Translation Practice – A Means for Enhancing Student Employability

Abstract

Recent studies on employers' expectations regarding the language skills of their employees, as well as the language-related tasks the latter are expected to perform, show that translation activities are essential for everyday business operations. With this in mind, the paper aims to explore the benefits of using translation activities in developing ESP learners' language skills, as well as domain-specific knowledge, so as to meet the demands on the labour market. The case study describes the following steps: student exposure to minimal training in translation steps and strategies, classroom practice on excerpts from economic articles, home translations of full-length economic articles. Feedback exchange on classwork and homework points to the relevance of such activities embedded in Business English lessons: on the one hand, students increase their awareness of language and employability-related aspects; on the other hand, the teacher identifies best practice examples, apart from needs regarding remedial work.