In the name of Allah
Course: Testing and translation , M. A.
Mansoor Tavakoli, Associate professor
University of Isfahan, Department of English
E-mail: mr.tavakoli14@gmail.com
Class Meetings: Mondays 8:00/9:30
Semester: Spring 1395/2016
Course requirements and Grading system:
| Requirements | Grading |
| 1- Test development in translation | 10% |
| 2- Class attendance and lecture | 10% |
| 3- Course exam | 80% |
| Total | 100% |
Note1: For the practical application of the course, each student is expected to develop a fifty-item achievement test in English through translation and validate it.
Note2: You are required to complete all assigned readings before class (see syllabus, but additional materials may be distributed in class). Attendance and class participation are considered in your grade.
Note3: The deadline for submitting your testing project is exactly the date of final examination. All work must be handed in on the due date; late work will receive a grade reduction.
Objectives:
1. To provide a brief review of basic concepts and issues respecting measurement theories in language testing,
2. To familiarize M.A. students with functions, principles, and qualities of language tests.
3. To provide a conceptual framework for answering practical questions regarding the development and use of language tests through translation.
4. To provide MA. Students with some practical guidelines for how to develop Tests of translation.
Weekly Schedule for Testing and translation M.A. Spring 1395/2016
S1. Introduction to the course: Some fundamental questions
S2 & 3. Basic concepts in language testing:
Bachman (1990: Chap. 2).
Brown (2010: Chap1)
S4. Functions and uses of language tests:
Bachman (1990: Chap. 3).
Brown (2010: Chap1)
S5. Theories of language testing:
Brown (2010: Chap. 1)
S6. Testing and translation:
Angelelli & Jacobson (2009).
Hambleton et al. (2005: Chaps. 1 &2 ).
S7 & 8. Validity in language testing:
Brown (2010: Chap. 2)
Angelelli & Jacobson (2009).
S9 & 10. Reliability in language testing:
Brown (2010: Chap. 2)
Angelelli & Jacobson (2009).
S11. A framework of Test method facets:
Bachman (1990: Chap. 5).
S12, 13 & 14. Translation tests as a test of language proficiency:
Measuring Translation Competence Acquisition (Orozco et & Hurtado Albir, 2002).
Two types of translation tests: Their reliability and validity (Ito, 2004);
A process for translating achievement tests(Stansfield & Auchter, 2001);
L1-L2 sentence translation in classroom grammar tests (Salem 2012).
On the validity of a multiple-choice translation test as a substitute for an open-ended translation test in the Iranian university entrance examination, Ahmadi (2011).
Making Translation Testing More Teaching-oriented: A Case Study of Translation Testing in China, Li (2006).
S15. Ethics in language testing:
(Hambleton et al. 2005, Chaps. 3);
S16. Final remarks:
Required Sources
Books:
Angelelli, C. V. & Jacobson, H. E. (2009). Testing and Assessment in Translation and Interpreting Studies: A call for dialogue between research and practice. John Benjamins Publishing Company.
Bachman, L. (1990). Fundamental considerations in language testing. Oxford: OUP.
Brown, H. D. (2010). Language Assessment: Principles and Classroom Practices. 2nd edition, Pearson Education, Inc.
Hambleton, R. K. . Merenda, P. F. Spielberger, C. D. (2005). Adapting Educational and Psychological Tests for Cross-Cultural Assessment. LAWRENCE ERLBAUM ASSOCIATES, PUBLISHERS, Mahwah, New Jersey London.
Articles:
Ahmadi, A. (2011). On the validity of a multiple-choice translation test as a substitute for an open-ended translation test in the Iranian university entrance examination. Perspectives: Studies in Translatology, 19:4, 307-314.
Ito, A. (2004). Two types of translation tests: Their reliability and validity. System, 32, 395-405.
Li, D. (2006). Making Translation Testing More Teaching-oriented: A Case Study of Translation Testing in China. Meta vol. 51, n° 1, 2006, p. 72-88.
Orozco et, M. & Albir, A. H. (2002 ). Measuring Translation Competence Acquisition. Meta : Translators' Journal, vol. 47, n° 3, p. 375-402.
Salem, L. (2012). L1-L2 sentence translation in classroom grammar tests. ELTJournal Volume 66/2.
Stansfield C. and Auchter, J. (2001). A process for translating achievement tests. In Michael Milanovic, Nick Saville (Eds), Studies in Language Testing. Camgridge: CUP.
Good Luck