Critical Thinking as an Integral Outcome in Translator and Interpreter Training

Mesut Kuleli; Didem Tuna

doi:10.33919/esnbu.22.1.6

Authors

Mesut Kuleli Bolu Abant İzzet Baysal University, Bolu
Didem Tuna İstanbul Yeni Yüzyıl University, Istanbul

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.33919/esnbu.22.1.6

Keywords:

translation, interpreting, critical thinking skills, critical reading

Abstract

The aim of this study is to investigate the critical thinking attitudes of translator and interpreter candidates with a view to coming up with recommendations on curriculum development in Translation and Interpretation undergraduate studies. A "Critical Thinking Skills Scale" was administered to 354 translation and interpretation students from five universities in Turkey. Independent sample t-test, one-way ANOVA and post-hoc Scheffe test were used in data analysis. With the highest and lowest attitudes found for receptiveness and inquiry skills respectively, the total critical thinking attitudes of translator candidates are above the average. The class level of the students is inversely correlated with total scores for critical thinking attitudes, in addition to the flexibility and judiciousness subdimensions. Moreover, translator candidates of the Bulgarian language have the highest total scores for critical thinking attitudes as compared to those of English, French, Persian and German. The results show that innovative curricula involving related tasks and activities must be developed for translation and interpretation departments to enhance translator candidates' critical thinking skills, bearing in mind the very nature of the act of translation and interpretation.

Author Biographies

Mesut Kuleli, Bolu Abant İzzet Baysal University, Bolu

Dr. Mesut Kuleli is Associate Professor at Bolu Abant İzzet Baysal University, School of Foreign Languages, Department of English Translation and Interpreting. His PhD is in the area of Interlingual and Intercultural Translation Studies. His research interests include literary translation, semiotics of translation, and translator and interpreter training. He is the co-author of a book on Semiotics of Translation and the co-editor of books including academic studies on language, literature, and translation studies.

Didem Tuna, İstanbul Yeni Yüzyıl University, Istanbul

Dr. Didem Tuna is Associate Professor at İstanbul Yeni Yüzyıl University, Faculty of Sciences and Literature, Department of English Translation and Interpreting and has a PhD in Interlingual and Intercultural Translation Studies Programme. Her research interests include literary translation, semiotics of translation, and translator and interpreter training. She is the co-author of a book on Semiotics of Translation and the co-editor of books including academic studies on language, literature, and translation studies.

References

Altay, A. (2002). Difficulties encountered in the translation of legal texts: The case of Turkey. Translation Journal, 6(4). https://translationjournal.net/journal/22legal.htm

Bartu, H. (2002). A Critical Reading Course. Boğaziçi University Press.

Birkan Baydan, E. & Karadağ, A. B. (2014). Literary Translation Workshop: Social Constructivist Approach Classroom Activities. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 152, 984–988. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.09.354

Brodaty, H., Mothakunnel, A., de Vel-Palumbo, M., Ames, D., Ellis, K., Reppermund, S. & Kochan, N. et al. (2014). Influence of population versus convenience sampling on sample characteristics in studies of cognitive aging. Annals of Epidemiology, 24(1), 63-71. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annepidem.2013.10.005

Büyüköztürk, Ş. (2002). Faktör analizi: Temel kavramlar ve ölçek geliştirmede kullanımı. [Factor analysis: Key concepts and their use in scale development]. Kuram ve Uygulamada Eğitim Yönetimi, (32), 470-483.

Çetiner, C. (2018). Analyzing the attitudes of translation students towards cat (computer-aided translation) tools. Journal of Language and Linguistic Studies, 14(1), 153-161.

Commeyras, M. (1990). Analyzing a critical-thinking reading lesson. Teaching and Teacher Education, 6(3), 201-214. https://doi.org/10.1016/0742-051X(90)90013-U

Crampton, R. J. (2005). A Concise History of Bulgaria. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511996870

Daiek, D. & Anter, N. (2004). Critical Reading for College and Beyond. McGraw-Hill.

Dörnyei, Z. (2007). Research Methods in Applied Linguistics. Oxford University Press.

Ennis, R. (1985). A logical basis for measuring critical thinking skills. Educational Leadership, 43(2), 44–48.

Facione, P. & Facione, N. (1992). The California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory Test Manual. The California Academic Press.

Facione, P. (1990). Critical Thinking: A Statement of Expert Consensus for Purposes of Educational Assessment and Instruction. The California Academic Press.

Facione, P. (2015). Critical thinking: What it is and why it counts. Insight Assessment 2015 (1), 1-29. [Original publication: 2007].

Field, A. (2013). Discovering Statistics Using SPSS. 4th ed. SAGE.

George, D. & Mallery, P. (1999). SPSS for Windows Step by Step: A Simple Guide and Reference. Allyn and Bacon.

Haffner, L. (1992). Translation is not enough. Interpreting in a medical setting. Western Journal of Medicine, 157(3), 255-259. https://doi.org/10.1075/z.56.39har

Hair, J., Anderson, R., Tatham, R. & Black, W. (1995). Multivariate Data Analysis. 4th ed. Prentice-Hall Inc.

