THANG LONG UNIVERSITY ENGLISH DEPARTMENT GRADUATION PAPER CHALLENGES ENCOUNTERED BY ENGLISH- MAJORED STUDENTS TAKING THE “TRANSLATION 1” COURSE AT THANG LONG UNIVERSITY Supervisor: PhD Phi Thi Thu Trang Student name: Nguyen Thanh Dat Student code: A41596 Major: English Language Hanoi, June 2024 THANG LONG UNIVERSITY ENGLISH DEPARTMENT GRADUATION PAPER CHALLENGES ENCOUNTERED BY ENGLISH- MAJORED STUDENTS TAKING THE “TRANSLATION 1” COURSE AT THANG LONG UNIVERSITY Supervisor: PhD Phi Thi Thu Trang Student’s name: Nguyen Thanh Dat Student’s code: A41596 Major: English Language Hanoi, June 2024 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, my sincere thanks go to Thang Long University and English Department for giving me this precious opportunity to conduct my Graduation Thesis. I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to my thesis supervisor PhD Phi Thi Thu Trang whose support and guidance inflames my passion for researching. Had it not been for her continuous provision of constructive comments, feedback and encouragement, the Graduation Thesis could have not been completed on time. Furthermore, I would like to give thanks to Ms.
Nguyen Phuong Ha for giving feedback and comments on my questionnaire design and other useful information about the Thesis. Her valuable insights and guidance saved me valuable time and effort in conducting my research. My profound thanks are also given to Mr. Bui Viet Vuong and Ms.
Bui Thi Ha Tu for their ongoing support, guidance and encouragement during the time I worked on my research and participated in their class. I am also indebted to all of my close friends who always stayed by my side, giving me advice, support and encouragement throughout the time I conducted the Thesis. My special thanks go to two fellow students as well, Dang Thu Trang and Nguyen Ngoc Dung, for their ongoing support, valuable advice and encouragement during the research process. My utmost gratitude is also felt towards 106 students who took part in my research.
Without your participation, the research would not have been possible. Last but not least, I wish to thank my two sisters Thanh Lam and Anh Huy, and my whole family for their company, empathy, inspiration, and support throughout the most difficult time of the research period. I STATEMENT FROM CANDIDATE This graduation paper contains no material which has been submitted for examination in any other course or accepted for any other degree or diploma in any University. To the best of my knowledge and belief, it contains no material previously published or written by another person, except where due reference is made in the text.
Supervisor’s signature Student’s signature (ký và ghi rõ họ tên) (ký và ghi rõ họ tên) II ABSTRACT English has long been considered a lingua franca, leading to the rise of numerous translation programmes. In line with this trend, Thang Long University has made translation as a compulsory subject in its curriculum. This research focuses on examining the challenges encountered by English-majored students at Thang Long University during the “Translation 1” course. Data were gathered from 106 students through a questionnaire and some interviews, and the responses were then analysed using SPSS software version 20.
The findings reveal that students primarily struggle with linguistic aspects, including an insufficient vocabulary base, specialised terminology, and complex sentences. Additionally, the teaching methodology employed by lecturers and personal factors such as the concentration and the handling of negative feedback and criticism also posed significant challenges for students. Keywords: Translation, challenges, English-majored students III TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION. Object and scope of the study.
Significance of the study. Structure of the study. Definition of translation. Common challenges in translation.
Factors that contribute to a successful translation. Translation quality assessment (TQA). Review of previous studies. Population and sampling.
FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION. Findings from the questionnaire. Attitude towards learning translation. Challenges encountered during the “Translation 1” course.
Findings from the interview. Benefits gained after taking the “Translation 1” course. Challenges encountered during the course of “Translation 1”. Strategies employed by students to overcome difficulties in the course.
Expectations towards teachers to help students learn translation better. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS. For English-majored students at TLU. For lecturers in the English Department.
For English Department. Limitation of the study .VI V LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES Figure 1: Translation methods in Newmark’s theory .6 Figure 2: Number of students taking the “Translation 1” course .25 Table 1: Attitudes of students towards translation as a subject .25 Table 2: Attitudes of students towards the importance of translation .26 Table 3: Attitudes of students towards methods of learning translation .27 Table 4: Attitude of students towards translation as a job in the future .28 Table 5: Attitude of students towards resources offered during the course .29 Table 6: Attitude of students towards teaching methodology applied by teachers .30 Table 7: Challenges encountered by students in terms of discourse .32 Table 8: Challenges encountered by students in terms of grammar .34 Table 9: Challenges encountered by students in terms of lexical resource .35 Table 10: Challenges encountered by students in terms of translation coping tactics .37 Table 11: Challenges encountered by students in terms of personal factors .40 Table 12: Benefits from the “Translation 1” course .43 Table 13: Challenges encountered by students during the “Translation 1” course (gathered through the interview) .45 Table 14: Strategies for improvement employed by students .48 Table 15: Students’ expectations from teachers to help them learn translation better .50 VI LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ABBREVIATION DEFINITION TLU Thang Long University ED English Department ULIS University of Language and International Studies HANU Hanoi University HaUi Hanoi University of Industry SL Source Language TL Target Language ST Source text TQA Translation quality assessment VII INTRODUCTION 1. Rationale It is true that we are living in an era of globalisation, which necessitates the need to exchange and communicate between individuals. As a result, we need a mutual language to overcome language barriers and blur the gaps among countries.
