Fostering self-reflection in translation students: The value of guided commentaries

The objective of this paper is to examine students’ understanding of the processes involved in translation if they are asked to write self-reflections on the strategies and procedures that they have employed and to submit these with their translations. The material analyzed in this study comprises retrospective, guided commentaries submitted during two terms by a group of undergraduate students studying translation. The results indicate that commentaries can foster heightened self-awareness of several aspects of the process, such as initial reading and revision. It is argued that the design of instructions for commentaries, including their variation and built-in progression, is of great importance for process-oriented translation teaching and deserves further experimental study.