Enseignement du F.L.E pour les etudiants de traduction

Abstract

Translation is an art as well as a science. The artistic side consists of the ability of the translator to reiterate, rewrite, re-express the sayings, the writings and the expressions of another person in another language. It is the talent of going into his mind and understand his ideas and intensions so as to render them as faithful as possible. It is the art of playing the dual role of a reader and a writer. However, the scientific side of translation is all those acquisitions related to this discipline, such as translation techniques, translation methodologies, and mainly language training since translation is nothing more than a lingual medium of communication because it is a passage from one language into another. This passage also includes the extra lingual charge that the language carries. Thus, we confirm the close relationship between translation and the field of foreign language teaching, this one is a primordial step before proceeding to translation training, because, after all, without being fluent in, at least, two languages, translation becomes impossible or even utopian. Hence, we have departed from the scientific side of translation to carry out our research about teaching foreign languages (French in particular) for the future translators, i.e. those who are studying translation. Translation departments in Algeria provide different modules of languages where Arabic is the mother tongue besides other foreign languages. Lot of researches concerned with the relationship between translation and either experimental or human sciences have been made. Further, we aimed, in this work (which is part of the domain of foreign language teaching) to remind that translation is, above all, a science related to linguistics. In this context, we tried to enrich the researches and studies in the field of translation by a work entitled: “Teaching French as a Foreign Language to translation’s students: translation department of Batna university as an example”. We have choosing this theme given that every year, translation departments all over the country, confer hundreds of students bachelor’s degree in translation. Those students are, as a rule, oriented towards the profession of translator. Yet, only a minority is worthy to practice this profession, considering the low level in foreign languages. This observation led us to reconsider the issue of translator training in Algeria, particularly concerning foreign languages. But, seeing that it is not feasible to cover all the languages taught in translation curriculum, (this requires a rather more detailed and deeper research) we have opted for the French language as it is: - The first foreign language in Algeria, it occupies a privileged social as well as scholastic status. - The first foreign language, mandatory, studied in the branch of translation; the second foreign language differs from one department to another; for example Dutch or Italian are the third languages taught in translation departments of Oran and Algiers. Also, the researches regarding the didactics of translation, or language teaching in relation to the translation (the case of our research), are scarce within the Graduate School of Translation (Ecole Doctorale de traduction); most researches are rather interested to topics directly related to the act and process of translation. That is why we tried to make a modest contribution in the field of didactics. On that account, we have, in this work, tried to review the place of French in the curriculum of the degree in translation. In other words, we have, first, studied the teaching of French as a Foreign Language for students of translation, to determine which French is actually taught to these students and which French must, in fact, be taught. Secondly, we have considered the relationship between the module of “FLE” and the modules of translation French / Arabic / French. The aim of our study is threefold: the exposure of the state, with all the imperfections it contains, and to emonstrate the effect of “FLE” module on translation modules, and finally propose a new learning situation for teaching French as a foreign language to the students of translation; The first objective of our research is the presentation of the current situation of the teaching “FLE” in the Departments of translation. This step involves the presentation of the curriculum proposed by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research which we projected onto the program adopted by the translation department of the University of Batna. This projection shows the differences between "the expected" and "the real." Regarding the second objective (to study the relationship between the module of FFL and translation modules), it is to compare students’ marks and not the content of the module (the latter may be the subject of another study). The objective is to deduce whether a good level of FLE leads, necessarily, to a good level in French translation either in theme or version. We have, later, relied on the "expected" (which is the curriculum proposed by the ministry) to address the observed differences by offering an alternative curriculum compatible with the main lines of the ministerial curriculum, which is the experimental field of our research. This was our third goal. Indeed, no one denies that the mastery of languages is a necessary condition for the practice of translation, but what is problematic is how to teach these languages for a future translator. Since we focus, in our theme, on the French language, we attempted to answer the following question: « which French language should be taught to a translator? ». This issue revolves around three pillars namely: -What? : We centre, in this phase, on the curriculum of French language taught in translation departments. In response to this question, we distinguish in our work, three types of courses: the first is “the expected” which is the one proposed by the Ministry of guardianship. The main points seen in the first year are: - The introduction of language skills. - The observation of language phenomena. - Provide the students with as much rules of language as possible. According to this program, the language is considered as a set of rules. It allows the student to be introduced with those rules, which is essential but not sufficient in language training. Second year program aims to deepen the linguistic practices and scientific knowledge in the field of language which the student has acquired in the first year. This consists of: - The intensification and deepening of language skills. - The passage from the simple observation of language phenomena into their analysis. - The introduction of authentic texts - The strengthening of language skills by new linguistic knowledge. i.e. to move from a quantitative level to a qualitative one. - Progressing from the simple rules to more complex ones. - Monitoring the students on how to approach texts and motivate them to produce oral and written speeches in order to improve their level. - Promoting language proficiency of the students. We note that the second year program stimulates the students to develop skills of analysis and expression. It focuses on the comprehension rather than the expression which occupies only a small portion of this program. The module of “PLF”, taught in the third year, includes the following axes: - The detailed study of contemporary linguistic methods. - The scientific analysis of linguistic texts. - The study of