research about translation problems

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Strategies for overcoming language barriers in research

Allison squires.

1 Rory Meyers College of Nursing, New York University, New York City, New York

2 School of Medicine, New York University, New York City, New York

Tina Sadarangani

Simon jones.

3 Population Health, School of Medicine, New York University, New York City, New York

AS, TS and SJ: Made substantial contributions to conception and design, or acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data. AS, TS and SJ: Involved in drafting the manuscript or revising it critically for important intellectual content. AS, TS and SJ: Given final approval of the version to be published. Each author should have participated sufficiently in the work to take public responsibility for appropriate portions of the content. AS, TS and SJ: Agreed to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

This paper seeks to describe best practices for conducting cross-language research with individuals who have a language barrier.

Discussion paper.

Data Sources

Research methods papers addressing cross-language research issues published between 2000–2017.

Implications for Nursing

Rigorous cross-language research involves the appropriate use of interpreters during the research process, systematic planning for how to address the language barrier between participant and researcher and the use of reliably and validly translated survey instruments (when applicable). Biases rooted in those who enter data into “big data” systems may influence data quality and analytic approaches in large observational studies focused on linking patient language preference to health outcomes.

Cross-language research methods can help ensure that those individuals with language barriers have their voices contributing to the evidence informing healthcare practice and policies that shape health services implementation and financing. Understanding the inherent conscious and unconscious biases of those conducting research with this population and how this may emerge in research studies is also an important part of producing rigorous, reliable, and valid cross-language research.

• This study synthesized methodological recommendations for cross-language research studies with the goal to improve the quality of future research and expand the evidence-base for clinical practice.
• Clear methodological recommendations were generated that can improve research rigor and quality of cross-language qualitative and quantitative studies.
• The recommendations generated here have the potential to have an impact on the health and well-being of migrants around the world.

1. INTRODUCTION

Global migration has reached unprecedented levels in human history in the twenty-first century, with 3.3% of the world’s population having migrated internationally and 740 million people have migrated in their own countries ( International Organization for Migration, 2017 ). Medical tourism is also on the rise and language concordance is not always a guarantee between nurses and their patients in those cases ( Kanchanachitra et al., 2011 ; Reitig & Squires, 2015 ). For nurses and other healthcare researchers, migration creates a common challenge for healthcare research: language barriers.

Individuals with language barriers present new opportunities and challenges for researchers seeking to strengthen the evidence-base for clinical nursing practice and education around the world. Research with this population is also critical for understanding health outcomes, how individuals who have moved countries access (or the barriers to) health services and developing and testing effective strategies for health literacy promotion to name a few. Research will also help ensure that individuals with language barriers do not face discrimination in their health systems and subsequently develop costly health disparities.

It is surprising, however, how many researchers do not minimize the threats to research rigor posed by language barriers with their subjects. Patient and health services focused research on language barriers has historically been lacking and limited to a small group of researchers globally, even as incentives for such research have appeared in many countries ( Schwei et al., 2016 ). In the case of nursing, the literature has focused more on researching the language skills (or lack thereof) of internationally educated nurses rather than their patients ( Allan & Westwood, 2016 ; Müller, 2016 ). A cursory search of PubMed and CINAHL reveal that publications linked to nurses about language barriers since the year 2000 number, after removal of duplicates, only 280 of 303. Approximately one third of those are practice-based papers not involving research, editorials, or opinions—the lowest level of the evidence-based practice pyramid. Whilst there may be more publications, inappropriate use of key words may keep many hidden from systematic searches.

In this discussion paper, we draw from an international, interdisciplinary body of research that has explored and successfully addressed methodological challenges of qualitative and quantitative research involving language barriers in health care, known as cross-language research methods. We seek to highlight the key methodological implications of doing research involving language barriers by drawing from methodological developments in the literature since the year 2000 through 20,217—a period representing unprecedented growth in scientific studies and cross-language methodological developments. Both qualitative and quantitative methodological implications are reviewed from selected studies.

2. BACKGROUND

This section provides an overview of two key areas associated with cross-language research in nursing: language barriers and interpreter types. It aims to provide the reader with a basic conceptual understanding of core linguistic principles involved with addressing language barriers in research.

2.1. Language barriers in nursing and health care

Language barriers have been part of nursing practice since the formal inception of the profession in the nineteenth century when Nightingale was caring for soldiers from across Europe during the Crimean War. In the twenty-first century with global migration rates at record levels, language barriers present multiple challenges for health systems delivery ( Bloemraad & Sheares, 2017 ; Czaika & de Haas, 2013 ).

Research is needed to devise the best, context specific strategies for meeting the needs of patients with language barriers. Conducting research in a patient’s preferred language offers the best opportunity to truly capture reliable and valid results representative of their experiences. A preferred language is the person’s “language of the heart”, the one that they want to speak when they feel at their most vulnerable. The conduct of research when a language barrier is involved has two aspects. First, understanding linguistic competency and literacy of participants and planning the study around those factors. The second aspect focuses on addressing the language of health care and research itself, known as language for specific purposes (LSP).

First, to be able to communicate effectively with another person individuals need to have what linguists call discourse competence in a language. That means they can have a conversation with someone relatively easily and do not have to stop and look up words or phrases ( Danesi, 1996 ; Savignon, 1997 ; Squires, 2008 ). For example, immigrant children may have this level of language competence, but they usually lack a more sophisticated understanding of the language since most of the time, they do not receive formal education in their parents’ language. They will not have the vocabulary to speak “health care” either. They are known as “heritage” speakers of a language ( Montrul, 2010 ).

Health care, as we know, is its own language and fits the criteria of a language for a specific purpose ( Hull, 2016 ). LSP is the vernacular of the discipline. The professions all have their own language as do the different realms of the social sciences. When students study to become members of the discipline or profession, part of their socialization is learning the language. Therefore, effective communication with LSP depends on the person’s ability to translate not only the disciplinary vernacular, but also the standard language ( Hull, 2016 ).

We see “failures” of translating LSP with patients who speak our own language when we cannot improve their health literacy. In the case of language translation issues between patients and providers, for example, miscommunication related to translation increases the patient’s risk for hospital readmission, adverse events, and delays in care, to name a few ( De Gagne, Oh, So, & Kim, 2014 ; Dowsey, Broadhead, Stoney, & Choong, 2009 ; Durstenfeld, Ogedegbe, Katz, Park, & Blecker, 2016 ; Karliner, Kim, Meltzer, & Auerbach, 2010 ; Whittal & Lippke, 2016 ). Therefore, the same threats mistranslation poses to patients’ health and well-being will threaten the rigor of research studies involving translation.

2.2. An overview of types of healthcare interpreters and their potential research roles

Interpreters are an important part of mitigating threats to rigor in research. There is a difference, however, between an interpreter and a translator. An Interpreter is a person who conducts “live” interpretation between two people. A Translator is someone who translates text-based documents between the source language and the target language ( Squires, 2008 ; Temple, 2002 ). Qualified interpreters and translators will have had their language skills formally evaluated by an independent source ( Hull, 2016 ). The next sections focus on the roles of interpreters in research with roles of translators discussed specifically in the section focused on research implementation.

To begin, in the case of interpreters, they will play an important role in research data collection and potentially, analysis. Any interpreter contributing to a study ideally will have some experience facilitating research implementation, but that is not always possible ( Squires, 2008 ). There are five types of interpreters or services that can be used in research, each with pros and cons and budgetary implications.

The first type of interpreter we will discuss is the Dual Role Interpreter. This is usually a healthcare provider who has had their language proficiency formally evaluated by an independent source. They may have grown up speaking the language and continued studying it as they progressed in their education or alternatively, learned the language through intensive study or living and working abroad. In many countries, it is common for healthcare providers to speak multiple languages, especially when there are several official languages in a country. Again, it is important to remember that their level of language proficiency for healthcare language may vary.

The advantage of the dual role interpreter (especially if they also have research training) is that their contributions to the study will be informed by their experiences working with patients with language barriers. There is the potential for a more nuanced understanding of experiences or the challenges of measurement with specific populations with language barriers. A dual role interpreter, however, may bring their own set of biases into how results are interpreted from the study because of their experiences. This aspect of interpreter identity, even in quantitative studies, should be factored into study design and discussed in the limitations.

An in-person interpreter is an individual who has received specialized training. In health care, they have learned healthcare vocabulary as part of their training so they can effectively translate health care’s language—a definite advantage for study implementation. For research purposes, these interpreters are the best option if the study will involve communicating complex healthcare information to a study participant, such as might occur in randomized controlled trials.

In-person interpreters in research can also have no healthcare experience, which can provide an advantage for researchers who seek to minimize bias in participant responses in studies involving the patient experience. Like any healthcare worker, healthcare interpreters may have their own biases from interactions with healthcare providers, navigating systems issues and memorable patient interactions. Even though they may try to stay objective, the risk for them inserting bias into the findings increases if this threat to rigor is not managed well.

Technology-based interpreting is the kind that most clinicians are familiar with and it comes in the form of telephone or video-based interpreting services. When research funds are limited, using this service—especially if it is already part of the institution’s resources—can offer the most cost-effective option for conducting research. A threat to rigor from this type of interpreting is that the technology- based interpreting industry is largely unregulated globally and relies on companies to conduct their own internal quality checks of interpreter performance.

Finally, two other ways of bridging language barriers could threaten the rigor of research findings: Online translation services and family members. Online translation services have not yet developed the ability to effectively translate health care’s language. While they can seem like a good way to translate, for example, transcripts in qualitative research, many translation errors will happen—especially with patient interviews because they may often use obscure slang words from their particular dialect that the computer will mistranslate. A qualified translator will still be needed to check the translation, which could still take just as much time as if they did it themselves.

Family members may or may not make for effective interpreters for a research study. Just like during a healthcare encounter where sensitive or culturally taboo topics may emerge; the family member may influence the translation and information provided. Unless the study design includes the family member in it, using independent interpreters presents the best mediating option for threats to rigor from translation by family members. Nonetheless, with the participant’s consent, a family member could help enhance data quality by either improving its precision (in the case of a survey) or helping the participant to remember important experiential details (in the case of qualitative research).

3. DATA SOURCES

Cross-language research refers to research studies where a language barrier is present and data collection must involve the use of interpreters at some stage during the research process ( Croot et al., 2011 ; Squires, 2009 ; Squires et al., 2013 ). A critical factor of crosslanguage research, regardless of methodological approach, is that it must be completed in teams ( Chapple & Ziebland, 2018 ; Esposito, 2001 ; Im et al., 2017 ; Paulus, Jackson, & Davidson, 2017 ; Shordike et al., 2010 ; Stanley & Slattery, 2003 ). Cross-language research cannot be rigorous unless a team was involved because the interpretation of the data would be subject to the individual biases of a single researcher and are likely to be less representative of the population of interest. The team will include the researcher, coinvestigators, project managers and very importantly, interpreters. The following recommendations were drawn from 73 methods articles addressing some dimension of cross-language qualitative or quantitative research published between 2000 and 2017.

