Book Review on The Routledge Guide to Teaching Translation and Interpreting Online

1 General introduction

The purpose of translation and interpreting (T&I) education is to cultivate professional and academic competence among future practitioners and researchers. Over the past few decades, various researchers have investigated topics such as authentic experiential learning (Kiraly & Massey, 2019), situated learning (González-Davies & Raído, 2016), curriculum design (Álvarez-Álvarez & Arnáiz-Uzquiza, 2017) and a combination of vocational practice and academic research (Orlando, 2016), which indicates a shift towards student-centred learning.

Online learning, defined as the use of digital devices to support educational processes (Clark & Mayer, 2016, p. 7), has gained prominence for fostering student-directed learning. Its accessibility, flexibility and abundant resources make online learning particularly attractive in academia, especially in the post-pandemic era. Recent studies have explored the effectiveness of incorporating learning technologies into interpreting courses (Zhang & Wang, 2022), transitioning face-to-face translation technology classes to online formats (Kodura, 2022) and engaging in collaborative tasks to foster learning communities (Valentine & Wong, 2021). Compared to in-person learning, distance education, whether synchronous or asynchronous, poses challenges to instructors due to the lack of direct supervision and active engagement. However, there is a notable absence of comprehensive guidance on developing online T&I training for the professionalisation process of students.

Filling this void, The Routledge Guide to Teaching Translation and Interpreting Online serves as the inaugural instalment in the Routledge Guide series on T&I teaching. Written by two experienced translator/interpreter educators who draw on their firsthand expertise in online programs, the book sheds light on the intricacies of online pedagogy and the transformative journey for both educators and students.

2 Book introduction

The book under review is structured into eight parts and covers various phases of online T&I training, ranging from initial course planning to curriculum revision. In the Introduction, the series editor, Washbourne, states the guiding principle of the ontological turn in education, emphasising a human-centric and dialogic approach. Moving beyond the traditional reductive approaches to what to learn, Washbourne underscores the significance of who is learning, specifically the training of future translators and interpreters within the context of the why-what-how theme (Mazzei & Aibo, 2022, p. 3). Unlike conventional hierarchical structures, the online teaching modality facilitates collaborative learning embodied in the “centerless, boundless, unstructured structure” of rhizomatic learning (Mazzei & Aibo, 2022, p. 4).

Chapter 1, titled “Online Translation and Interpreting Education”, provides a succinct overview of the history of online T&I and outlines the challenges faced by instructors. The integration of virtual learning into T&I classes dates back to the 1990s. Instructors contend with various demands, including providing multilingual courses, fostering technology literacy, addressing cultural diversity and adhering to the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) to ensure inclusivity. Whether the learning environment is paced or unpaced, instructors must cultivate students’ active engagement through “positive and frequent interactions” while furnishing detailed syllabi suited for the virtual realm. Additionally, they may leverage cutting-edge AI technologies, such as speech recognition software and machine translation (MT), to assist impaired students and streamline repetitive tasks.

Chapter 2, “Process-Oriented & Skill-Building Pedagogy”, delves into students’ self-reflection on their T&I processes, a practice crucial for their professional development. To scaffold students, instructors provide questions in translation courses using models and mind maps and break interpreting tasks into sub-components. Students reflect on their improvement through various formats, such as journals, voice recordings, videos, or images. Grounded in a socio-constructivist perspective, this self-regulated approach, combined with feedback from instructors and peers, fosters self-directed, collaborative and lifelong learning.

In Chapter 3, “Online Course Development”, the focus shifts to course design under the principles of intentional learning and learning autonomy. Intentional learning involves instructors providing guidance for autonomy, allowing for self-paced practice within safe spaces. A detailed syllabus with repeated instructions aids students in comprehending learning goals, weekly schedules, reading lists and grading criteria. Instructors can leverage learning management systems (LMSs) such as Pepper, along with other collaborative tools, including Voice Thread and Google Docs, to embrace the constructivist paradigm, especially in courses that require more personalised learning, such as computer-assisted translation (CAT) tutorials or remote simultaneous interpreting.

Chapter 4, “Instructor Presence in Online Courses”, delves into fostering a robust instructor presence. The Community of Inquiry (CoI) (Garrison et al., 1999), encompassing cognitive, teaching and social presence, serves as the theoretical framework to facilitate collaborative and constructivist learning. The authors advocate for “bichronous online learning”, which integrates synchronous and asynchronous components to enhance accessibility (Mazzei & Aibo, 2022, p. 68). Activities such as polling, timely feedback and addressing individuals or groups complement the traditional setting of “I see you, I hear you and I respond to you” with “I validate you”. Furthermore, pre-recorded videos help reinforce instructor presence with short chunks of lecture videos (less than 15 min in duration), tutorial videos on new technologies and encouraging presence videos.

