LOOKING IN: REFLECTIONS OF OWN AND OTHER CULTURE IN THE LEARNING JOURNAL
LOOKING IN: REFLECTIONS OF OWN AND OTHER CULTURE IN THE LEARNING JOURNAL

Summary/Abstract: This study provides extracts from the students’ learning journals and discusses themes which emerged instudent learning journals in the areas of reflection of the two languages and cultures, considerations of the target reader and critical reflection of one’s own translation. The data shows that the learning journal in the translation classroom provides ample room for reflection of source and target culture, opening up doors for intercultural discussion and contemplation. Undergraduate students at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in Seoul, South Korea were asked to submit a final project for their Korean into English translation class. Students could choose between two texts which both contained culture-specific lexis. They were to work on the text as a group of two or three. The complete process from start to finish was to be recorded in a learning journal, with dates included. The completed project was to include a schedule plan for the project, translation drafts and the learning journal detailing the complete process. Results suggest a close relationship between the translation of CSL and intercultural competence (Byram, 2000) and the role of the learning journal in eliciting students’ reflection on aspects related to considerations of source and target text cultures.

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