Integrating technologies in translation teaching: a study on trainers' perceptions

Abstract

In recent years, the language industry has undergone a technological revolution, and professionals are increasingly required to have strong technological knowledge and expertise. Undergraduate translation programmes have tried to adapt to these changing market demands, albeit at a much slower pace. However, there still seems to be a significant gap between the increasingly challenging technological demands of the translation market and training in translation technologies (TT) in university degree courses. A previous empirical study investigating the presence of technology in undergraduate translation module syllabi showed that there is little integration of TT into translation modules. This paper presents a follow-up study, the primary goal of which is to comprehensively describe this situation with the testimonies of a cohort of translation trainers in Spanish higher-education institutions at undergraduate level. We expect to contribute to the field by reporting on the challenges experienced by trainers who are trying to integrate technologies into their practical translation modules. Findings show that there is little integration of TT into the teaching methodology of translation modules. This is due, in most cases, to factors that are beyond trainers’ control.