Abstract:

All over the world, the social, economic and health crisis caused by COVID-19 has led to a rethinking of traditional university education systems.

Ideally, the transition from face-to-face to distance learning should have been made with the most innovative and necessary tools and methodologies. Since this transition has taken place more or less abruptly, it is now time to redefine and update teaching-learning methods and practices.

In the case of teaching in Translation and Interpreting, the trend towards more autonomous and distance learning seems a natural transition given that, in the professional field, teleworking seems to be a constant and a norm given the predominance of freelance translation and the emergence of telephone interpreting.

It could be argued, therefore, that distance learning would favour the acquisition of skills useful in the professional performance of translation and the new trends focused on localisation and transcreation. Therefore, the application of didactic methodologies based on micro-learning would overcome the barriers of traditional learning and facilitate students' access to the post-university professional world.

Our proposals are structured around solid psycho-pedagogical principles (Robinson, Olvera-Lobo & Gutiérrez-Artacho, 2016). Thus, the theoretical foundations of our approach are based on social constructivism (Kiraly 1999, 2000, 2003, 2005) and Vygotsky's (1978) "Zone of Proximal Development" (ZPD). The practical aspects of course design are guided by our interpretation of the ordered scale of cognitive skills originally defined by Bloom (1973) and its more recent revision to meet the realities of the digital age and build on its strengths (Hopson et al., 2002, Wright, 2012; Churches, 2013).

We propose to adopt two well-established approaches to learning: project-based learning and cooperative/collaborative learning, both of which have been combined in our MPDT (Professional Model for the Didactics of Translation) translator training model (Olvera-Lobo, et al., 2007; Robinson, Olvera-Lobo & Gutiérrez-Artacho, 2016) and applied through methodologies that favour distance learning, such as ubiquitous learning, mobile learning, e-learning (Burden, et al, 2019; Park, 2011; Sangrà et al, 2012) and, more specifically, microlearning (Wen and Zhang 2015; Leach and Hadi 2017; Nikou and Economides 2018).

The latter deals with the use of microvideos with short units of subject content, allowing students the flexibility to decide where and when they want to learn (Jomah et al. 2016; Leach and Hadi 2017; Nikou and Economides 2018; Wen and Zhang 2015). In this context, we advocate the integration of interactive online resources and the development of transparent self- and peer-assessment tools which, we believe, enhance formative assessment and encourage students' active participation in the construction of their own learning process.

Keywords:

Microlearning tools, Higher Education, Translation and Interpreting.