EFL Students’ Perceptions of Translation Teaching Practices: A Mixed-Methods Study at Faculty of Education-Tripoli, University of Tripoli, Libya

Abstract

Translation pedagogy plays a key role in EFL education by contributing to students' linguistic, communicative, and intercultural competence. This study investigated EFL students' perceptions of translation teaching practices at Faculty of Education-Tripoli, University of Tripoli in Libya. It adopted a mixed-methods descriptive design using a researcher-developed questionnaire containing 25 closed-ended statements and three open-ended questions. The sample consisted of 43 EFL students in their seventh and final academic semesters of the English department. The quantitative data were measured on a five-point Likert scale ranging from 1(Strongly Disagree) to 5 (Strongly Agree). Descriptive statistical analysis of one-way ANOVA and Pearson correlation were conducted to calculate the quantitative data, and the open-ended responses were thematically analyzed. The analysis of the respondents' perceptions revealed an overall mean of 3.83, indicating high agreement regarding positive statements about translation teaching practices. Translation teaching methods received a mean of (M=4.01), translation instructors' teaching practices obtained a mean of (M=3.94), curriculum and practical training (M=3.72) and students' overall evaluation (M=3.79). The one-way ANOVA analysis showed no statistically significant difference in the students' overall program evaluation according to English proficiency,F (2, 40) = 1.50, p= .236. Correlation analysis revealed significant positive relationships among teaching methods, instructors' practices and curriculum and practical training, while their relationships with overall evaluation were not st