4. IMPLICATIONS FOR RESEARCH DESIGN

When the target population for a research study has a language barrier, careful planning is required. In this section, we offer considerations for the design of qualitative and quantitative studies where language barriers are an issue that could threaten the rigor of a study.

4.1. Qualitative research considerations

Cross-language qualitative research has grown extensively since the year 2000. Methods have evolved and several common methodological considerations emerged. Importantly, cross-language researchers uniformly agree that translation poses a threat to the trustworthiness of qualitative data ( Court & Abbas, 2013 ; Esposito, 2001 ; Im et al., 2017 ; Jones & Boyle, 2011 ; Larkin, Dierckx de Casterlé, & Schotsmans, 2007 ; MacKenzie, 2015 ; Temple, 2002 , 2005 ; Temple & Young, 2004 ; Wong & Poon, 2010 ; Xian, 2008 ). Squires (2009) developed criteria from a systematic review of cross-language studies for evaluating how researchers managed translation and then Croot et al. (2011) tested the criteria. The latter concluded that the criteria offered researchers useful direction both with study design and critical appraisal of existing studies, albeit with several caveats related to resources dictating interpreter usage.

Another point of consensus in cross-language research is that interpreter identity matters, with pros and cons for each choice made. Interpreters with translation work experience are uniformly recommended for cross-language studies to minimize the threats to trustworthiness of results posed by translation. The use of students, undergraduate or graduate, for interpreting may create good research socialization opportunities, but could also affect data quality due to their inexperience with both research and translation ( Lincoln, González y González, & Aroztegui Massera, 2016 ).

Interpreter timing during data collection also matters and well-planned studies account for this factor during study design ( Im et al., 2016 ; Santos, Black, & Sandelowski, 2014 ). Timing is rooted in the role design of the interpreter in the study. Researchers may find Role Theory useful in interpreter role design when planning a study ( Lynch, 2007 ; Morgeson, Delaney-Klinger, & Hemingway, 2005 ). For example, a functionalist role for an interpreter means the expectation of the interpreter is to adhere to their essential function: interpretation and translation. This would be defined as the “correct behaviours” that functionalist role theory emphasizes. Timing would be limited to the interview data collection point, transcription (if that is part of their role) and translation of the transcript.

An interpreter in an interactionist role, however, offers flexible boundaries to the interpreter that are less proscribed ( Lynch, 2007 ). Interactionist contributions of the interpreter would include not only interpretation and translation of the data, but also contributions to data analysis ( Squires, 2008 ). An interactionist role also allows the interpreter to integrate their role as a cultural broker between the parties, thereby contributing potential explanations to themes and categories that have emerged in the analysis or by providing culturally appropriate names for them.

Finally, transcription quality is always a critical part of any qualitative research study and this is where translators will help mitigate threats to rigor ( Poland, 1995 ; Tilley, 2003 ). Transcriptions are the final point of interpreter-mediated vulnerability in a research study because the quality of translation will affect the entire data analysis process. Clark, Birkhead, Fernandez, and Egger (2017) offer useful recommendations for quality checking the transcription and translation process. These include two independent checks on translation, hiring professional transcription services, achieving consensus around the translation of culturally unique words and slang phrases with the minimal goal of achieving semantic equivalence and the aspirational goal of conceptual equivalence.

4.2. Quantitative research considerations

Language barriers or patient language preferences can affect any kind of quantitative study. Most observational studies (e.g., cross-sectional, cohort, case control, etc.) and randomized control trials may involve the use of some survey design and methodological consensus has emerged around what constitutes rigorous survey instrument translation. “Big Data”, being newer, means that we do not fully understand where language preference and language barriers manifest themselves in patient outcomes in large datasets. Nonetheless, there are still salient points for discussion even in the early stages of the science.

4.2.1. Survey instruments and translation

There are many instruments with existing reliable and valid translations, or so it may appear. When making the method choice to use an existing translation, researchers should first research the history of the instrument to determine: (a) when it was developed; (b) how it was psychometrically evaluated in its original language; and (d) when and how the translation was completed. Flaws in the process tied with the original instrument translation process will not produce reliable and valid results in the translation. There is also the possibility that factor structures and other psychometric measures may change across cultures and contexts ( Brzyski, Kózka, Squires, & Brzostek, 2016 ; Choi et al., 2009 ; Mallinckrodt & Wang, 2004 ; Yu, Lee, & Woo, 2004 ). Sometimes these changes are not significant, but the researcher must differentiate when they are or are not using the appropriate methods. Just because it has been published does not mean it is a good quality translation. A translator is critical to help evaluate the quality of the survey’s translation during this phase of study planning. Some surveys, like the Maslach Burnout Inventory, have professional translations that are available, protected by copyright and may require a fee for their use in research studies ( Squires et al., 2014 ). Failure to appropriately use this kind of survey translation may place the researcher at risk for copyright violations.

Survey instrument translation appropriateness with specific populations is also affected by nativity and dialects—both of which are associated with social risk factors influencing health outcomes ( National Academies of Sciences Engineering & Medicine, 2017 ). Many countries have multiple official languages where citizens will speak all of them or at least one or two with a high level of proficiency. They may not read or write in the other languages.

Examples of this phenomenon come from every part of the world. In Sub-Saharan Africa, it is common for people to speak their tribal language (which may or may not be written), the language of their former colonizers and other languages common to the economic engine of the country ( Levin, 2006 ). Latin America has 448 indigenous languages spoken there, aside from Spanish, Portuguese, or French. China has the unifying scholarly language of Mandarin, with Cantonese the second most spoken language in the country. Yet each village and region in China can have a sub-dialect that only people from those regions understand ( Aroian, Wu, & Tran, 2005 ; Chidarikire, Cross, Skinner, & Cleary, 2018 ). Former Soviet Union States may still speak Russian but most have reasserted their country’s language as the primary language ( Shpilko, 2006 ). The languages of India and Pakistan remain numerous as well ( Abdelrahim et al., 2017 ). In the Middle East, Arabic is much like Spanish where the version of the language is specific to the country of origin of the person speaking it. Academic Arabic could be read by any educated person, but dialect specificity is important for accurate translation ( Al-Amer, Ramjan, Glew, Darwish, & Salamonson, 2016 ). For survey research, this means that a translation of a survey may not work well if it does not match the participant’s nativity—especially when measuring symptoms, coping strategies and other health related phenomenon where slang and linguistic variation by country become measurement factors.

Nonetheless, consensus has emerged in several areas around appropriate strategies for ensuring the most reliable, valid and culturally appropriate translation of a survey instrument. Flaherty et al. (1988) were one of the first groups to set early criteria for evaluating instrument translations. Their criteria include researchers taking steps during the translation process to ensure conceptual, semantic, technical, content, and construct equivalence. In time, it has also become clear that forward and backward translation alone are insufficient to ensure reliable and valid translations because that process alone cannot meet the five measures of equivalence ( Maneesriwongul & Dixon, 2004 ; Perneger, Leplège, & Etter, 1999 ; Squires et al., 2013 ). Systematic approaches to survey instrument translation, therefore, offer the best option to ensure reliable, valid, and culturally representative translations. Most of these approaches offer some combination of content validity indexing ( Brzostek et al., 2015 ; Liu, Squires, & You, 2011 ; Squires et al., 2012 , 2013 , 2014 ), cognitive interviewing ( Benitez & Padilla, 2014 ; Benitez, Padilla, van de Vijver, & Cuevas, 2018 ; Park, Sha, & Willis, 2016 ; Reeve et al., 2011 ), and interpreter timing ( Cha, Kim, & Erlen, 2007 ; Erkut, 2010 ; Johnson, 2006 ; Sidani, Guruge, Miranda, Ford-Gilboe, & Varcoe, 2010 ; Weeks, Swerissen, & Belfrage, 2007 ; Xian, 2008 ; Yu et al., 2004 ). Finally, conducting pre-data collection evaluations of the survey instrument with the migrant population will not only help determine if they understand the questions being asked in the instrument, but if the wording and literacy level is appropriate for the local population being studied.

4.2.2. Big data, patient language preference, and large dataset observational studies

Whilst there is a huge attraction to use big data to analyse health related issues tied to patient language preference, bigger does not always mean better ( Cohen et al., 2015 ; O’Halloran, Tan, Pham, Bateman, & Vande Moere, 2018 ). In addition to the many known problems that come with working with large datasets in health care, isolating language barrier related relationships and effects have their own challenges in observational studies. First, data generated from administrative files is not collected with the rigor and consistency that aligns with research practices. It requires multiple people and multiple incentives to get it right. Consequently, organizations that do not place a value on capturing patient language preference will likely have poor data to work with as capturing patient language preference data reflects organizational values for caring for migrants.

A logical leap from this issue then would be the use of missing data management techniques. Patient language preference data are often missing, thus presenting unique challenges for data analysis that are often reflective of biases and potentially, prejudices of who entered the data. Thus, missing language preference data are unlikely to be missing at random. For example, research from the UK shows that it is common to have missing race/ethnicity classifications of “white” ( Tippu et al., 2017 ). That missing data, with no language preference recorded, would leave out whites who do not speak English yet still comprise a substantial portion of the migrant population in the country. Other datasets might reflect similar patterns.

Another issue affecting large datasets where researchers want to consider language preference is that there are no standards for recording it in health care in terms of naming languages in EHRs. For example, organizations may have a language preference option of “Chinese”, when in fact there is no such language. Mandarin is the official language of China and Cantonese is a widely spoken dialect in the country that uses the same alphabet. As previously mentioned, China has multiple dialects—some just at the village level —and those are rarely considered for language preference. For older patients who may migrated in the twentieth century, their village dialect may represent the language of their heart.

Lastly, when trying to use large datasets to compare the impact of language preference on patient outcomes, how demographics are measured and have changed over time become important methodological considerations. In societies that were largely linguistically homogenous before the population changed, these differences present unique challenges for healthcare research. Longitudinal studies, therefore, become critical for studying the impact of changes in language preferences of populations over time and how these impact health outcomes and any resulting disparities.

4.3. Budgeting for interpretation and translation

Interpreting and translation can add significant costs to a research study. Costs are determined based on (a) the language being translated; (b) the source and target languages for translation; and (c) the extent of interpreter involvement in the research process.

Straightforward translation of survey instruments or transcription and translation of qualitative interviews have costs dictated by the time involved and the country where the researchers are seeking services. Many professional translation companies contract with translators in other countries to ensure the best quality translation and in some cases, this can save on costs. Country specific translations also ensure that the slang words or other country specific vernacular receives the correct interpretation. Professional translation services, however, are the most expensive.

The alternative is to hire research team members who speak the same language as the target population of the study. This can involve hiring research assistants on a part- or full-time basis and the total costs of their participation will depend on the country’s labour laws or organization’s employment requirements. Funding for the study may limit how long interpreters can be involved with it unless they can contribute to other parts of the study besides data collection. If researchers do want their language concordant staff to remain part of the entire study, they should budget funds to support their involvement for the duration. Depending on the funding source, this may or may not contribute significantly to the study’s total costs.

5. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

Research will play a critical role in helping health systems, workers and patients determine the most effective ways to bridge language barriers between patients, providers and systems in ways that optimize health and system outcomes. Improved research rigor in studies involving language barriers in health care are also needed to create evidence-based policies at the organizational, local, national, and international levels.

All recommendations are made mindful of the possibility that any researcher or member of their team could be subject to ethnocentric assumptions in their work and thus, should operate from a place of being conscious of their own biases when implementing and interpreting studies involving language barriers. Using cross-language research methods to generate better, more rigorous evidence specific to the experiences of people with language barriers is critical for strengthening health care’s evidence base that informs clinical practice and policy.

Acknowledgments

Funding information This paper was informed by research funded by the United States’ Agency for Health Care Research and Quality, R01HS23593.

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

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A Qualitative Approach to Translation Studies

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This collection invites readers to explore innovative or underexploited ways of working qualitatively with what in Translation Studies may be termed as elusive constructs.

The volume adopts a functionalist approach to focus on one such concept, namely the notion of translation problem, using case studies to illustrate how a significant elusive construct can be addressed empirically. It explores different qualitative research methodologies which, although well established in other fields, are yet to be extensively used in TS but which may nevertheless prove to be of significance for future studies as they allow elusive concepts typically found in TS to be worked with more coherently. Chapters are structured around two core ideas: first, the qualitative, systematic analysis of source text content with emphasis on the detection of translation problems as a means of creating efficient frameworks for coherent decision-making from a functional perspective; and secondly, the practical process of stereotyping and profiling specific problems within different contexts, content types or services to help identify, manage and resolve them in a number of settings, from research to professional translator training and assessment environments.

This book will be of interest to scholars in translation studies, particularly those with an interest in qualitative approaches.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Part i | 86  pages, qualitative concepts and methods, chapter 1 | 8  pages, what is this book about and who is it for, chapter 2 | 15  pages, a functionalist foundation, chapter 3 | 29  pages, elusive concepts in translation studies, chapter 4 | 32  pages, qualitative coding: inducing and deducing, part ii | 210  pages, real world qualitative research in translation studies: exploring translation problems, chapter 5 | 15  pages, categorising problems in court translation, chapter 6 | 14  pages, translation problems in university transcripts, chapter 7 | 16  pages, translation problems in superhero and western graphic narratives, chapter 8 | 17  pages, translation problems arising from culturally marked translation units in children's literature, chapter 9 | 15  pages, spotlighting likely losses of meaning in culturally marked audiovisual translation, chapter 10 | 19  pages, translation problems in app localisation, chapter 11 | 15  pages, translation problems in an arabic–spanish corpus, chapter 12 | 14  pages, translation of self-care & beauty industry content, chapter 13 | 14  pages, the extraordinary nature of transcreation problems, chapter 14 | 18  pages, translating psychometric tests, chapter 15 | 12  pages, a clash with censorship, chapter 16 | 15  pages, interpreting problems in multiparty interactions, chapter 17 | 16  pages, characterising interpreting problems in two public service settings, chapter 18 | 8  pages, spotlighting translations problems using qualitative methodology.

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Theoretical Issues in Specialised Translation

• First Online: 19 September 2020

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• Federica Scarpa 3  

Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in Translating and Interpreting ((PTTI))

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This chapter focuses on the most relevant conceptual issues in specialised translation by using process- and product-oriented theoretical models which are mostly the result of actual translation practice and, more generally, of experimental approaches and models based on professional experience. The theoretical aspects of translation being discussed are the notions of translation ‘equivalence’ and ‘translation problems’, with problems being divided into ‘pragmatic and cultural’, on the one hand, and ‘linguistic and text-specific’, on the other. The chapter also illustrates the relevance to specialised translation of the theoretical paradigm of descriptivism with the related notions of translation ‘norms’ and translation ‘universals’, and addresses ethical issues related to the responsibility of specialised translators.

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By way of example of this neglect, at the time of writing the keyword ‘Translation’ is not to be found among the 22 keywords describing the two relevant ERC (European Research Council) panels for peer review evaluation within the research domain of Social Sciences and Humanities: SH4 “The Human Mind and Its Complexity: Cognitive science, psychology, linguistics, education”, and SH5 “Cultures and Cultural Production: Literature and philosophy, visual and performing arts, music, cultural and comparative studies” (Available at https://erc.europa.eu/sites/default/files/document/file/erc%20peer%20review%20evaluation%20panels.pdf ) (Accessed 15 December 2019).

Available at http://translation-ethics.ru/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/FIT-EUROPE-Code-of-Ethics.pdf (Accessed 2 December 2019).

This is the so-called ‘systemic interference’, which is due to the general contact between the SL and TL and not to the specific contact between ST and TT (cf. Sect. 4.5.2 ).

The sender of the specific letter used by Zethsen ( 2010 ) to exemplify the cultural elements potentially presenting culture-based problems is the English chocolate manufacturer Thorntons and the culture-specific words isolated for comment are buzzwords of the retailing jargon ( high street , multiple grocers , one-stop-shop , experiential shopping , flagship destinations ).

For example: Project plans are quite different from the sorts of plans that line managers have to produce as part of their work , and [= which is why] even experienced line managers may find that project planning is unfamiliar territory (causal) (Nokes and Greenwood 2003 : 65); Opinion is divided about the benefits of ISO 9000 certification; those who have it say that it is vital in avoiding the costs of poor quality, and [= whilst] those who do not have it often say that it is a burdensome administrative cost that should be avoided (adversative) (Nokes and Greenwood 2003 : 60).

As observed in her blog on terminology by Corbolante ( 2013 ), the term whistleblower (‘a person making a disclosure on a person or organization regarded as engaging in an unlawful or immoral activity and who is motivated by the public interest’) has a positive connotation which however is completely unknown in the Italian social/cultural context, where the near-equivalents spia , delatore , talpa , informatore , spifferatore , soffiatore etc. are all solutions which are not acceptable because they all have negative connotations: secrecy and anonymity linked to lack of loyalty and betrayal of mutual trust, generally motivated by personal gain. In 2016 a bill was passed by the Italian Chamber of Deputies stating that, in order to maintain the positive connotation of the term whistleblower without the need to use the loanword, the legal Italian equivalent of the term should be via either of two descriptive translations: autore di segnalazioni di reati / irregolarità [person reporting offences / irregularities].

The point I want to make here is that the non-specialists Halliday specifically refers to—whom he alternatively calls ‘learners’, ‘novices’ and ‘students’—are not translators but students of science in an educational setting who either “have been educated throughout in English medium” or “are taking up English just as a a language for science and technology” (Halliday 1993[ 1989 ]: 82). It is against this background that, despite the usefulness for the linguist of Halliday’s approach to the study of the language of science, the lexicogrammatical features of specialised texts that he identified are not automatically suited for describing the specific needs of translators having to materially translate a scientific text.

Pym’s model of ethics mirrors very closely some statements in the preamble of the Nairobi “Recommendation on the Legal Protection of Translators and Translations and the Practical Means to improve the Status of Translators” (UNESCO 1976 ).

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Scarpa, F. (2020). Theoretical Issues in Specialised Translation. In: Research and Professional Practice in Specialised Translation. Palgrave Studies in Translating and Interpreting. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-51967-2_2

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Home > Blog > Translation > 18 Common Problems with Translation (That You Should Know About)

18 Common Problems with Translation (That You Should Know About)

Translating, whether it’s your website or something else, is rarely simply about converting text word for word into another language. There are a number of problems you can run into with the translation process.

Being prepared for this can make it easier to avoid certain pitfalls. For that reason, in this article, we will take a look at the most common translation issues, from general difficulties over cultural considerations to problems with machine and literary translation.

General Translation Issues to Be Aware Of

First, let’s cover some of the things that often come up as difficulties when translating text.

Dissimilar Language Structures

First up are simple language differences. Languages can be very unlike each other on the most basic level, such as word order. For example, in English, you have subject-verb-object, such as “I love you”. In Turkish, you use subject-object-verb. Here, the sentence is “I you love” or “Ben seni seviorum”.

You can also put an entire sentence into just one word in Turkish. “Apartmandayim” means “I am in the apartment”, a very different structure than English.

As a consequence, translating can come with quite a bit of rearranging, depending on the languages involved. The higher the complexity of their differences, the higher the difficulty of translating them.

Preserving Tone

The tone is a central part of a text. For example, in branding, it’s how you communicate, the voice you give your business. It sets you apart from the competition, helps you connect with customers, and is recognizable in slogans, taglines, ads, and more.

To make sure it translates well in other languages, you have to pay attention to what constitutes tone:

• Diction — Your use of words, whether they are simple or complex.
• Formality — You can use informal or formal tone.
• Rhythm — The flow of words.

Humor, slang , and cultural references can also be part of the tone. All of this is hard to replicate one-to-one in another language and you need a skilled translator to do so. Another option is to opt for a slightly different tone in your target language but then you also need to make sure it is consistent.

Dealing With Compound Words

Compound words are combinations of two or more different words forming a new one. Some of them have a clear meaning directly related to their parts like “toothbrush”. However, their meaning can also be less direct such as in “bookworm”. While it’s not really a worm, it still paints an understandable picture of the person it describes. There are also examples of compound words that have no relation to the object they describe, e.g. in “butterfly”.

Of course, translating compound words like this needs a lot of skill, especially if they don’t exist in the same way in the target language. You also need to know when not to take them literally. By the way, a language well known for its use of long compound words is German.

Translating Two-word Verbs

Two-word verbs are the bane of language learners around the world. Having to memorize the difference between “to break up”, “to break in”, and “to break down” — who doesn’t remember?

On the surface, they are simply a combination of a verb and a preposition. However, together they take on specific meanings that are very different from each other and you have to translate them together, not separately.

Of course, this can also pose a problem with converting them from one language to another. You need to be skilled in both the source and target language to transfer the meaning of two-word verbs correctly.

Words With Multiple Meanings

Another common issue in translation is that words can have more than one meaning, especially depending on where they appear in a sentence. You mainly run into two different cases here:

• Homonyms — These are spelled and pronounced in the same way but can have different meanings. For example, “Scale the fish and put it on the scale”.
• Heteronyms — They look the same but have different meanings and pronunciations. “Tear off a piece of paper and wipe your tear with it” is an example here.

These, too, require knowing both languages involved in the translation very well. Otherwise, you risk making serious mistakes.

Humor and Sarcasm

Humor in general can be a problem in translations because it doesn’t always convert well into another language. That, of course, is especially true for humor that relies on word plays to be funny.

A special case here is sarcasm. It often expresses something that is quite the opposite of the words used. If you were to take or translate it literally, you wouldn’t end up with the intended meaning.

In humor, you also have to take cultural concerns into consideration. Something that might be a joke in one language can be a harsh insult in another. Therefore, you have to work with nuance so that the intent works in both languages. More on that soon.

