Teaching through translation can bring many rich benefits to students but presents many challenges. This and a short article are an adaptation of material I present on from the text, Teaching across Cultures (Shaw, 2021, used with permission), which provides guidelines and advice to instructors for maximizing clarity of communication and quality of student learning through the translation process.
Understanding the Translation Process
The starting point for teaching through translation is to understand that quality translation aims to transfer meaning in context. It is not just a matter of word transference from one language to another. Translation seeks to bring whole concepts from one language to another. Consequently, a translator must personally understand the material in order to translate well. Word-for-word correspondence is rare between languages, and as you teach, you need to find a pathway for getting the whole idea across to the translator and in turn to the students.
A number of common linguistic features are worth noting:
- Sentence structure varies from language to language. For example, in Arabic the sentence begins with the verb, while in English it tends to start with a noun as the subject. Other languages place the verb at the end of the sentence. Some languages embed pronouns into the verb. Consequently, it is rarely adequate to give a translator a clause or half an idea if they are to translate accurately.
- Many languages do not have prefixes and suffixes. Be particularly careful when you use long words with multiple prefixes and suffixes or create words with prefixes or suffixes. Your translator may need to unpack the complex word through a whole explanatory sentence.
- Prepositions are the most difficult part of a language to master. Each language has its own idiosyncratic way of using prepositions. For example, while in English we are “near to” something, while in Arabic you are “near from” something, and there are Arabic prepositions such as عن (ʿn) that have no English equivalent.
- Many languages give a gender to every noun, and in some languages, the verb also has gender. In many languages, adjectives and nouns need to match in gender. If you come from a language where gender is a relatively insignificant component of the language, the impact of this issue may be overlooked. For example, if you say “my friend” is it a male friend or a female friend? The difference in gender may impact nouns, adjectives, and verbs in the sentence.
Awareness of the basic grammatical structure of the host language is very helpful for quality translation to take place.
The Instructor-Translator Relationship
Keep in mind that the translator is the “bridge” between you and the students. Consequently, good translation is founded on trust between the instructor and the translator. It is important to establish a friendly relationship between the instructor and the translator. Having a meal together in advance enhances the quality of translation and gives you the opportunity to talk through the translation dynamics. If you teach a second or third time with the same translator, you will discover that your particular ways of thinking have become known and the translation process will run more smoothly. The translator learns to anticipate what you are thinking and where you are going, and this smooths the translation process.
You should stay close enough to your translator so they can hear you and you can hear them. Try not to offend your audience by looking or speaking to the translator. Look at the students not the translator.
When the translator has studied in the field this will smooth the translation process. If the translator doesn’t know the field, you will need to be more patient. It is helpful to ascertain the translator’s academic background and areas where they may be comfortable or not comfortable.
Before you Begin
Quality teaching through translation needs preparation. It makes a difference for the translator to have even a clear outline of your lesson in advance. It is particularly helpful to clear the flow of your thinking and the main words you are using. The outline also helps you communicate more clearly and systematically. Translators have great difficulty translating for instructors who meander or who do not seem to have a clear understanding of where they are going in their teaching; the translation becomes disjointed and the audience rapidly gets lost.
Be aware that different translators have different translation styles. It is crucial that you agree in advance with your translator the preferred approach. In particular, you should determine the preferred approach to “blocking” the material: some translators prefer to go sentence by sentence blocks while others prefer larger blocks which are more idea by idea.
You should also take time to talk about the general process in advance with the translator, and the respective roles you both play in the class. If the translator is an experienced instructor at the school, you may wish to give greater freedom to them to play a teaching role in the process. If the translator is younger or less experienced, you will probably need to take a stronger hand in classroom dynamics.
Presenting your Material
As you present the material in class, the most essential principle is to use simple language as much as possible. If you need to use complex vocabulary or technical words, you should define or explain the terms you use or offer an alternative term before asking the translator to translate. The definition or explanation can help the translator choose the right word. Examples of what the word might mean in practice are also very helpful.
Give technical words to the translator in advance so that they have the opportunity to look up options for translation of technical words. You cannot expect the translator to have your level of expertise in the field; otherwise they would be teaching the course – not you! Often words that are transferred directly from language to language are of the more technical variety and will need explanation. For example, simply because the European term “metaphysics” is also used as is in Arabic, does not necessarily mean that students will understand the meaning. When using technical terms such as these, you should check whether the students understand the meaning, and if they don’t understand the meaning, then you should clarify. Words with several meanings should be avoided whenever possible.
Speak in nuggets of complete thought. Short sentences with meaning are the best. Shorter sentences are less exhausting for the translator. However, don’t cut an idea in two: a longer sentence which gives the whole idea is preferable to a short sentence with only half an idea. Translated phrases do not generally convey meaning. Simply translating words does not translate meaning. You should not be afraid to repeat yourself. In translation this can often bring greater clarity.
Allow time for the translator to finish what they are saying before starting to speak again. Don’t resume your teaching simply because the translator has paused: the translator might still be figuring out how to best express what you’ve said.
Learning a few phrases of the local language helps build rapport with your listeners. However, you should only use these phrases at the beginning or end of the talk. Suddenly using poorly pronounced local phrases can confuse your translator because they are expecting one language, and then hear another. Or they might think that you are still speaking your own language because you have misinterpreted theirs so badly (Dahlfred, 2011).
You need to agree in advance with your translator as to how much freedom they have to expand on what you say for clarity. This is particularly an issue for translators who are already knowledgeable in your field. You don’t want to be losing a substantial amount of time with the translator doing extensive elaboration of your material. On the other hand, there are times when it is best to give a brief summary to your translator and let them do the bulk of the “teaching.”
Most importantly, be willing to laugh at yourself. Misunderstanding is bound to happen at some point during the translation process and not taking yourself too seriously goes a long way towards building rapport with your listeners.
In the next article on teaching through translation you will be given some ideas on classroom discussion through translation, what to avoid, engaging with simultaneous rather than consecutive translation, and some final words of advice in the journey of effective teaching through translation.
Perry Shaw is Honorary Research Associate at Morling College (Sydney, Australia), and author of Transforming Theological Education. Prior to moving to Australia, Perry and his family taught in the Middle East from 1990-2019.
References:
Shaw, P. 2021. Communication, language, and cross-cultural teaching. In P. Shaw, C. Lopes, J. Feliciano-Soberano, & B. Heaton, Teaching across Cultures: A Global Christian Perspective (Carlisle: Langham, 2021), 47-62.
Dahlfred, K. 2011. Ten tips on teaching through translation. Blog posted at https://www.dahlfred.com/en/blogs/gleanings-from-the-field/440-ten-tips-on-teaching-through-translation.