Arab World English Journal
AWEJ Volume. 3 Number. 1 March,2012 pp.201-222
Information Retrieval among Undergraduate English Translation Students
at the University of Helsinki
Juha Eskelinen
University of Helsinki, Finland
Mikel Garant
University of Helsinki, Finland
Abstract
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.
Keywords: Translation education, parallel texts, translation