Name Translations

Translating names can be a challenge. This is especially for names that are originally in non-Latin script. For example, the former leader of China can either be written a “Mao Zedong” or “Mao Tse-Tung” depending on which transliteration you use. In a translation, you have to make a choice and stick with it.

Lack of Knowledge on the Subject Matter

Translation is first and foremost a linguistic endeavor. You have to possess the general knowledge of how to transfer text from one language to another.

However, another consideration is the subject of what you are translating. You need to have sufficient knowledge of what a text is talking about as well to make sure it ends up correct.

Imagine translating a medical or legal text or instructions for how to use dangerous chemicals without having a clue on that topic. The outcome could be disastrous.

That’s why translators often specialize in one or two subject matters. So they have enough knowledge to keep that from happening.

Design and Layout Issues

Especially in website translation, you can often run into problems with layout and design because of translation. Especially Asian, character-based languages are often much shorter than equivalent texts in Western alphabets since each character is an entire word or syllable.

Plus, you have some languages that run from right to left instead of the other way around. Finally, website text is most often accompanied by images, which can also contain text or target specific locales.

All of that has a bearing on the website design and can mess up the original layout. Something to keep in mind when converting your website into other languages.

Expensive and Time-consuming

A more practical problem with translation is that hiring a translator is not always cheap, especially for rarer language pairs. That’s money you could use for other things, like growing your website or business. Or, if you go the cheap way, the quality might not be good enough.

Plus, translation can be time-intensive. After receiving to translation, you have to review it to make sure it’s accurate for your line of work. Machine translation can help but it has its problems in comparison to manual translation .

However, you should also view these as an investment. A properly translated website can bring in new business and expand your market, so it often ends up having a positive ROI.

Cultural Issues in Translation

In addition to general problems, you can also run into translation issues rooted in culture. Here are a few examples.

Culture and Language Are Tightly Connected

First of all, it’s important to keep in mind that language reflects the values, beliefs, customs, and traditions of the people who speak it. That’s why different words can carry different meaning in separate languages. In China, it used to be common to greet each other with “Have you eaten?”, as food wasn’t always available in the past.

As a business, the words you use determine how different cultures perceive your brand, which is why transcreation and localization are so important. There are sometimes taboos and topics that can not be discussed or mentioned. Plus, it can go into other things like colors, images, layout, currency, time and date formats, units of measurement, etc.

Idioms, Expressions, and Slang

Everyday expressions can be very language-specific and pose issues for translation. You often can’t take them literally and many derive from the language’s culture.

You can even have expressions with divergent meanings in dialects of the same language. For example, Australian English is full of words that basically aren’t used in any other country even if they also speak English. Examples are “barbie” (barbecue), “thongs” (for flip-flops), or “Maccas” (for McDonald’s).

It takes a lot of cultural knowledge to be able to understand and translate such expressions. They are one of the most common problems with translation, particular machine translation .

Metaphors and Similes

Metaphors and similes go in the same direction as idioms and expressions, meaning they say something in more visual language. An example of a metaphor is to say that someone “has a heart of gold”, while a simile is to call them “stubborn as a mule”.

These, too, are often language and culture-specific and, therefore, possibly hard to translate. Sometimes equivalents exist. For example, in German, you call someone “as stubborn as a donkey”. However, sometimes you have to come up with something yourself.

Missing Words or Concepts

Another problem you might run into are words to translate that simply don’t exist in another language.

There are many reasons this can happen. It can be a culture-specific problem, such as when the associated thing or action is not permitted or performed in a country. In that case, you often have to find a description for the missing word or another roundabout way of translating it.

Literary Translation Problems

A special area for problems with translations is literary translation. That means, translating literary works like books or poetry. It poses specific challenges because this content is very different from, say, website translation or the translation of business documents.

Preserving the Style of the Source

First of all, literature is creative. A translation not only has to bring across the information it contains but also preserve the art in it, the original tone and intent, atmosphere, and style. It should evoke the same understanding and feeling in the target language as in the original.

That’s why literary translation is often harder to do because it is more artistic. You are basically rewriting a book or other creative work in another language. This is especially true for older works that use the style of a certain epoch. Translators need to be able to emulate that, which can take a lot of research.

So, if you really like a book that was originally written in another language, you actually also admire the translator’s work.

Translating Literary Devices

Besides staying true to the original book, there are also certain parts in literature that make up its “literariness” that you might run into while translating them. A good example here are the poems and songs in Lord of the Rings (and there are many of them). Here’s just one of them:

As a translator of these books, you would have to rewrite them not only in a new language but also preserve their rhyme scheme, length, and rhythm, all the while transporting the same subject matter. Sounds like a tall order? That’s because it is.

There are even more considerations like this, like alliterations, tongue twisters, or when characters talk in different dialects and you need to express that it in another language as well.

Problems With Machine Translation

Machine translation is very common these days as systems have become a lot more sophisticated. However, there are still issues to consider.

Not 100% Reliable

Of course, the first problem is that machine translations is often quite literal. Machines don’t have the same awareness of context and culture as a human translator has. They are also not a subject matter expert in a particular area but more of a general service provider.

For that reason, it’s almost always best to supplement machine translation with a check by a human translator. They can correct any glaring mistakes as well as make more nuanced decisions than an algorithm.

More Suitable for Certain Types of Content Than Others

Because of the problems with accuracy, machine translation is best suitable for less complex types of content. Things like business content, website content, etc., where the style or character of the work is less important. A machine often simply can not perform the same work as a literary translator.

Yet, machine translation still has a place, especially for speeding up the initial process. It’s also great for simpler content and content where 100% accuracy is not that important. Check out our list of machine translation software to find the right tool for you.

You Know Who Doesn’t Have a Problem With (Website) Translation? TranslatePress!

Because translations can come with problems, the last thing you want to do is struggle with implementing them. At least for your WordPress website, the tool we would like to recommend for that purpose is our TranslatePress plugin. Here is why.

Do All Your Translation in One Interface

First of all, TranslatePress offers 100% translation completeness. It allows you to translate anything from your website content over widgets and menus to themes, plugins, and more.

That’s because, unlike other translation plugins, TranslatePress looks at the rendered website HTML for content instead of scanning the database. This lets it translate pretty much anything that appears on your site.

For that reason, almost everything you do happens in the same main translation interface.

The preview on the right allows you to navigate to the page you want to convert to another language. From there, you can choose any of the text it contains via the drop-down menu, left and right arrows, or directly from the page.

Use the text box on the left side of the screen to add your translation. When you click the Save button, the translated text will appear on your website.

Translate Your Images As Well

With TranslatePress you can also localize your images. As we have learned above, these can contain text that needs to be translated or be specific to different regions. Localizing your visuals works the same way as for text. Select an image from the TranslatePress interface and then choose an alternative on the left. Save and you are done.

Automatic Translation Options

TranslatePress can do automatic translations via TranslatePress AI or APIs from Google Translate and DeepL . Switch it on under Settings → TranslatePress → Automatic Translation .

With every TranslatePress license you get a set number of words to translate for free using the AI translator. TranslatePress AI will be the default selection of a translation engine if you have a valid license enabled on your site.

If you choose to stick with TranslatePress AI as your translation engine, your setup is already complete after you change your settings. This is the fastest solution, but also the most accurate, as TranslatePress AI combines the power of all leading neural machine translation services and picks the best one for each specific language pair and situation.

However, TranslatePress still gives you the option to connect directly to Google Translate or DeepLs API so they can handle automatic translations for you. This option however requires you to create an API key and connect it to your site. Here are the guides for doing that:

• Google Translate API key
• DeepL API key

By the way, in the Pro version, you can also create dedicated translator accounts to work with freelancers and agencies and have them translate your web content.

Ready for Multilingual SEO

Finally, TranslatePress offers a multilingual SEO pack. With it, you can translate your page links, SEO titles, meta descriptions, ALT tags, and other important SEO elements.

The SEO Pack also creates multilingual sitemaps you can submit to search engines. Plus, it works with most of the popular WordPress SEO plugins.

Use the Free Plugin to Get Started

TranslatePress comes in both a free and paid version with three different pricing tiers . The free version is fully functional to offer one additional language on your WordPress site. If you want access to the aforementioned SEO Pack, translator accounts, and automatic translation with DeepL , these are included in TranslatePress Pro.

Besides that, the premium version gives you access to the following features:

• Browse as user role – Lets you look at your site as a specific user role in the translation editor.
• User language-specific navigation – The premium version allows you to use different menus depending on user language.
• Automatic user language detection – Automatically show your website in a user’s preferred language (via browser settings or location).

You can see more details below.

Learn to Embrace Translation Problems

Translation seems like a straightforward thing from the outside, especially if you are used to the instantaneousness of machine translation. Simply convert words from one language to another, right? However, if you dive deeper, it quickly becomes apparent that there is a lot of nuance involved in properly translating something.

Above, we have covered a few common issues that can arise in different areas, including cultural issues and problems in literary translations. Hopefully, by now you have a better understanding of what can happen as well as a stronger appreciation for the art of translation.

In addition, if you are looking for a way to translate your website, we hope you give TranslatePress a try.

TranslatePress Multilingual

TranslatePress is the easiest way to translate your WordPress site. It's fast, won't slow down your website, works with ANY theme or plugin and it's SEO friendly.

Or download FREE version

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Common Challenges of Translation

Translation demands a deep understanding of both grammar and culture. Translators need to know the rules of a language as well as the habits of the people who speak it. And even for the most experienced professionals, confusion and frustration are familiar feelings.

Some of the most common challenges of translation include:

Translating Language Structure

Every language sits inside a defined structure with its own agreed upon rules. The complexity and singularity of this framework directly correlates to the difficulty of translation.

A simple sentence in English has a subject, verb, and object — in that order. For example, “she eats pizza.” But not every language shares this structure. Farsi typically follows a sequence of subject, then object, then verb. And in Arabic, subject pronouns actually become part of the verb itself.

As a result, translators frequently have to add, remove, and rearrange source words to effectively communicate in the target language.

Translating Idioms and Expressions

Idiomatic expressions explain something by way of unique examples or figures of speech. And most importantly, the meaning of these peculiar phrases cannot be predicted by the literal definitions of the words it contains.

Many linguistic professionals insist that idioms are the most difficult items to translate. In fact, idioms are routinely cited as a problem machine translation engines will never fully solve.

Ideally, publishers should try to limit the number of idiomatic expressions contained in content they hope to translate. But if they insist on keeping these potentially confusing phrases, cultural familiarity must be a priority in translator recruitment.

Translating Compound Words

Compound words are formed by combining two or more words together, but the overall meaning of the compound word may not reflect the meaning of its component words. It’s usually best to think of them in terms of three separate groups.

The first group of compound words mean exactly what they say. “Airport,” “crosswalk,” and “seashore,” are all familiar examples.The second group of compound words mean only half of what they say — at least in a literal sense. While a “bookworm” may enjoy burrowing into a good story, these avid readers don’t suddenly become an invertebrate species in the process.