English, thus, has gained popularity as a lingua franca. Rao (2019) stated that we cannot maintain international relations in multiple fields such as science, business, education, technology, travel and tourism, and so on without the help of English as a global language. Consequently, Erling (2015) concluded that having a great proficiency in English can be beneficial, especially for those who want to secure a job with a decent income in the future. Since the dominance of English over other languages in the world, many books, literary works, articles, etc.
have been written in English. Therefore, to access this huge amount of knowledge, countries, apart from English-speaking ones, tend to translate materials in English into their own language. This scheme does not exclude Vietnam, a developing nation in Southeast Asia. As the demand for skilled translators increases (Kelly & Martin, 2009), it is essential to identify and address problems that may hinder the process of learning as well as training future translators.
In line with this trend, Thang Long University (TLU), being a prestigious educational institution, plays a crucial role in shaping the next generation of quality translators and tackling any obstacles faced by its students for the university’s continuous development. The initial stage of learning translation courses could be challenging for some students, because translation is not a straightforward process, as it involves a great competency of both the source language (SL) and the target language (TL) Moreover, according to Horváth (2016), being a qualified translator requires a sound and excellent command of the first language and foreign language at least C1 level in CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference) as well as intercultural communications and an adequate background knowledge about the subject matters. Occasionally, there are some linguistic gaps between the SL and TL that even professional translators may struggle when they produce their translations, because of 1 the differences in structures, terminology, grammar and lexical forms of languages (as cited in Pham, 2010). As an English major student at TLU, the researcher observed that his fellow students encountered some challenges while undertaking the "Translation 1" course.
Based on the researcher's observations and brief conversations with his classmates, it has become evident that language competency, background knowledge, and intercultural communication pose major difficulties, hindering students from achieving their desired scores in the course. Additionally, it is important to note that within the English Department (ED) at TLU, there is a dearth of graduation theses conducted in this specific area. This lack of research makes it challenging for lecturers to fully grasp the underlying problems and implement appropriate adjustments to improve the educational quality of the course. Driven by these challenges, the researcher finds it necessary to conduct a study in order to shed light on the issues facing English-majored students taking the “Translation 1” course in the hope of enhancing educational experience, improving the students’ performance in translation and contributing to the overall development of TLU in the coming years.
Research objectives The main purpose of the thesis is to provide a deeper understanding of the perceptions and attitudes of English-majored students toward translation, as well as current problems in the “Translation 1” course encountered by them. To achieve this purpose, the research aims at three specified objectives. Firstly, the study seeks to measure the attitude of students towards the "Translation 1" course. By conducting surveys, the research will explore students' perceptions and expectations regarding the course.
Secondly, it aims to identify the challenges encountered by English- majored students in "Translation 1" using interview sessions. This will involve analysing factors such as language competency, cultural understanding, and background knowledge that hinder students' performance. Lastly, based on the findings, the research will propose recommendations to enhance students' performance in the "Translation 1" course, including improvements in teaching methods, curriculum design, and support services. Research questions The following three questions posed by the researcher align with the three objectives above, respectively.
1, What are the attitudes of English-majored students towards learning translation? 2, What are the challenges encountered by English-majored students during their participation in the “Translation 1” course? 3, What are the possible suggestions for English-majored students to improve their performance in the “Translation 1” course? 1. Object and scope of the study The object of the study is the challenges encountered by students majoring in English Studies who participate in the “Translation 1” course. The study aims to explore the difficulties that students face when learning and practising written translation skills in this course. It would dive deeper into factors contributing to the challenges such as linguistics, culture, pedagogy, and background knowledge.
This research was conducted at TLU on English-majored students in their 3rd semester (Group 1, Academic Year 2023-2024) from April to June 2024. Research methods The research employed a mixed methods design of both quantitative and qualitative methods, which included a questionnaire and some interview sessions. The questionnaire was designed to collect numerical data related to perceptions, attitudes, and challenges that students had during the course. The interview sessions were carried out focusing on how the students dealt with those challenges using effective improvement strategies.
Significance of the study 1. Scientific significance Based on the scientific data provided by the study, educators could conduct an assessment on the translation training for English-majored students. The study has the potential to pave the way for new developments in themes related to this topic. Furthermore, the research has made some contribution to literature in translation 3 studies by uncovering several findings related to the challenges encountered by students during translation.
Practical significance From the displayed results, the university, ED and lecturers could identify the obstacles impacting students’ performance and promptly take action to modify the curriculum and teaching methods to ensure that students can achieve desired learning outcomes. At the same time, students can also benefit from the study since they can improve their performance during the “Translation 1” course in particular and the English learning process as a whole.