ERIC Number: EJ1216366
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2019-Jun
Pages: 16
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-1949-3533
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Translating Community Development Stories: When an EFL Writing Course Meets Service Learning
Chen, Cheryl Wei-yu
TESOL Journal, v10 n2 e00410 Jun 2019
Service learning has been widely applied across academic disciplines and educational settings for various purposes. This study involved a group of 24 Taiwanese students of English as a foreign language who helped a nonprofit organization translate community development stories and annual reports from English to Chinese. These documents were collected from the organization's branches all over the world and covered a wide range of topics related to community development. To collect data for the current study, a questionnaire for the upcoming service learning experience was conducted before students began their service work and a second questionnaire was administered after students finished their translation task. Students perceived the experience of working as volunteer translators quite positively and reported having gained a sense of achievement and more experiences and knowledge about other cultures, the translation process, comprehending materials written in nonstandard English, and unfamiliar issues and contexts. This article ends with suggestions for future research and integration of service learning into writing courses.
Descriptors: Writing Instruction, Second Language Instruction, Second Language Learning, English (Second Language), Service Learning, Foreign Countries, Translation, Chinese, Student Attitudes, Reading Comprehension
Wiley-Blackwell. 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148. Tel: 800-835-6770; Tel: 781-388-8598; Fax: 781-388-8232; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Taiwan
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A

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