Promoting Students’ Autonomy in Learning with Information Technology

【Abstract】The advance of information technologies has provided educational reform with favorable material conditions and means of support. This paper is an attempt to suggest some methods to promote students autonomy in translation learning with the help of information technology and point out some aspects to be paid attention to while doing so.

【Key words】autonomous learning； translation teaching； information technology

1. Introduction

In recent years， the study and practice of integrating autonomous learning with information technology has been prevalent. This paper discusses the methods and benefits of cultivating students autonomy in translation learning through a case study and points out the important aspects which should be paid attention to when conducting such practice.

2. Concept of autonomous learning and its significance

It has been over thirty years since the concept of “autonomy” was introduced into the field of foreign language education. An autonomous learner is capable of setting goals and objectives， choosing material， methods and tasks， carrying out and evaluating his/her work/learning. Learners are able to make significant decisions about what is to be learned， as well as how and when to learn it. Recommending autonomous learning of a foreign language reflects the need of realizing the objectives of modern education， which focus on the improvement of people's ability and overall quality. In addition， recommending autonomous learning of a foreign language also accords with individual learner's difference， such as the learning styles and tactics of an individual student.

3. Case study of promoting autonomous learning in translation teaching with information technology

I have been making attempts to develop the students autonomy in the teaching activities of translation classes with the help of information technology. My efforts have proved to yield a certain good result， and are acclaimed by a lot of students. Let me introduce the practice process of the whole teaching experiment.

Subjects of teaching： freshmen majoring in landscape architecture

Contents for teaching： English to Chinese/Chinese to English translation of professional texts.

Objectives of teaching： To enhance the students ability to translate professional texts by analyzing English and Chinese articles of landscape architecture and probing into translation techniques. Translation tasks are assigned to students to cultivate their autonomy in foreign language learning.

Teaching periods： 12.

After-class preparation time： determined and scheduled by students.

Study task： students could search the internet for an English/Chinese professional text of about two hundred to three hundred words， the difficulty of which was recommended to be at medium level. After the search and download， students were required to translate the text into the target language. After the students had handed in their digital written homework， the teacher encouraged some students to present an oral presentation and share their homework in class， thus achieving the goal of learning through interaction and exchange.

Teaching procedure：

1） The teacher introduced in class technical terms and basic skills of translation and recommended related materials for the students reference.

2） The teacher explained the task of learning， helped the students to confirm the scope of materials they should search for and coordinated the students' range of selection to avoid overlap in the topic and content of texts to be translated.

3） The teacher required the students to spend time finishing their own translation after class. During this process， the teacher encouraged them to help each other through exchange of information and ideas， or forming cooperative study group. At the same time， if required， the teacher gave proper guidance to individual students via QQ or WeChat.

4） After the students submitted the written homework through E-mail， the teacher organized the students to make oral presentations， show their own homework， exchange ideas and share views with one another. The teacher participated in the discussion and made additional remarks， summarization and appraisals.

In the whole process of teaching， the teacher trained intentionally the students' ability and consciousness of being autonomous in learning. At the same time， the teacher constantly adjusted his or her role as a guide， cooperator， supervisor and assessor. Most of the students handed in PowerPoint homework， some even furnishing the files with sound or video clips. Multimedia presentation made the study process and exchange among students more vivid， better for information input. Some electronic texts that some students submitted could also be selected as valuable education resources.

Summary and Discussion：

By the application of the above-mentioned teaching activity， students become more proactive and independent. Secondly， students' selection of translation materials is more suitable and closer to their specialty and interest， which not only adds to the amount of contents in class， but also improves the liveliness of teaching. It greatly increases their enthusiasm in learning， widens their vision， and is helpful to their accumulation of technical terms and understanding of the differences between two language versions. Furthermore， it helps students to find out and acquire some translation skills by themselves. Thirdly， teaching translation with information technology presents a unique opportunity for teacher-student interaction， which is apt to unleash the students' potential of associating and being creative in thinking. All this in turn improves their initiative of studying.

4. Aspects to be paid special attention to

Teachers must pay special attention to the following points when training students to study dependently with the help of information technology： first， teachers must take the actual situation into good consideration and design proper study tasks with a clear goal in mind， to cultivate students awareness of autonomy in learning； second， teachers should also rapidly adjust him/herself between the different roles in teaching， timely guild and help their students to accomplish the task of studying at each stage， and progressively lead their students and train their ability of being autonomous in learning； third， in order to cultivate a steady and long-term habit of autonomy among students， teachers should constantly study further the mechanism of such methods， they should also make conscientious measurement and analysis on the learning styles and tactics of different students， so as to help their students find the best applicable way for independent learning and to fulfill different study tasks.

5. Conclusion

Promoting autonomous learning with information technology stimulates students enthusiasm and initiative in translation studies. Translation teachers should adjust themselves between different roles to help students develop autonomous learning habits while constructing comprehensive ability of translation.

Reference：

[1]周惠清.对高职英语翻译网络教学的探究[J].教育与职业，2010（23）：123-124.

[2]杨大霑.论翻译教学中学生自主学习能力的培养途径[J].教育与职业，2011（3）：115.116.

[3]王峰，李丽.信息环境下自主翻译学习的设计与实证分析[J].中国远程教育，2012（1）：58-62.

作者简介：倪宇红（1972.10-），女，硕士，副教授，主要研究方向英语语言文学与英语教学。