Halpern, D. (1999). Teaching for critical thinking: Helping college students develop the skills and dispositions of a critical thinker. New Directions for Teaching and Learning 1999(80), 69-74. https://doi.org/10.1002/tl.8005

Jaaskelainen, R. (1999). Tapping the Process: An Explorative Study of Cognitive and Affective Factors Involved in Translating. University of Joensuu Publications in Humanities.

Kabat-Zinn, J. (2001). Mindfulness Mediation for Everyday Life. Piatkus Books.

Karasar, N. (2005). Bilimsel Araştırma Yöntemi [Scientific Research Method]. 15th ed. Nobel Yayın Dağıtım.

Kashirina, N. (2015). Psychology of translation: Critical and creative thinking. In Cui, Y. & Zhao, W. (Eds.). Handbook of Research on Teaching Methods in Language Translation and Interpretation. IGI Global (274-296). https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-4666-6615-3.ch015

Lipman, M. (1987). Critical thinking: What can it be?. Analytic Teaching, 8(1), 5-12.

Melville, C. (Ed.). (2012). Persian Historiography: A History of Persian Literature. I&B Tauris. https://doi.org/10.5040/9780755610426

Minson, J., Chen, F. & Tinsley, C. (2020). Why won't you listen to me? Measuring receptiveness to opposing views. Management Science 66(7), 3069-3094. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2019.3362

Moghaddas, M. & Khoshsaligheh, M. (2019). Implementing project-based learning in a Persian translation class: a mixed-methods study. The Interpreter and Translator Trainer, 13(2), 190-209. https://doi.org/10.1080/1750399X.2018.1564542

Mohseni, A. & Satariyan, A. (2011). The Relation between Critical Thinking and Translation Quality. Journal of Language and Translation, 2(2), 23-32.

Özdemir, S. M. (2005). Üniversite öğrencilerinin eleştirel düşünme becerilerinin çeşitli değişkenler açısından değerlendirilmesi. [Evaluation of university students' critical thinking skills based on various variables] Türk Eğitim Bilimleri Dergisi 3(3), 297-316.

Öztürk Kasar, S. & Tuna, D. (2017). Shakespeare in three languages: Reading and analyzing sonnet 130 and its translations in light of semiotics. IJLET International Journal of Languages' Education and Teaching, 5(1), 170-181. https://doi.org/10.18298/ijlet.1723

Öztürk Kasar, S. & Tuna, D. (2018). Üç dilde Shakespeare: Göstergebilimin ışığında 130. sone ile çevirilerini okumak ve çözümlemek [Shakespeare in three languages: Reading and analyzing sonnet 130 and its translations in light of semiotics]. International Journal of Languages' Education and Teaching, 6(1). 514-539. https://doi.org/10.18298/ijlet.2708

Paul, R. & Elder, L. (2012). The Thinker's Guide to Fallacies. Thinker's Guide Library.

Paul, R. & Elder, L. (2020). The Miniature Guide to Critical Thinking Concepts and Tools. 8th ed. Rowman & Littlefield.

Pirozzi, R. (2003). Critical Reading, Critical Thinking. A Contemporary Issues Approach. 2nd ed. Longman.

Ricœur, P. (2016). On Translation. Routledge

Saud, W. I. (2020). The Relationship between Critical Thinking and Translation Ability of EFL Undergraduate Students. International Journal of Social Sciences & Educational Studies 7(3), 19-28. https://doi.org/10.23918/ijsses.v7i3p19

Scriven, M. & Paul, R. (1987). Defining critical thinking. Paper Presented at The Foundation for Critical Thinking 8th Annual International Conference on Critical Thinking and Education Reform, Summer. Retrieved from: https://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/defining-critical-thinking/766

Shapiro, S. & Carlson, L. (2009). The Art and Science of Mindfulness: Integrating Mindfulness into Psychology and The Helping Professions. Washington: American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/11885-000

Shapiro, S. (2009). The integration of mindfulness and psychology. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 65(6), 555-560. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.20602

Shihab, I. A. (2011). Reading as critical thinking. Asian Social Science, 7(8), 209-218. https://doi.org/10.5539/ass.v7n8p209

Sriwantaneeyakul, S. (2018). Critical reading skills and translation ability of Thai EFL students: Pragmatic, syntactic, and semantic aspects. English Language Teaching, 11(4), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.5539/elt.v11n4p1

Tabachnick, B. & Fidell, L. (2013). Using Multivariate Statistics. 5th ed. Pearson Education.

Thistlethwaite, L. (1990). Critical reading for at-risk students. Journal of Reading, 33(8), 586-593.

Tuna, D. & Avaz, M. G. (2019). Analyzing, transmitting, and editing an Anatolian tale: A literary translation project as process. RumeliDE Journal of Language and Literature Studies, (S6), 533-554. https://doi.org/10.29000/rumelide.649353

Tuna, D. (2017). Revealing to translate: The intertextuality and strategic nature of voices, presuppositions and metadiscourse in a non-literary text. IJLET International Journal of Languages’ Education and Teaching, 5(3), 133-144. https://doi.org/10.18298/ijlet.2064

Whimbey, A., Lochhead, J. & Narode, R. (2013). Problem Solving & Comprehension. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203130810

Will, F. (1983). Translating the Conceptual. Babel 29(4), 214-221. https://doi.org/10.1075/babel.29.4.06wil