The third group of compound words have meanings that have nothing to do with the meanings of the individual words involved. For instance, the English “deadline” refers to the final acceptable time to receive or deliver something. It has nothing to do with death or a line. And a “butterfly” is neither a fly nor butter.

Missing Names In Translation

A language may not have an exact match for a certain action or object that exists in another language. In American English, for instance, some homeowners have what they describe as a “guest room.” It is simply a space where their invited guests can sleep for the night.

This concept is common in other languages as well, but often expressed quite differently. Greeks describe it with the single word “ksnona” while their Italian neighbors employ a three-word phrase “camera per gliospiti” instead. Think of this as a first step towards localization .

Two-Word Verbs

Sometimes a verb and a preposition will take on a separate, specific meaning when used together. Two-word verbs are common in informal English. “Look up,” “close up,” “fill out,” “shut up,” “bring up,” “break down” and “break in” are everyday examples. In many cases, though, it is neither necessary nor appropriate to translate the preposition separately.

Multiple Meanings In Translation

The same word may mean multiple things depending on where it’s placed and how it’s used in a sentence. This phenomenon typically follows one of two patterns.

There are homonyms (i.e. Scale the fish before weighing it on the scale), which look and sound alike but are defined differently. And then there are heteronyms (i.e. I drove down the windy road on a windy day), which look alike but are defined and pronounced differently.

Translating Sarcasm

Sarcasm is a sharp, bitter, or cutting style of expression that usually means the opposite of its literal phrasing. Sarcasm frequently loses its meaning when translated word-for-word into another language and can often cause unfortunate misunderstandings.

Ideally, a publisher would remove sarcasm from the source text prior to translation. But in cases where that style is central to the content requirements, the publisher should explicitly underscore sarcastic passages. That way, translators will have a chance to avoid literal misunderstandings and suggest a local idiom that may work better in the target language.

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Open Access

Peer-reviewed

Research Article

Translation and interpreting teachers’ perceptions of dilemma and needs in their professional development

Roles Conceptualization, Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, Investigation, Methodology, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing

Affiliation College of Foreign Studies, Liaoning University, Shenyang, Liaoning Province, P. R. China

Roles Formal analysis, Methodology, Software, Visualization, Writing – review & editing

* E-mail: [email protected]

• Yi Liu, 

• Published: August 9, 2024
• https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0289269
• Peer Review
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Since Chinese universities launched the postgraduate program of the Master of Translation and Interpreting (MTI) in 2007, approximately 300 high education institutions in China have been authorized to offer the MTI program. Behind the drastic springing-up of MTI programs during the decade, MTI teachers’ professional development draws the attention of MTI administrators and researchers. This study adopted a mixed-method of a large-scale survey among 514 MTI teachers across China and a qualitative interview study of seven participants and discussed MTI teachers’ perceptions of dilemmas and inner-world needs in their professional development. The findings indicate that MTI teachers’ dilemmas arise from the contradiction and entanglement in three mutually repulsive sectors of their professional development, i.e., teaching, research, and translation/interpreting practice, which hinder their professional development. And on the basis of the analysis, the present study proposes a synchronized “three-in-one” mechanism model with encouraging policies and environments as lubricant for the sustainable development of MTI teachers in the future, and it is hoped that this empirical research would provide some practice implications for the professional development of translation and interpreting teachers in China and beyond.

Citation: Liu Y, Liu J (2024) Translation and interpreting teachers’ perceptions of dilemma and needs in their professional development. PLoS ONE 19(8): e0289269. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0289269

Editor: Steve Zimmerman, Public Library of Science, UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND

Received: February 24, 2023; Accepted: July 5, 2024; Published: August 9, 2024

Copyright: © 2024 Liu, Liu. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Data Availability: All relevant data are within the paper and its Supporting Information files.

Funding: Yi Liu received funding from Postgraduate Education Reform Project of Liaoning Province 2022 (Grant Number: LNYJG2022009). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. URL: http://info.neu.edu.cn/_upload/article/files/c2/a7/ec6f61ee4b2da43f551d89398d29/7c84f1dc-adc7-43d6-b9e5-a8ef4386df6b.pdf ).

Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Introduction

With the increasing development of globalization and intercultural communication, there is high demand in China for skilled professional translators and interpreters for the purpose of introducing Chinese sociocultural and economic development to the world [ 1 ]. In such a context, the Academic Degree Committee under the State Council of the People’s Republic of China launched a new postgraduate program in 2007, i.e. Master of Translation and Interpreting (MTI) to meet the demand. Ever since the MTI program grows vigorously among Chinese universities, by the end of 2023, 316 high education institutions in China have been authorized to establish the MTI program, and the number is still rising. Behind the drastic springing-up of MTI during the decade, some potential problems emerge and draw the attention of MTI policy-makers, teachers, and researchers. At the first “International Forum on the Education and Development of Translation Talents” in 2015, Zhou Mingwei, director of the China Foreign Languages Publishing Administration, pointed out that the translation and interpreting (T&I) education does not match the speed of Chinese economic and social development, and the key point to this disparity is the shortage of highly qualified T&I teachers/trainers. According to “The Notice on Trial Running of MTI Programs” issued by the Academic Degree Committee under the State Council of China, the benchmark for a qualified MTI teacher is the completion of formal translation practice of at least 300,000 words or at least 20-hour real interpreting tasks. However, for a newly established professional post-graduate program, most MTI teachers were shifted from the academic postgraduate programs of linguistics, applied linguistics, or literature and did not have sufficient translation or interpreting practice and professional expertise essential to the practice-oriented post-graduate program [ 2 , 3 ]. This insufficiency brings criticism on the professional development of MTI teachers, which are unanimously perceived as the primary guarantee and core driving force for sustainable development of MTI education. Understanding teachers’ anxieties and inner-world needs is the key to promote their sustainable professional development [ 4 , 5 ]. This study, therefore, sets out to explore MTI teachers’ perceptions of dilemmas and needs in their professional development. It is hoped that the present descriptive study would provide empirical evidence for further exploration of T&I teachers’ professional development.

Literature review

Recent developments in the field of professional T&I education aroused research interest in T&I teachers. A number of studies examined T&I teachers’ general professional status quo, such as knowledge structure [ 6 ], competences [ 7 – 9 ], and quality [ 10 – 12 ]. More recent attention has focused on cognitive and psychological issues, exploring T&I teachers’ agency [ 13 , 14 ], beliefs and practices [ 15 – 19 ], as well as roles and identities [ 20 – 22 ]. There are also publications on T&I teacher education and professional development mode. Tao [ 23 ] pointed out that T&I teachers are expected to be good at research, teaching, and T&I practice. Kang & Shi [ 24 ] conducted a retrospective cohort study on unbalanced factors among interpreting teaching, practice, and research, and put forward a “Practice-Teaching-Research” model for interpreting teachers’ professional development. However, previously published works on T&I teachers’ professional development are mostly retrospective, theoretical, and speculative top-down studies that prescribe what educational and professional qualifications that T&I teachers should have, but there are few bottom-up empirical studies on the personal aspects of them [ 7 ], especially on their anxieties and inner-world needs.

As previously mentioned, compared to the teachers of other well-developed research-oriented postgraduate programs, the “green-handed” MTI teachers, mostly shifted from the teaching of other academic programs, tend to experience more dilemmas and challenges in their professional development. As faculty members of Chinese universities, MTI teachers are expected to have not only high academic research engagement [ 25 ], but also high engagement in professional practice of translation and interpreting [ 19 ]. The disparity between these two expectations, research engagement and practice engagement, impeded teachers’ academic promotion and development and induced more anxiety and dilemmas. Hence, T&I teachers’ professional development mode and dilemmas and needs in their professional development become a key research issue in the T&I education field. In recent years the author and her colleagues attempt to address the issue to explore Chinese MTI teachers’ dilemmas and needs in their professional development. For example, Liu & Xu [ 3 ] comprehensively described the current situation of MTI teachers in age, professional titles and academic qualifications, and the barriers in their teaching, research and T&I practice. In terms of professional development needs, Liu & Zhang [ 26 ] conducted a qualitative survey with 103 MTI teachers about the factors influencing their development and development needs. It found that teaching, T&I practice and research constitute “three-in-one” pattern of MTI teachers’ professional development as well as their competence framework. This study provides valuable insights for MTI teachers’ professional development. However, a qualitative method is unsuitable for obtaining a holistic picture of difficulties and needs in the professional development of a larger group of MTI teachers. The study we present here, seeks to examine the perceptions of dilemmas and needs of MTI teachers induced by challenges and difficulties in their professional development and try to construct a facilitative system to empower MTI teachers’ sustainable professional development. We approach this task on a larger scale than previous research and attempt to address the following two questions:

• What are MTI teachers’ perceptions of the challenges and dilemmas in teaching, research, and T&I practice?
• What are MTI teachers’ perceptions of the needs in their professional development?

Methodology

Quantitative research instrument.

As mentioned above, since by the time the project was conducted, there was no sufficient relevant empirical research on MTI teachers for reference. Hence, an open-ended questionnaire survey was first adopted to depict a general picture of the MTI teachers’ current situation. An exploratory prior stage for a study is suitable for the cases when the understanding of the certain issue is not very clear, when in-depth discovery and exploration of some special issues is required, and when the opinions and beliefs of some particular groups are to be inquired into [ 27 ]. This pilot qualitative exploratory study was conducted and published by the first author and her colleague (see Liu and Zhang [ 26 ] for detail).

On the basis of the pilot qualitative study, an anonymous self-completion questionnaire was designed for a large-scale survey. It covered participants’ understanding of informed consent of the research so that the participants first clarified the purpose of this study and ensured that the information they provided would be strictly confidential and used only for this study. The final version of the quantitative questionnaire in the present study includes two parts, i.e., demographic characteristics of the research participants and relevant dimensions regarding MTI teachers’ professional development. The main dimensions involved in this report include the degree of MTI teachers’ perceptions of the challenges and dilemmas in teaching (13 items), perceptions of factors affecting their T&I practice (9 items) as well as academic research engagement (9 items), perceptions of the needs of their professional development (9 items), perceptions of the needs of in-service training content (9 items) and modes (8 items). The 57-item adapted survey was scored using a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree) and was validated in the target sample, then utilized to examine MTI teachers’ perception of dilemma and needs in their professional development. After preliminary predictions and multiple revisions, the Cronbach’s Alpha of the finalized questionnaire reached 0.939, and the six dimensions ranged from 0.808 to 0.926, indicating acceptable reliability and good structure validity.

Quantitative data collection and analysis

The quantitative survey adopted the method of stratified sampling in data collection. The participants consist of 514 MTI teachers from 32 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities in China, who were recruited between December 28, 2018 and January 10, 2020. The ethical committee of College of Foreign Studies of Liaoning University approved the project.