As the title “Assessment, Rubrics and Assignment” suggests, Chapter 5 introduces pragmatic approaches to align assessments and tasks with learning goals. Assessment within virtual classes includes diagnostic tests for students’ pre-knowledge and interest, formative assessment for feedback and translation exercises and summative assessment of students’ mastery. Feedback is given by instructors, peers and language reviewers in communities or non-profit organisations via video conferences or emails. Rubrics for online teaching shift from the conventional “error analysis” to assigning varying weights to students’ reflections on their performance and progress. Assignments cover engaging activities and authentic materials for professional competence.

Chapter 6, “Ethics in Online Translation and Interpreting Courses”, underscores ethics in T&I teaching via multiple approaches. Given that T&I, as activities concerning knowledge dissemination, may impact others’ lives, the authors incorporate ethics in T&I classes and assignments. Instructors may address deontological and teleological models to prompt students’ reflection on their roles and considerations, such as confidentiality, ownership and gender bias in MT. Students’ social responsibility can be enhanced through community engagement and service learning (CESL) and interprofessional partnerships.

The concluding chapter reinforces the key points of the book, especially emphasising the aim of accessibility to online T&I education for all students. The authors summarise challenges for educators, including course designing, detailed syllabi, selection of LMS and ethics in teaching, as well as the co-construction of materials, independence and self-regulation for students.

3 Critical evaluation

The book under review is a comprehensive guidebook for T&I instructors that is applicable to both online and offline modalities. It explores a top-down constructivism approach, a bottom-up modular guide and the unique aspects of online modality.

First, the authors emphasise theoretical concerns rooted in socio-constructivism, which highlights the empowerment of students through active participation and knowledge construction in remote teaching (Kiraly, 2014). This student-centred paradigm permeates the pedagogy from self-regulated learning to the selection of LMS platforms. To cultivate students’ professional competence and lifelong learning, the authors apply collaborative learning and focus on students’ self-reflection in process-oriented teaching. Specifically, the book introduces state-of-the-art theories such as UDL, the CoI framework and CESL, providing instructors with tools to design inclusive, engaging and ethically informed online T&I courses that foster higher-order thinking and civic responsibility among students.

Second, the authors offer step-by-step instructions tailored specifically for online T&I instructors. At the macro level, the book introduces various modules that are adaptable to individual needs. At the micro level, sample self-reflections, feedback, exam instructions and ethics-based assignments, drawn from the authors’ practical experiences, serve as models for both novice and experienced instructors. In addition, the inclusion of the latest digital tools helps instructors align T&I assignments and assessments with learning goals.

Third, the book illustrates the differences between online and offline environments and the evolving roles of teachers and students. Conventional on-campus education stresses teacher-centred knowledge transmission, whereas online T&I training promotes knowledge co-construction in a centreless structure facilitated by technology and LMS platforms. T&I classes are designed with more “specific” and “measurable” learning outcomes (p. 54), with criteria such as word count, speed and duration to translate and interpret assignments aiding in quantifying student performance alongside qualitative rubrics.

Accordingly, instructors and students must adapt their teaching and learning methods to the virtual environment. Teachers must extend their focus beyond linguistic transfer, error analysis or client demands to increased presence, guidance and support for online course design and assignments to ensure students’ engagement and self-reflection. Students will benefit from self-directed learning, enabling autonomous and collaborative learning with the guidance of instructors, peers and community reviewers, which is fundamental for their professional development and civic responsibility.

While comprehensible and practical, the book could have been enhanced by exploring the integration of online components with other modalities and addressing the application of MT and multimodality in online T&I training. First, given the potential rise of blended learning and flipped classrooms in the post-pandemic era (Mei et al., 2022), it could be valuable for the authors to explore how to apply and balance online components with face-to-face environments, as the combination of the merits of these two modalities can help students assess and reflect on their performance, maximising the effects of autonomous and collaborative learning.

Second, a pertinent consideration would be the inclusion of training in digital and technological literacy for both educators and students. While the authors have clarified post-editing assignments and the ethics of MT, understanding how to effectively utilise these tools within the online T&I context is becoming increasingly essential. Providing guidance on the pre-editing and post-editing of MT in online translation classes could further enhance the practical applicability of the book.

Third, while the authors have addressed the technical requirement for the synchronisation of subtitles in online translation courses, the aspect of multimodality, considered “the defining feature” of audio-visual translation, merits more attention in online translation training (Taylor, 2020, p. 84). Multimodal stimulations in online translation classes have the potential to attract students’ attention and improve learning outcomes (Doumanis et al., 2019). Moreover, multimodality has garnered growing interest in translation studies, including the analysis of visual elements in scientific and technological texts, subtitle translation and the role of expressions, gestures and live captioning in virtual meetings. Delving into strategies for multimodal translation could expand the scope of translation products, increase motivation and inspire the creativity of students.

These potential enhancements notwithstanding, the book stands as a timely contribution to T&I educators and administrators. It presents well-researched pedagogical approaches for training full-fledged translators and interpreters in an online modality. The blend of theoretical, technological and practical guidance equips educators with essential knowledge, strategies and tools needed to address challenges and capitalise on opportunities in the digitalised world.