Marta Lisowska

Modeling the Evolution Stages of LSP Translation Communities of Practice at the level of BA Formal Education—a Case Study of English-Polish, Polish-English translation course.

The Functional social constructivist approach with its authentic or simulated teaching has recently been eagerly followed  at the academia for bridging the gap between formal education, and the market (Vienne, 1994, 2000; Risku, 2002, 2009; Klaudy 1994,  Kiraly2000,2002,2005, Biel 2011, Garant 2013). 

Little discussion, however, has been devoted so far to classroom-based translation teaching perceived in the light of social theory of learning with its meaning, practice, community, and identity (cf. Wenger 1998).

Taking from Wenger,  the author implies, that learning  becomes an issue of knowledge-sharing, engaging in and contributing to, and that the LSP Translation Trainees come as Peripheral Participants of the authentic Translation Community of Practice. The Novices through peripheral activities become familiarized with not only linguistic, discursive and field knowledge (e.g. information mining, technological competence), but also the know-how of professional functioning typical for the Translators-Practitioners Community.  Who are teachers? Who are other translation ‘gurus’? All of them belong to the Translators Community of Practice shared with the Students. They are indispensable to legitimize the Trainees. 

The empirical study of LSP translation teaching at BA level class presents the momentum when Students gain the legitimacy to become members of the Community of Practitioners.  Executing simulated bilingual translation companies through project work, facilitated by the teacher-translator, the Legitimate Peripheral Participants (cf. Wenger 1998) as the Trainees are, acquire crucial social skills, and translation competence (cf. EMT framework).

The emergent structure from peripheral position through ‘learning as transformation’ [cf. Mezirow 1991] is being modelled by: the Translators-Trainees themselves  (participation and self-reflection), the Teacher-Facilitator, and the Members of the real Communities of Translation Practice the Students communicate with online.

For assessing  the aforementioned evolution, the Trainees answer some research questions. Findings are gathered and discussed.