The regional distribution of the participants is basically in line with the proportion of the number of MTI universities of the corresponding region to the total number of MTI universities. Besides, the types of universities, gender, age, academic title, and educational background were also considered in sampling, and the distribution fits the status quo of MTI teachers in China (see Table 1 ). Hence, the participants have a high degree of representation of the population of MTI teachers.

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https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0289269.t001

The quantitative survey was conducted via an online questionnaire service system called Wenjuanxing ( www.wjx.com ), which lasted for five months. The data generated by the questionnaire were numerical, and descriptive statistics were performed through SPSS 26.

Qualitative interview as triangulation

In addition to the quantitative survey, this study also adopted qualitative interviews as supplementary to triangulate the findings. The mixed approach has been increasingly used and accepted to conduct social research due to its advantage in understanding the phenomena of the social world, seeing this world through complex lenses, and using eclectic methodologies that better respond to the multiple stakeholders of policy issues [ 28 ] (p. 455). At the end of the quantitative questionnaire, we also collected participants interested in the follow-up qualitative interview. If they were willing to participate in our follow-up interview, they would leave their contact information (e.g., telephone number, WeChat, or email) in the questionnaire. Mindful of gender, professional title, age, geographical distribution, and types of universities, 7 participants of the 514 MTI teachers were eventually selected for qualitative interview (see Table 2 ). Semi-structured interviews with those MTI teachers were conducted in Mandarin for 1.5 hours on average (face-to-face, over the telephone, or via WeChat, a social media platform) and audio-recorded with the participant’s permission. The interview questions were designed in reference to the six dimensions mentioned above of MTI teachers’ perceived difficulties and needs in their professional development. The qualitative interview data were transcribed in textual form and then coded through NVivo 12 after iterative reading and reflection by the researchers.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0289269.t002

Findings and discussion

In this section, we will report the findings and discussion on the basis of the quantitative survey, and with the data collected in both the previous qualitative questionnaire and afterward interview as supplementary evidence. As Kelly [ 7 , 29 ] suggested, a competent T&I trainer needs to have three different areas of competence and expertise, i.e., professional T&I practice, T&I studies as an academic discipline, and teaching skills. MTI teachers in Chinese universities experienced various difficulties and challenges in developing these types of competency that they are expected to have, which would be considered as major causes of the dilemmas in their professional development.

MTI teachers’ perceptions of dilemmas in teaching practice

Teaching is the essential and obligatory responsibility of all teachers. The questionnaire data shows that about 28% of teachers are satisfied with the current situation of MTI teaching in their universities, but nearly 72% of teachers are neutral or unsatisfactory (see Table 3 for details). The analysis of the questionnaire indicates the challenges that MTI teachers experienced in their teaching practice.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0289269.t003

As shown in Table 4 , the primary difficulty of the MTI teachers in teaching practice is the challenges caused by “varying levels of MTI students’ language proficiency” (Q4-3). In the qualitative questionnaire, most MTI teachers state that the quality of the students enrolled in the program is one of their concerns, especially students’ professional competence and competitiveness. There is still an apparent disparity between the prescriptive objectives of the program and market demand. Some teachers expressed their concerns about the unsatisfactory qualifications of MTI students, such as “unsolid language foundation” (9-T33), “lack of domain knowledge” (9-T31), and “unable to meet the need of the translation market” (7-T69). The items ranking second and third place are “insufficient time and energy” (Q4-4) and “lack of experience in T&I practice” (Q4-1). The triple obligations of teaching, research, and T&I practice which MTI teachers need to undertake simultaneously restrict each other in time and energy and impede teachers’ motivation in their professional development. As a participant stated:

On the one hand, translation practice conflicts with classroom teaching in time, and on the other hand, we are also expected to conduct research, and we do not have enough time and energy to complete all the three tasks. (T4)

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0289269.t004

In addition, as a newly-established program, most MTI teachers just switched from teaching research-oriented postgraduate courses to practice-oriented courses, and the lack of professional T&I practice experience and motivation, according to the MTI teachers, has seriously impacted the quality of their teaching. For example, one teacher said that she teaches the MTI course simply because “our supervisors asked me to take the interpreting course since no one would like to take it” (T2), and another stated that:

Those (teachers) who meet the academic requirements and evaluation criteria may not have much experience in T&I practice, understanding of the translation market, or knowledge about translation technology (T7).

In addition, the statistics show that the program curriculum (Q4-5), facilities (Q4-7), and positioning (Q4-12) have not fully aligned with the emphasis of practicality and application in MTI education. Moreover, the data also indicates that MTI teachers have pressing needs for more teaching resources (Q4-6), greater team support (Q4-13), and stronger motivation of teaching (Q4-8).

MTI teachers’ perceptions of dilemmas in academic research

As university faculty members, MTI teachers are expected to be engaged in academic research [ 7 ], and research productivity is one of the major criteria for their career progression [ 25 ]. Table 5 presents MTI teachers’ recognition of factors which affect their engagement in T&I research.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0289269.t005

Of the nine factors, “difficulties of having papers published” (Q5-6) is currently the biggest obstacle for MTI teachers’ research engagement. The teachers believe that translation or interpretation is an applied skill, and relevant research on translation or interpretation is “non-academic”. For example, one teacher argued that “it is not easy to publish research papers on practice-oriented translation and interpretation” (T5). Moreover, the teachers complained that the acceptance rate of papers or research projects on translation and interpretation is quite low by academic journals or fund organizations, as one teacher stated, “T&I practice takes much time, and the papers written on translation or interpretation are not that theoretical and do not meet the taste of academic journals” (T4).

Secondly, “heavy teaching load” (Q5-1) is another major factor that hinders MTI teachers’ research engagement. Although most MTI teachers agreed on the importance of research, they argued that “teaching load is so heavy and stressful that they do not have extra spare time and energy for research” (11-T22). In the questionnaire, MTI teachers regarded “insufficient team support” (Q5-8) and “disconnection between research and MTI teaching” (Q5-9) as additional major factors that prevented them from more research engagement. Furthermore, those who recently switched from teaching research-oriented courses such as linguistics, language education, or literature reported that “the field of their academic research is not related to the actual MTI teaching” (11-T59).

Among all the factors, the lowest mean score is for “not interested in research” (Q5-7), indicating that MTI teachers are aware of the importance of research engagement for their professional development, but some environmental factors, such as difficulty in publication, complicated process of application, and heavy load of teaching demotivate their involvement in academic research. For example, T5 complained about the situation with some passiveness:

The application process is too complicated and following the requirement of other people instead of our own interests is also very boring… I prefer to summarize some experiences based on my own T&I practice. I don’t need to follow the academic research requirement, go through complicated application processes, and don’t need to be funded financially. (T5)

And they also express their expectation of more environmental support, such as greater teamwork support and higher resource accessibility to overcome these obstacles, which implies how important the environment is in shaping teachers’ professional development [ 30 , 31 ].

MTI teachers’ perceptions of dilemmas in T&I practice

The goal of MTI education is to serve the T&I industry [ 32 ]. Hence, professional translation practice is prescribed as a prerequisite for a qualified MTI teacher, the main reference for the evaluation of MTI teachers’ qualifications, and the criterion of their professional promotion as university teachers [ 6 , 7 ]. As Kiraly [ 33 ] argues that without professional T&I expertise or a professional self-concept, a teacher will not be able to help their students develop one. Therefore, engaging in professional practice in the mode of in-house practice or short-term practice in T&I firms or a freelance translator is perceived as an integral part of MTI teachers’ professional development.

Table 6 indicates that the factor of the highest mean value affecting MTI teachers’ participation in professional practice is “heavy load of research work” (Q6-2) and “heavy load of teaching tasks” (Q6-1). For example, one of the participants said:

On the one hand, engagement in T&I practice may conflict with teaching tasks in time, and on the other hand, the university requires full-time teachers’ research output. So we do not have enough energy and time for both of them. In the past few years, apart from teaching, I have been torn apart between research and T&I practice (T6).

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0289269.t006

When speaking of their engagement in translation practice, the teachers state that lack of time and energy deprives them of the opportunities of either working in translation firms for in-house T&I practice or any other type of translation practice. In addition, the low service fee in the market further demotivates their participation in T&I practice (Q6-4). The factors of the lowest mean score were “no interest in T&I practice” (Q6-9) and “no benefits to professional development” (Q6-8). In the qualitative questionnaire, the teachers said, “we cannot learn translation only from books” (22-T80), and “high competence in T&I practice makes MTI teachers more qualified” (22-T39). It implies that MTI teachers hold the consensus that T&I practice is an indispensable part of their professional life, and teachers’ experience in professional translation practice is an essential guarantee for the success of MTI education. MTI teachers have the motive to undertake more T&I practice, but under the pressure of teaching and research, as well as other environmental factors, they have to reduce the investment of time and energy into the practice.

Perceptions of the needs of MTI teachers in their professional development

In addition to the exploration of MTI teachers’ perceptions of dilemmas arising from various challenges and difficulties in teaching, research, and T&I practice, in the questionnaire, we also explore an overall picture of the needs and expectations of MTI teachers in their professional development.

Table 7 indicates that the major needs of MTI teachers are “to understand the development of the T&I industry” (Q7-8), “to have more opportunities for in-service professional training” (Q7-9), “to learn modern T&I technology” (Q7-7) and “to enhance T&I competence” (Q7-1). It implies that MTI teachers expect to learn more about the T&I industry, to expand the relevant domain knowledge, and to enhance T&I competence. The participants in the open-ended questionnaire expressed their motivation to “establish more extensive contacts with publishers and T&I firms to get real T&I jobs” (13-T66) and “to go to T&I firms for further training and experience actual T&I projects in the market” (20-T37). And in the afterward qualitative interview, MTI teachers also reiterated that they “need professional T&I practice most because the objectives of the MTI program is to cultivate talented translators or interpreters, and MTI teachers themselves should be qualified first” (T6). In addition, in the era when information technology has revolutionized many traditional industries, T&I technology likewise became a focus of attention for MTI teachers. The teachers indicated that “A more urgent need is for the training of T&I technology” (20-T81). One teacher in the interview emphasized that:

T&I technology development is something we have to face. Though some teachers prohibited students from using machine translation in their practice, the students would use it anyhow. We should talk about how to use machine translation scientifically, how to distinguish good translation from poor translation, learn how to edit after translation, and learn how to control the quality of translation with tools and processes. We should not deny T&I technology, but be open and tolerant and keep up with the times (T2).

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0289269.t007

They believed that T&I technology is an unstoppable tidal current in the translation industry, and the comprehension and mastery of it is an essential indicator for the professionalization of MTI teachers, which is critical for the success of the market-orientated and practice-orientated MTI program [ 34 ].

In addition to the need of increasing their professional and practical T&I competence, MTI teachers also scored higher on the needs of “to improve teaching skills” (Q7-3) and “to improve academic research competence” (Q7-2), indicating that, though slightly weaker than T&I practice, the needs for increasing teaching and research ability are likewise essential for MTI teachers’ professional development. When speaking of the abilities of a competent MTI teacher, the teachers in the qualitative questionnaire define that a competent MTI teacher should have “high competence in professional T&I practice, teaching and academic research” (22-T76). The item of the lowest mean among this category is “to enhance their education level” (Q7-6), indicating that the demand of MTI teachers to further their education is relatively low, and the most pressing currently for MTI teachers is to enhance the T&I practical competence rather than obtaining higher education degrees. It implies that the education level of MTI teachers in recent years has increased to a relatively satisfactory level in comparison to the situation ten years ago [ 3 ].

