Massimo Verzella
Assignments & Activities Archive
Assignment Description
This assignment is informed by a pedagogical tradition that emphasizes the connections between the fields of writing and translation (Matsuda; Horner and Tetreault), a connection that becomes even more relevant in technical communication (Gnecchi et al.; Petts et al.). Just like writing, translation is process-based, iterative, and responsive. By presenting writing as an iterative and collaborative process based on mediation, composition scholarship has incorporated concepts that have always been foundational in translation theory. Several tasks that translators need to complete also characterize the writing process: Understanding the purpose of a text, carefully analyzing the target audience, and reflecting on genre conventions are key steps in the translation process. It might be easier for students of composition to see how translation projects require professionals to follow a complex process. At that point an instructor can make the point that writing itself must follow a process. In addition, all forms of writing involve a negotiation with previous authors and texts. Reflecting on translation can help students see writing as the product of a conversation, rather than a solitary endeavor.
To help students of English composition reflect on translation and learn to collaborate with translators, I organized a virtual exchange (VE) project (O’Dowd, 2018). VE projects are an example of internationalization-at-home: on-campus initiatives that connect students from different countries. The simple fact of having Zoom conversations with non-native speakers of English can help students develop their intercultural communicative competence (Byram). As Helm and Guth argue, a crucial aim for VE projects (they use the alternative term Telecollaboration) is to encourage students to “communicate, collaborate, create and negotiate, effectively in multilingual, multicultural global networks using any number of languages” (p. 72).