Text Analysis, Reading Autonomy and Translation Ability of ESP Students

ESP students mostly think of translation as a matter of selecting equivalences from their specialized dictionary, and they fall short of creating a good translation. The present study mainly aimed at investigating the extent to which ESP students employ the elements of text analysis for translation and examining if knowledge of text analysis enhances the reading autonomy of ESP students. In so doing, a sample of ۳۴ homogeneous ESP university students studying Computer Engineering participated in this study. The researchers taught the elements of text analysis for translation suggested by Nord (۱۹۹۱) to the students at the experimental group helping them to analyze the texts and became independent in analyzing the texts and translating the texts more naturally. The results of the study confirmed that translation students could employ the elements of text analysis in their translations following the treatment phase. The results obtained from one-way ANCOVA revealed that there was a significant difference between the control group and the experimental group with respect to their reading autonomy scores, with the latter having better scores. Finally, the results of the interviews revealed that students were satisfied with the text analysis elements, and it was a novel experience for them. ESP students should know that they should not only gain knowledge of text structure but also resort to other elements such as presupposition and visual images like diagrams and pictures to create good translation.