Perceptions of needs of MTI teachers for in-service training programs

Among various approaches to professional development, in-service training is perceived as one of the most efficient to enhance the qualifications of MTI teachers and to ensure the success of MTI education [ 16 , 35 – 37 ].

The statistics indicate that nearly 65% of the participants have participated in relevant in-service training. However, when inquired whether they were satisfied with the training, nearly half of them were average or unsatisfactory with the training program (see Table 8 ), and it implied that their expectations and needs for in-service training have not been fully accommodated. For example, a teacher mentioned his needs for long-term training programs:

Short-term in-service training is generally ineffective and can only give teachers a skin-deep, simple conceptual understanding, which is generally not profound enough for teaching and supervising students (T6).

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0289269.t008

In terms of training contents, Table 9 indicates that the items of the highest mean values in this section are “T&I industry information” (Q9-6), “T&I technology” (Q9-7), “strategies in T&I practice” (Q9-3), and “T&I project management” (Q9-8). Most teachers articulate that they need to learn about the T&I industry, marketing, business operation, and management to complement their academic knowledge and understand the specifications of T&I jobs demanded in the market. This echoes the previously-mentioned MTI teachers’ needs for T&I practice skills, especially the industry knowledge and T&I technology, which are difficult to obtain in academic institutions and may only be acquired through participation in professional practice.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0289269.t009

The items following are related to T&I teaching and research methods, e.g., “T&I related pedagogical methods” (Q9-2) and “T&I related research methods” (Q9-5). It implies that the teachers need to improve their teaching skills, especially how to integrate theories with practice and how to teach efficiently. The items with the lowest score are “theoretical knowledge of T&I studies” (Q9-4), “pedagogic theories” (Q9-1), and “knowledge of related domains” (Q9-9). In comparison to the professional development need of the foreign language teachers of other programs in Chinese universities, i.e., language skills, linguistic theories, and pedagogical methods [ 4 ], MTI teachers need more training in professional practice and industry-related training, aligning with the practice-orientation of MTI program.

In terms of training modes, Table 10 shows that the greatest demand of MTI teachers is to participate in “actual T&I practice” (Q10-8). In the qualitative questionnaire, one teacher suggested that we “should be involved in actual T&I practice, project management, and other processes” (20-T38). In addition, as a newly established program, observing experienced teachers’ practice and teaching is an effective means of professional development for new MTI teachers, i.e., “to observe and learn from model MTI programs” (Q10-1), “to observe actual T&I practice” (Q10-7) and “to attend lectures of experts” (Q10-2). Some teachers also suggested that “it is more meaningful and rewarding for MTI teachers to learn from more successful MTI programs as a model” (20-T66). In addition, relevant seminars and conferences are also efficient means for MTI teachers to share experiences, such as “to attend teaching seminars” (Q10-4) and “to attend academic conferences” (Q10-5). In this category, the relatively lower scores were “to attend online training” (Q10-3) and “to attend in-house training in T&I firms” (Q10-6), and some teachers in the interview suggested that teachers should undertake more in-house training or participate in actual practice in T&I enterprises on a part-time basis, which is also previously suggested by other researchers [ 38 ]. However, in practice, due to teachers’ time and energy constraints, administrative policies, and other objective circumstances, a systematic administrative system supporting any kind of in-house training in T&I firms has not been developed in MTI teachers’ education and sustainable development programs.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0289269.t010

Findings and implications

On the basis of the above analysis and discussion of MTI teachers’ perceptions of dilemmas and needs in their professional development, we draw the following findings and implications. Firstly, MTI teachers are basically satisfied with the current status quo of MTI education, but some challenges in teaching, especially those caused by the varying levels of students in MTI education, insufficient number of qualified teachers, limited teaching resources, and the discrepancy between curriculum design and market demand, aroused the dilemma and concern for MTI teachers. While the MTI program is developing rapidly, corresponding measures and policies should be further implemented to formulate more reasonable enrollment requirements, enhance the quality of teaching, and adjust the curriculum to fit the market’s needs. As some scholars suggested, the rapid development of the MTI program cannot be at the expense of quality [ 39 ].

Secondly, it reveals that the most pressing need of MTI teachers’ professional development currently is to increase their knowledge about T&I industry and engagement in T&I practice, which are consistently believed to be the vital guarantee for the quality of MTI education. As previously reiterated, most MTI teachers are faculty members who just shifted from research-oriented postgraduate programs to practice-oriented MTI programs. They are fully aware of the necessity of enriching their T&I practice experience but do not have a clear and specific plan to implement this goal. Moreover, the constraints and entanglement of heavy teaching loads, high expectations of research engagement, and other environmental factors, as well as some personal factors, decrease their motivation to actively participate in T&I practice. Though MTI teachers are aware of the importance of T&I practice, the problems of how to engage in practice and how to resolve the contradiction between their identities as practice-oriented and research-oriented teachers perplexed them. Some scholars have attempted to explore this issue in recent years [ 22 , 34 , 40 , 41 ], but there is still no effective solution to the problem. It is suggested that in the future, some practical measures and policies to accommodate the needs of MTI teachers for T&I practice and proper teacher evaluation mechanisms to encourage teachers’ engagement in professional practice should be adopted.

Thirdly, regarding in-service training, the study reveals that most of the MTI teachers have had opportunities for in-service training and are generally satisfied with the training, but the needs of MTI teachers in terms of training have not been comprehensively considered. The current T&I teacher training mainly focuses on the teaching philosophy, principles, methods, and curriculum design, emphasizing the theoretical knowledge input and demonstrating successful teaching modes. However, the knowledge transmitted in the existing training does not come from teachers’ personal teaching experiences, and simply providing teachers with an imitable or authoritative model to follow is not sufficient [ 5 , 42 ]. Meanwhile, the training at the technical level neglects the personal development of MTI teachers as “whole persons” [ 3 , 43 ] and the cultivation of comprehensive literacy, and fails to develop a systematic professional knowledge system for teachers. Therefore, it is recommended that future training should focus on the all-round development of the whole MTI teacher community while at the same time caring for ongoing professional development needs of the individual teachers. It is necessary to consider not only MTI teachers’ initial needs of simply following a model, but also the long-term needs of sustainable professional development.

Moreover, the study finds that most teachers expressed the needs for teamwork support in teaching and research. As a new and rapidly developing program, the faculty is expanding, and many “novice teachers” who are newly shifted to or recruited as MTI teachers urgently need help and support in their professional development. However, while seeking external assistance, MTI teachers should also develop internal motives for their professional development. MTI teachers vary in their educational backgrounds, practice experiences, research fields, and knowledge structures. These differences are valuable resources for teachers to establish a learning community of mutual respect, trust, reciprocity, equality, and openness [ 44 , 45 ]. Through teachers’ interactions and mutual assistance in research, practice, and teaching, they would complement each other in their professional development. For example, teachers with robust research competence, teachers with rich experience in T&I practice, and teachers with rich teaching experience may cooperate with and assist each other as one community of practice. Building a learning community is one of the most efficient approaches to the maintenance of the professional development of tertiary teachers [ 46 , 47 ].

Fifthly, the environment is one of the most significant factors influencing teachers’ professional development [ 48 – 50 ]. The study finds that some environmental factors demotivate MTI teachers from their development, especially the requirement for their research productivity and promotion mechanism. Research engagement is a significant criterion in the evaluation and promotion system of the academic faculty in Chinese universities. However, their engagement in translation/interpreting and teaching practice inhibits their engagement in research. Therefore, the environmental factors should adapt to the characteristics and needs of MTI teachers. For example, to accredit the experience of MTI teachers in T&I practice in the evaluation system, to expand the range of academically recognized journals and papers related to T&I practice, to recognize the T&I projects undertaken by MTI teachers, to establish learning community of practice among MTI teachers, to differentiate promotion criteria for research-oriented and practice-orientated teachers, to balance the requirement of teaching, researching and T&I practice for MTI teachers. An encouraging environment would strengthen their professional identity and enhance their motivation for sustainable professional development [ 47 , 51 ].

What needs to emphasize is that, compared with the faculty of research-oriented programs, MTI teachers’ professional development follows a “trinity” model composed of teaching, academic research, and T&I practice. However, the study indicates that the relationship among the three components is mutually repulsive instead of mutually supportive, which disperses MTI teachers’ time and energy, creates contradiction and entanglement, and impedes their healthy, comprehensive and sustainable development. How to improve the “mutual transferability” [ 24 , 52 ] among research, teaching, and T&I practice and drive the three cogs under the same mechanism progress simultaneously ( Fig 1 ) is key to MTI teachers’ sustainable development. The development of an encouraging environment, proper positioning of T&I program, improvement of the quality of MTI curriculum, increase of the opportunities of the professional training, construction of a cooperative learning community, support of promotive evaluation system, and construction of a “whole-person” development concept are all the lubricants that enable the smooth progress of the “three-in-one” mechanism.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0289269.g001

The development of MTI teachers and MTI education are interdependent, and so are the quality of teaching and learning. Hence the exploration of teacher development serves the twin purposes of enhancing MTI teacher professional learning and improving the quality of MTI education. However, as a newly-established program, the teachers encountered more dilemmas and uncertainties, and the traditional “reference road-map” of foreign language teachers in other academic programs does not fit the needs of their professional development. How to construct a harmonious “three-in-one” model of teaching, research, and T&I practice is currently a significant issue in the field of MTI education. Ultimately, this research will be more meaningful when the results can find more empirical research conducted on MTI teachers in the future, especially from the perspective of constructivism, which focuses on the lived experiences and the inner voice of teachers as an individual person, and can also find more implementations of constructive policies and training to stimulate the enthusiasm and initiative of MTI teachers, enhance the professional competence of MTI teachers, and promote the sustainable development of MTI education. Apart from the core findings and implications, this research has two major limitations. First, we did not further categorize MTI teachers based on their specific pathway (translation or interpreting), making their respective needs and dilemmas of both groups remain underexplored. Moreover, this study adopts qualitative interviews with seven MTI teachers as supplementary to triangulate the quantitative findings. We also recognize the necessity of conducting in-depth qualitative studies in the future on MTI teachers to explore the innermost needs in their professional development.

Supporting information

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0289269.s001

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0289269.s002

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UB Awarded $3.6 Million NIH Grant to Address Western New York Health Inequities

Timothy F. Murphy, MD, speaks during a news conference announcing a $3.6 million National of Institutes grant awarded to the University at Buffalo to address health inequities in Western new York.

