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Spanish Translation Practice

Module description

The module is for inbound exchange students or international students working towards a C1 level of proficiency or above in Spanish and English. You will practice translating a range of text types from Spanish to English and from English to Spanish.

You will be taught alongside students of MLS3111, Advanced Spanish Language Skills.

Module aims - intentions of the module

The module aims to:

• enhance and develop further skills in the translation of the variety of texts from and into Spanish
• revise grammatical structures and to expand the range of expression including idiomatic usage
• introduce how to explain and justify translation decisions in a commentary
• develop transferrable skills in research, critical thinking and communication

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Apply a knowledge of a broad range of grammatical features of Spanish and English, including some complex or advanced structures
• 2. Tackle complex translation passages in and out of Spanish based on a wide range of topics in a variety of written styles
• 3. Explain and justify your translation decisions with reference to relevant research

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 4. Use bilingual and standard monolingual dictionaries to research conventions of usage, find synonyms and antonyms, and explore nuances of meaning.
• 5. Understand and use in class discussion a broad range of linguistic terminology to conceptualise your mistakes in the target language and to identify strategies for improving your linguistic accuracy
• 6. Engage critically with Spanish-language and English-language media (printed and electronic, including television and radio), using it as a resource for independent research

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 7. Advance your linguistic competence independently, with limited guidance (with potential for learning new languages independently in the future).

Syllabus plan

Whilst the content may vary from year to year, it is envisioned that it will cover some or all of the following topics:

• Practice of translation to and from Spanish
• Weekly in-class discussion of translation decisions and strategies.
• Revision of specific grammatical points emerging from the source texts e.g. use of prepositions, subordinate clauses and complex structures.

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Re-assessment notes

Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.

Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be required to submit a further assessment as necessary. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 40%.

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

Module booklets, available at the beginning of each term on ELE

• L Haywood, M Thompson, S Hervey, Thinking Spanish Translation (Routledge, 2013).
• J Butt, C Benjamin and A Moreira Rodríguez, A New Reference Grammar of Modern Spanish Sixth Edition, Routledge (2019)
• J Muñoz-Basols, M David and O Núñez Piñeiro, Speed up your Spanish. Strategies to avoid common errors. Routledge (2010)
• J Muñoz-Basols, Y Pérez Sinusía and M David, Developing Writing Skills in Spanish
• Routledge (2012)

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

• RAE monolingual dictionary: https://www.rae.es/
• Collins dictionary: https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english-spanish

Key words search

Spanish language, translation