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AWEJ Volume. 3 Number. 1 March,2012 pp.201-222
University of Helsinki, Finland
University of Helsinki, Finland
Over the past 10 years, there has been a great deal of research on how Information and
Communication Technology (ICT) has affected Translation education. This paper presents a
study about use of ICT practices among undergraduate English translation students at the
University of Helsinki. It tests the hypothesis: While translating, contemporary English
translation students at the University of Helsinki rely primarily on the Internet for reference
material. A mixed method was utilized in this paper. A quantitative methodology involving
questionnaires with a 5-point Likert scale was used to gather data in 2010. Qualitative data
was also gathered in the form of detailed answers that some respondents wrote on their
questionnaires. Results suggest that a major shift in Translation Studies has occurred and
contemporary Western learners rarely use the library or printed sources when doing their
translations. Instead, they tend to use the Internet which is more closely related to training
future translators for real world tasks.
Juha Eskelinen is a lecturer and a Ph.D. student of English translation. He graduated from the Department of English Translation, University of Helsinki in 2000, and has been teaching translation and ICT of translation in the University of Helsinki since 2004. He currently holds the position of University teacher. His research interests include translator education and pedagogy, LSP, expertise studies and blended learning.
Dr. Mikel Garant is originally from Tennessee and has been teaching Translation at the University of Helsinki since 1996. His scholarly books and articles have concentrated on Innovations in English Translation Education and English Language Teaching (ELT), LSP, Japanese, American and Finnish Studies and as well as Business and Organizational Communication. He holds the position of Docent and Senior Lecturer of English Translation at the University of Helsinki. He earned his B.A. in Political Science at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, his M.Sc. at Aston University, Birmingham, England and his doctorate in Organizational Communication at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland and has been a Japanese National Scholar at Nara University of Education and Osaka University. He has been a visiting professor at many institutions all over the world