Translation and mediation: From theoretical models to self-awareness and pedagogy

Translation is frequently relegated to the margins of language education, either as an outdated pedagogical method or as a specialist set of skills which are only relevant to advanced learners intending to become professional translators and interpreters. A new appreciation of the pedagogical role of translation is emerging, however, in parallel with what has been identified as ‘the multilingual turn’ in language education and with broader, less rigid conceptualizations which bring notions of translation and mediation in close contact with each other. The present article argues for a redefinition of translation as part of a continuum of practices which include not just interlingual translation but also self-translation, translanguaging and other forms of linguistic mediation. Having redefined translation as the ability to move between languages and across complex linguistic repertoires, the chapter will present a discussion of the links connecting translation with mediation and of the fundamental role both practices can play in language education. This move requires a reassessment of how we define and represent not just translation and its relationship with mediation but also language and language learning. Labels such as ‘mother tongue’, ʼnative speaker’ or ‘foreign languages’ build on powerful metaphorical images which reinforce and naturalize monolingualism as a normative condition. Learners’ language repertoires, however, are much more complex and dynamic. Raising awareness of these realities is a crucial step in the development of mediation skills and can help us to counter prevailing views which favour negative attitudes marked by what I call ‘language indifference’.