rhetorical phenomena. - The study of stylistic phenomena through texts. - The presentation of modern disciplines that deal with language, such as semantics, pragmatics and syntactic sciences… - To teach students the techniques of understanding. - Focusing on “the genius of the language”, to highlight the distinctions between the different styles of expression. The student, in the third year of his graduation, goes deeply in the analytical study of language, based on his previous knowledge of modern language theories. He also deals with communication in the module of “PLF” considering the language as means of communication rather that a set of rules. Thus, he is trained to use various linguistic phenomena such as stylistic and rhetoric, so as to master, more and more, the four language skills. The fourth year “PLF” module is a complement of the one studied during the previous years. It comprises: - The identification expression’s mistakes committed by the student to enable him to avoid them. - Learning good manners of expression. - Improving students’ language performance. - The translation of idioms. - Teaching the way to overcome the syntaxes’ difficulties. - Attract students' attention on the importance of rhetoric and stylistic aspects in language intercommunication. By the end of the last year of graduation, the student of translation is supposed to master all language skills. But, we notice that the fourth year program focuses on expression more than on comprehension, since the latter had been widely approached in the previous years. The second point that answers the question related to what is taught in “PLF” module is “the real program”; that is, the curriculum adopted by the translation department of Batna. After having a look at its content and after observing some samples of the exams we deduced that: The first year program is nothing more than a review of what the student studied in the secondary school. The studied axes have no relationship linking each other. They are, also, not supported by oral or written expression’s activities whether through the tutorial or the exams. Starting from the second year, we notice that the lessons of the first year are being repeated, which inhibits the student as well as the teacher. This makes us feel the lack of coordination between the teachers. What is observed in the second year exams is that some teachers are preparing tests which are not relevant to the lessons provided, some of which are close to those directed to students of secondary phase (the study of texts). This is due to the fact that most of the teachers are contractors belonging to this phase (secondary). Such courses and examinations do not reflect the real level of the students in PLF. This situation, which is not very favorable to learning and which is far from being adequate for a translator’s training is due to the lack of supervision and monitoring by the educational service of the department. The last part dealing with the curriculum of “FFL” is the one we will propose to correct the imperfections observed in the actual program while resuming the main lines of the first. We should notice here that the proposed reforms touched not only the content of the “FFL” module but also the entry requirements and the allotted time. - How? : This point deals with the methodology used for teaching FFL. This will be divided into two parts: one is theoretical and includes the methodologies of teaching/learning FFL such as: the grammar-translation method, the direct method, the active method, the audio-oral method, the audiovisual method, the communicative approach and finally, the eclecticism. The other part is practical, deduced from a questionnaire given to “PLF” teachers, and exposes different sides of the didactic situation in the “FFL” classroom at the translation department of Batna. It comprises: - The kind of lessons and the way to provide them. - The objectives of the “FFL” lesson. - The relationship between the teacher and the student and their role and place in the didactic situation. - The evaluation of the student’s level. - Teacher’s point of view towards the student’s mistakes. - The use of translation to explain the lessons, and the focus on the foreign culture. - The allotted time to student’s questions. - The target language competencies. - Consistency and cooperation between the “FFL” teachers, and between them and the translation (Arabic-French-Arabic) teachers. - The methodologies known and used. Regarding the results of the questionnaire, we deduced that the most-used methodology is the eclecticism. We also deduce that, even the teachers are facing some pedagogical and material obstacles; they are doing their best to manage the classroom as well as the possibilities permit. - Why? : In other words: what knowledge is supposed to be mastered at the end of the training? This will be outlined in the curriculum that we suggest. Our study was therefore organized into two parts: theoretical and practical each one divided into two chapters. The first chapter of the theoretical part presents the key terms we will encounter along this study, while the second chapter is dedicated to the history and methodologies of teaching French as a foreign language through the time and the place axis. While the two chapters of the practical part respectively comprise: - The presentation of the didactic situation in the classroom of FLE in the translation department of Batna, through the analysis of a questionnaire given to teachers of French language training module. - The exploration of the PLF and French-Arabic and Arabic-French marks which determine the relationship between these modules, they define, therefore, the impact of PLF module on French translation modules .We concluded this second chapter of the practical part by the design of a program we have found, in our humble opinion, adequate for training future translators. According to our analytic study, we concluded the following:  There is no relationship between the level of translation s students in PLF and their level in translation French-Arabic-French. This is due to the incoherence between what is taught in those modules.  The content of the PLF module does not, really, fit the needs of a future translator. That is why the translation training in Algeria must be reformed. One way of this reform is to replace the classical training by the "LMD" system, where the student can follow an intensive training in foreign languages during the first two years then be introduced, in the third year to the sciences related to general translation such as translation methodologies, translation techniques, translation theories... After obtaining the license, the student can continue the studies in specialized translation for two years which will allow him to move in his career path. This phase will culminate in a Master in professional translation. The student will be ready to exercise his profession after acquiring language skills as well as professional background. This was the platform of the "LMD" translation; however, the ministry decided to affiliate translation to the post-graduation of Foreign Languages, provided that the students master several languages and pass an entrance examination. This condition has been established to select only the "best" and so raise the level of a corporation whose formation is seen in perpetual decline. Whatever the proposed alternatives, the goal remains the same: to train an elite, highly qualified, worthy of the responsibilities entrusted to a translator.