Exploring College Translation Education: A Service-Learning Case Study

Cho?Woonik

【Abstract】College is a collaborative local institution role required for the residents. Consequently， Service Learning is one of the curricula that college education can contribute to local communities through College Translation Courses that can respond to questions about how to cooperate in the local industrial sector. Under the motto of Learning through Experience， this course can provide an innovative and integrated foundation for education to link the value of the relationship with local industrial sectors.

【Key words】self-initiative learning; service learning; cooperative learning; target language

【作者簡介】Cho Woonik， Department of English Interpretation and Translation， Busan University of Foreign Studies.

1. Introduction

The Service-Learning Course is a Learning-by-Doing-based course that aims to create a cooperative relationship with the local communities and universities and play a positive role as a mutual cooperative partner. As it rolls up， many local communities in Korea expect changes in the role of local universities， and require them to participate in social activities and educational contributions. This phenomenon of social change is basically due to the gradual aging of society， changes in industrial structure， and a decrease in the number of school-age people. In line with this change， B-University students have been carrying out educational talent donation activities in community programs. This case study aims to identify the satisfaction of participants who took part in the service training curricula and to give positive directions on how to develop further in the future.

2. Model and Procedure： Learning through Experience

As service learning classes are expanding， various models are being developed. Two of them are The Park Service Learning Model （Fertamn， 1966） and The Service Learning Cycle （Kolb， 1984） that describe the service learning model well and widely utilized as a guide. （1） Park Learning-Service Model， developed by Fertamn （1966）， consists of four stages： preparation， service activity， reflection and congratulation. （2）The Service Learning Cycle defines experience learning based on reflection from productive service learning experiences， and the stage of reflection is most paid attention. In a nutshell， the stage of reflection is a key procedure that should be creative critical skills to help prepare for， successfully perform， and learn， as well as to explore the context in which participants activity can take place， and to explore the larger expanded fields. Specifically it can be classified as pre-service reflection， reflection during service， and post service reflection. Simply put， reflection can be a stepping stone to reproduce into another creative and productive service learning area.

3. Glocal Service Learning through Translation approaches

Recently， many colleges have paid higher attention to Service Learning Course that can contribute to local communities. In line with this social phenomenon， a collegiate translation course of B-University has joined the service learning activity course that largely focuses on voice training programs of immigrants， educational coach programs to immigrant kids to succeed at school， and tandem-based English teaching and learning to local residents without reference to sex or age.

3.1 Voice Training Program to Adult Immigrants

Pronunciation is the first problem that immigrants face when they settle down and college interpretation and translation majors focus not only on Korean education but also on pronunciation correction for immigrants to communicate fluently.

Voice training coaches not only utilize a variety of audio-visual materials， but also perform pronunciation correction through daily dialogue in context.

3.2 Educational Coach to Immigrant Children to Succeed at School

As the number of labor immigrants increases in Korea， the education problem of immigrant children is becoming a major issue： how to coach them to succeed at school. In particular， their low language proficiency and cultural barriers have caused other educational challenges at school. To support their school work， translation majors play a coach role in supporting their successful school work.

In terms of cultural affective filter， many immigrant children face cultural challenges. Translation majors， therefore， develop a customized learning activity program that can attract the childrens interests and promote their motivation to become a member of the society including development of their four skills of target language to succeed at school without high affective filter.

3.3 Tandem-based English Teaching and Learning to local residents

Many retirees and seniors are interested in learning foreign languages as part of their lifelong education because of growing opportunities they can be exposed to differences. To meet this growing demand， a tandem-based program involving foreign students as well as various foreign language majors can be the answer.

Through this program， local residents can naturally be exposed to target language and culture. Due to a likelihood of high awareness of intercultural communication， their motivation increases and percentage of their social activity participation becomes high. More important is such residents can be empowered to make positive local cycles in harmony with immigrants.

4. Effect， Efficacy and New Direction of Service Learning Education

As it rolls on， modern society demands the organic role of local universities to participate in community activities and establish partnerships because of the aging of society and the need for lifelong education. In line with this phenomenon， the educational direction of B-University is quickly remodeled， and accumulated experiences of local service learning courses have produced a variety of positive outcomes： growth of participants satisfaction， strong ties and partnerships between B-University and local communities， and high percentage of local residents participation in lifelong education programs provided by the University.

With respect to further development of Service Learning Course as a learning by doing course， a wide range of courses that can contribute more to the community is another important task. A generation known as baby boomers is now retiring at a rapid pace. This huge social phenomenon is seriously approaching our society and it is inevitable for universities to provide a wide range of lifelong education courses to help them redesign their second half of life.

5. Conclusion

Service Learning Course has produced a variety of positive results： personal growth， intellectual development and high influence on their school learning， and social growth. It should also be noted that the course has a positive impact on the local community. Based on the survey of participants satisfaction， a few striking outcomes are found： The participants felt that they learned more than they taught， and both the school and the local have increased their awareness of the partnership. Conclusively， this learning-by-doing–based program can strengthen strong harmony partnership. In this light， local universities should be transformed into institutions that can meet social expectations by developing and providing a wide range of partnership-based educational courses.

References：

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