Teaching translation in higher education in Taiwan : a needs analysis and action research approach

The significance of needs analysis in the development of language for specific purposes (LSP) has been well recognized in many countries. In the higher education settings in Taiwan, most studies with a needs analysis approach have been conducted to investigate English for General Purposes (EGP) instead of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) courses, such as translation studies courses.. Translation studies is seen as a significant facilitator of the nation’s competitiveness in a globalised economy, and has developed as a discipline considerably in the past two decades to answer the call from government for a response to globalisation. However, there is a lacuna in the literature and in practice about using needs analysis in planning Translation as an ESP course. The majority of the studies that focus on ESP courses, including Translation studies, end by discussing the results from the needs analysis without going further into the course design stage or investigating the learners’ feedback about a curriculum derived from needs analysis. Given the limited literature about Translation studies curriculum development in Taiwan and taking into account the students’ interests in a technological university context, this study aims to investigate whether students will learn effectively or perform better when taught with a curriculum which is derived from their needs. A needs analysis was conducted first to determine students’ needs, after that a curriculum which accommodated these needs with contents suggested by the students was implemented as an action research project. Data of various kinds – interviews, questionnaires, examination results, students’ reflection notes, teacher’s notes and journals – were collected during and at the end of the course to find out the students’ and the teacher’s perspectives towards such a curriculum. The findings indicated improvements both in the outcomes of the course – the students’ examination results – and in the process – students’ and teacher’s satisfaction with the materials and methods used. Being the so far only case study using a needs analysis and an action research approach in the field of translation studies in Taiwan, it is hoped that the findings of this study not only enhance the teacher’s professional developments, but also provide insights for other Translation teachers in Taiwan and possibly further afield.