Early Career-Faculty Will Address Root Causes of Inequities in Buffalo Area Communities

By Ellen Goldbaum

Published August 6, 2024

BUFFALO, N.Y. – The University at Buffalo has been awarded a highly competitive, $3.6 million grant from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities to train early-career faculty members to address health inequities in Western New York.

Both UB’s strong community partnerships and the university’s range and breadth of expertise were instrumental in getting the award, university leaders said.

The five-year grant from the institute, part of the National Institutes of Health, aims to inspire and mentor early-career faculty researchers from a wide range of academic disciplines to address the entire range of social determinants of health. This includes poverty, substandard housing, unequal access to health care, lack of educational opportunity, racism and more.

UB will use the award to establish the Center of Excellence in Investigator Development and Community Engagement, which will be embedded in the university-wide Community Health Equity Research Institute . The center will encourage and support research that benefits people who experience health inequities caused by adverse social determinants of health.

“Today’s $3.6 million grant will help ensure all Western New Yorkers have access to the quality health care they need and deserve, no matter their means or background,” U.S. Rep. Timothy M. Kennedy said. “It will provide UB with the resources it needs to recruit and develop the next generation of researchers to better understand the social disparities that impact the health care and services people rely on in order to level the playing field. This is just another example of the ways Western New York is becoming a better and more equitable place to live, work, and raise a family — for everyone.”

Allison Brashear, MD, MBA , vice president for health sciences and dean of the  Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences , said ”This award underscores UB’s unwavering dedication to enhancing the health of the Buffalo community. Leveraging UB’s robust expertise in health sciences and our extensive research capabilities, we are fully committed to advancing health outcomes.”

She added: ”Through our strong partnerships with numerous community organizations, we believe we can transform the health landscape of our region. Although this award is centered at UB, its true purpose is to empower and transform the health of Buffalo and Western New York.”

New York State Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes said, “In too many cases, patients in our community needlessly suffer not because there’s a lack of medical knowledge, but because the patient’s voice wasn’t heard. Ultimately, I see the work of this center as raising up the voices and experiences of patients so that they can live happier, healthier lives.”

From left, Kelly Wofford, Rev. George F. Nicholas, NYS Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes, U.S. Rep. Timothy M. Kennedy, Allison Brashear, MD, MBA; and Timothy F. Murphy, MD, at the Aug. 6 event.

Problems Go Beyond Health Care Access

The grant, titled “Igniting Hope in Buffalo, New York Communities: Training the Next Generation of Health Equity Researchers,” provides UB with resources to attract early-career faculty researchers and postdoctoral fellows from health care disciplines, as well as non-health care fields, to work on problems that impact the social determinants of health. The center will utilize a “community-based participatory research” approach, where community members are a partner in the research, helping to design, plan and conduct the research so that they can gain the greatest benefit from it.

While advances in medical interventions have dramatically accelerated in recent years, such interventions cannot overcome the systemic inequities that are so deeply rooted in complex social systems. For that reason, the center will prioritize attracting investigators working in fields outside of health care to address, for example, inequities in the criminal justice system, substandard housing, access to healthy food and many other issues.

“Adverse health outcomes are a result of these social determinants of health” said  Timothy F. Murphy, MD , principal investigator on the grant, SUNY Distinguished Professor of medicine and director of UB’s Community Health Equity Research Institute. “If we could solve all health care access problems, we’ll still only change health outcomes in our at-risk communities by about 15%. What we are trying to do with this grant is to attract researchers in non-health-care disciplines, who are working in urban planning or education or law or management, and to make them aware that their work is absolutely critical to solving health disparities in Western New York.”

“Health inequity remains a serious and complicated issue in Buffalo and its surrounding communities,” said state Sen. Sean M. Ryan. “To solve this crisis, we must understand its root causes and develop innovative solutions. I am pleased to support the University at Buffalo and community leaders who are addressing this urgent problem, and look forward to building stronger and healthier communities in Western New York.”

Strong Community, Government Partnerships

In 2019, UB established the Community Health Equity Research Institute with strong community involvement. In 2021, Erie County established its Office of Health Equity. That same year, UB’s Center for Urban Studies partnered with the Community Health Equity Research Institute, linking the institute to urban planning and neighborhood development.

These connections have further cemented local, coordinated university-community-government efforts to address health inequities, some of which may depend on legislative and policy changes.

In a reflection of those connections, Rev. George F. Nicholas, CEO of the Buffalo Center for Health Equity is associate director of the UB Center of Excellence in Investigator Development and Community Engagement. He said that without research, many well-intentioned efforts don’t have the expected benefit.

“The work of health equity has got to be data-driven,” he said. “A lot of work that is done to address social problems often gets tied up in theoretical approaches or philosophical approaches and history has taught us while they may do some good, they don’t bring real change. Research gives us a clear picture on the depth of the problems and what is driving them. When we better understand the scope of the problems and what’s driving them, then we can develop approaches and remedies to solve them.”

Center to Support Community-Focused Projects

With the grant, UB will provide faculty researchers and postdoctoral fellows with pilot funding for projects with community partners that have the potential to generate transformational change. These changes will not be quick fixes, Murphy cautioned.

“A Black person in Buffalo dies 10 to 12 years younger than a white person in Buffalo,” Murphy said. “That’s a tragedy and unfortunately it’s not one that’s going to change anytime soon. But what if a researcher develops a green infrastructure project that actually reduces pollution in a neighborhood and that then causes a drop in the number of kids with asthma who end up in the emergency room. That’s going to have a bigger outcome down the road, kids won’t be missing school, their education improves. That’s the kind of change we’re going to see with this new research.”

The center could even change how research is viewed in the community, Nicholas added, and it will encourage people in at-risk communities to get involved.

“You don’t hear a lot of young people say, ‘Hey, I want to be a researcher,’” he said. “But we want to make being a researcher not only a possibility but make it attainable and desirable, to say ‘This is something you could do that will have an impact on your community, on the neighborhood you live in.’”

Media Contact Information

Ellen Goldbaum News Content Manager Medicine Tel: 716-645-4605 [email protected]

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Translational Orthopaedic Research Lab Funded to Explore Effects of Hormones on ACL Injury Risk

Matthew Fisher , associate professor in the Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering and principal investigator of the Translational Orthopaedic Research Laboratory , was awarded a 5-year, $3.2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Disease (NIAMS). Fisher’s laboratory focuses on understanding the normal structure and function of soft tissues in the musculoskeletal system to develop new tissue engineering and regenerative medicine solutions. The award specifically supports the lab’s research on anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) function in the growing knee joint. 

The information gained from this research can also support human clinical trials into injury risk reduction and new potential treatment strategies. Collaborators from NC State University on this project include Lauren Schnabel, professor in the Department of Clinical Sciences, Jorge Piedrahita, director of the Comparative Medicine Institute, and Emily Griffith, associate department head in the Department of Statistics. Additional collaborators include Jeffrey Spang, associate professor at UNC-Chapel Hill Orthopaedics, Alon Conley, professor in Veterinary Medicine at UC Davis and Sandra Shultz, director of the Center for Women’s Health and Wellness at UNC-Greensboro.

This article was written by Kathleen Clardy for The Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering.

For more information on this project proposal, please click here .

Preliminary data for this proposal was collected with support from the UNC Thurston Arthritis Research Center.

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Placebo Workshop: Translational Research Domains and Key Questions

Date and time.

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) will host a virtual workshop on the placebo effect. The purpose of this workshop is to bring together experts in neurobiology, clinical trials, and regulatory science to examine placebo effects in drug, device, and psychosocial interventions for mental health conditions.

Topics will include interpretability of placebo signals within the context of clinical trials, how to isolate active response from placebo effects, and psychosocial implications of placebo response.

The workshop will be open to the scientific community and the public at large.  

Sponsored by

The National Institute of Mental Health’s  Division of Translational Research (DTR) .

Registration

This workshop is free, but registration is required   .

If you have questions about this workshop or need reasonable accommodations, please email Doug Meinecke, Ph.D. and Erin King, Ph.D. Requests need to be made five business days before the event. 

Day 1. Thursday, July 11

12:00-12:05 p.m.

NIMH Welcome Remarks

Shelli Avenevoli, Ph.D.  NIMH staff

12:05-12:20 p.m.

Introduction and Workshop Overview

• Workshop goals
• Placebo definition
• Introduction to placebo mechanisms

Tor Wager, Ph.D.

12:20-1:10 p.m.

Historic Perspectives on Placebo in Drug Trials

• Industry and regulatory perspectives

Part 1: The Scale of the Placebo Problem , Ni Aye Khin, MD

Part 2: Strategies and Results , Michael Detke, MD, Ph.D.

1:10-1:35 p.m.

Current State of Placebo in Regulatory Trials

• Mitigation and control of placebo response in drug trials

Title TBD Tiffany Farchione, M.D., FAPA

1:35-1:50 p.m.

1:50-2:30 p.m.

Current State of Placebo in Device Trials

• Historical perspectives and current challenges

Sham in device trials: Historical perspectives and lessons learned , Sarah Hollingsworth “Holly” Lisanby, MD

Challenges and Strategies in Implementing Effective Sham Stimulation for Noninvasive Brain Stimulation Trials , Zhi-De Deng, Ph.D.

2:30-3:10 p.m.

Current State of Placebo in Psychosocial Trials

• How is placebo defined in the context of psychosocial interventions?

What is the psychosocial “placebo pill”? Transferring the Placebo Construct to  Psychosocial Trials ,   Winfried Rief, Ph.D.

A social neuroscience approach to placebo analgesia,  Lauren Atlas, Ph.D.

3:10-4:00 p.m.

Panel Discussion

• Identification of gap areas and current challenges

Moderators: Carolyn Rodriguez, M.D., Ph.D. Alexander Talkovsky, Ph.D. All Day 1 and Day 2 speakers

Day 2. Friday, July 12

12:00-12:15 p.m.

Day 1 Recap and Day 2 Overview

Cristina Cusin, M.D.

12:15-1:30 p.m. (6, 20-minute talks with 5 minutes for questions each)

Measuring & Mitigating the Placebo Effect

• What are the basic mechanisms of the placebo response?
• Cross cutting commonalities in predicting placebo response
• Psychosocial and interpersonal effects

Placebo and nocebo effects: Predictive factors in laboratory settings, Luana Colloca, MD, Ph.D.

Genetics and the Placebo Response in Clinical Trials and Medicine, Kathryn Hall, Ph.D., MPH

Disentangling the physiological, psychological and neural mechanisms supporting mindfulness-based analgesia from placebo , Fadel Zeidan, Ph.D

1:30-1:40 p.m.

1:40-2:55 p.m.

Measuring & Mitigating the Placebo Effect (continued)

• Which outcomes are susceptible to placebo response?
• What are other measures of placebo response besides biological?
• Novel biological and behavioral approaches to address the placebo effect in research

2:55-3:55 p.m.

Moderators: Ted Kaptchuk, M.D. Matthew Rudorfer, M.D. All Day 1 and Day 2 speakers

3:55-4:00 p.m.

Closing Remarks

Cristina Cusin, MD