve their work. The cycle continues with each new task. The feedback loop enables students to learn from previous work and to develop their skills. In this chapter, three feedback techniques used by the author with students in university translation classes are introduced—one-on-one feedback, self-assessment, and peer assessment. These techniques are examined at length and their usefulness explored, with special attention given to their function in closing the classroom feedback loop. The chapter concludes with recommendations for pedagogical practice and academic research in the field of translation.

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Techniques to Assess University Students’ Translation Tasks: The Challenge of Closing the Feedback Loop

  • Zahra El Aouri

摘要

Efficient assessment is one of the most challenging issues of language didactics because it requires teachers to develop diversified assessment tools and techniques complying with both course objectives and students’ needs. In education, two types of assessment are frequently referred to—summative and formative—with the latter being of particular importance in the translation classroom. The focus of this chapter is on the different feedback techniques teachers use to formatively assess university students’ translation tasks inside the classroom and how teachers, through these techniques, can face the challenge of closing the feedback loop that is always present in the teaching/learning process. The feedback loop is an iterative and continual process that involves the following stages: the teacher setting a task for students to carry out; students presenting answers for the teacher to provide feedback on; and, following this, students enacting the feedback to improve their work. The cycle continues with each new task. The feedback loop enables students to learn from previous work and to develop their skills. In this chapter, three feedback techniques used by the author with students in university translation classes are introduced—one-on-one feedback, self-assessment, and peer assessment. These techniques are examined at length and their usefulness explored, with special attention given to their function in closing the classroom feedback loop. The chapter concludes with recommendations for pedagogical practice and academic research in the field of translation.