Challenges in Translation Teaching in the Iranian Context: An Ethnographic Study

Many studies can be found on translation teaching and students' perceptions of different classroom practices. However, few studies have focused on how translator trainers view the task at hand. In the present study, the researchers aimed to explore the challenges translator trainers faced during the act of teaching translation. The method applied in this research was ethnography. The participants were two female translator trainers who were teaching translation courses at one of the state universities in Isfahan. The researchers participated in their classes and closely observed translation courses for six months. In the field work, three different sources of information were used: the researchers’ field notes, the participants' diaries, and interviews. The challenges discovered are as follow: dictionary use, finding an equivalent and word selection, lack of facilities, students' reluctance, demotivation, and high expectation, unexpected situations, content knowledge and general information, students' general English proficiency, know-it-all students. At the end of this study, some implications and recommendations for further research were proposed to help experts in the field.