Translation in university foreign-language curricula as transferable generic learning. Challenges for pedagogy and research

Since the 1990s, the study of translation at university level has expanded exponentially, both in terms of translator training programs and as a component of foreign-language curricula. This paper concentrates on the latter in particular, discussing the polarized tendency, at work in certain environments, towards narrowly philological approaches on the one hand and narrow vocationalism on the other. Special focus is then placed on an approach to translation pedagogy assumed to mitigate this polarization. At its core is an understanding of translation as transferable generic learning, i.e. as an activity that provides access to a range of widely applicable skills and attributes. After a brief contextualization of these learning outcomes, the suggested approach is discussed in terms of the challenges it poses to both implementation and empirical study, and then a tentative agenda for future research is attempted.