Student Opinions of Group Work in Translation Courses: An Examination within the Department of English Language and Literature (ELL)
Abstract
Collaborative translation is an important aspect of translator education, as the involvement of group work supports teamwork and fosters the development of critical and problem-solving skills. There is a link between group work and collaborative translation. This research investigates university students' attitudes towards group work in translation courses in the Department of English Language and Literature (ELL). With the help of this study, it will be understood to what extent the students are prepared for collaborative translation will be systematically evaluated. The study, conducted in the fall semester of 2024-2025 after getting approval from the ethics committee, used a questionnaire developed by Chan & Pheng (2018) and collected data from 60 students using a survey method. The results suggest that students generally perceive group work as beneficial for developing interpersonal competencies, particularly in areas such as communication, leadership, and time management. At the same time, several participants questioned whether collaborative tasks directly enhance their individual academic performance. Their responses also indicate recurring concerns related to the fairness of task allocation, the recognition of individual effort, and the distribution of responsibility within groups. Taken together, these findings point to the need for more structured group work practices in translation education and offer practical considerations for refining collaborative learning environments.
Keywords
group work, translation education, students' opinion, collaborative translation, collaborative learning
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