GER30130

Learning Outcomes:

On successful completion of this module students should be able to

- Produce fluent and idiomatic translations from a range of complex and specialised German-language texts;
- Understand some of the issues in Translation Studies;
- Analyse the source text in order to better comprehend it semantically and stylistically;
- Benefit from productive peer collaboration;
- Work critically with dictionaries and online tools, Gen AI;
- Subtitle short audiovisual excerpts;
- Comment on and post-edit existing translations.

Indicative Module Content:

The module looks at three different text-types:
Weeks 1-3: Current affairs
Week 4-7: Commercial or consumer-oriented texts
Weeks 9-12: Cultural and literary texts including media subtitling

Class activities include collaboration on different translations, explanations of and exercises practising certain grammatical points and stylistic issues (e.g. reported speech, nominalisation, collocation, modal particles, dictionary work), some shadow and consecutive interpreting, as well as the introduction via short lectures to the basic concepts of translation theory. There may also be a talk from a professional translator who will provide an insight into translation as a career.

UNESCO highlights a set of key competencies that support individuals in their development and support society in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UCD has adapted these competencies and is combining them with others to form a general framework of learning competencies. This module will help you develop the competencies below to the levels specified. 

The United Nations identified seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as core to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and UCD contributes in general to SDG 4 Quality Education. Further SDGs explored within this module if relevant are listed below. A scale of 1 - 5 indicates the extent to which the SDG is covered.


 

Student Effort Hours:

Approaches to Teaching and Learning:

In order to benefit from the learning experience, students need to attend fully and participate actively. Students are expected to work consistently and independently outside of class time, and engage with the tasks and material on Brightspace.
The classes largely follow a workshop-style model structured around task-based learning, individual and group work, and peer-review. Discussion boards or Google docs may be used as a way of sharing and peer-reviewing translations or exercises carried out during class - some of which will be done individually, others collaboratively.
A few classes will contain short lecture-type presentations (to introduce translation theory, different grammatical and stylistic points), but most are workshop format and hands-on.
Weekly formative homework is integral to the module and homework submitted on time will be given individual feedback. You should do these independently, without being tempted to use online dictionaries extensively, or to consult Google translate or Chat GPT. Remember that you will have no aids in the exam or class test, although a brief glossary of the more tricky terms will be supplied. You are encouraged to keep vocabulary lists during the module, and short formative vocabulary tests will feature, drawing on the texts covered in class or for homework.

AI Use in this Module
AI will be used as a learning tool, where it benefits the learning process and within academic integrity guidelines. Having done the translations ourselves, we will evaluate and critique AI versions. Effective evaluation of AI can naturally only take place when one has a very good standard of German. We will refer to the AI assessment scale in the Faculty Guidelines (this will be made available) that has been adapted by the Arts & Humanities Teaching & Learning Committee, modelled on the traffic light scale (red, amber, green) that was initially developed by the AI Futures project: https://www.ucd.ie/artshumanities/study/aifutures/

Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Learning Requirements:

All students must have a very good standard of German (European Common Framework B2 level) and students of German at UCD should have passed both level 2 German language modules.

Learning Recommendations:

Students should have a good command of written English.

This module is suitable for visiting students with native or near-native competence in English.

Module Requisites and Incompatibles

Not applicable to this module.
 

Assessment Strategy

As part of UCD's student support, under the Additional Consideration policy, extensions may be available for the following assessments in the module: Assignment (including essay/poster), Portfolio, Reflective Assignment, Report(s), and Individual Project.

 

Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 

Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment
• Group/class feedback, post-assessment
• Peer review activities
• Self-assessment activities

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Regular formative homework exercises submitted on time via Brightspace will get individual feedback. Students will also compare and peer review translations done in class. All assessed pieces of work are graded according to rubrics that equally weight comprehension and transfer of the original (German) and expression in the target language (English).

Highly recommended as an entertaining and informative introduction to the art of translation:

David Bellos, "Is that a Fish in your Ear? The amazing adventure of translation" (London: Penguin, 2012)

Timetabling information is displayed only for guidance purposes, relates to the current Academic Year only and is subject to change.