Teaching Arabic-English legal translation using model texts: a mixed-method study

Abstract Legal translation is usually a challenging task for many students due to the unique features of legal discourse. Despite this, few studies have experimented training techniques aimed at helping students overcome legal translation difficulties. In this study, 37 Saudi university students received training for eight academic weeks in Arabic-English legal translation using model translated texts. Each translation activity in the training consisted of the following four stages: translating the Arabic legal text into English, comparing the translated text to its translated model, revising the translated text in light of the model, and noticing textual features of the target legal text type in more translated models. The pre- and post-tests showed that the training significantly improved the lexical, syntactic and punctuation aspects in the students’ translated texts. The qualitative data also confirmed these positive gains. The results emphasize the importance of raising students’ awareness of legal translation conventions and terminology, and the need for using relevant and graded learning materials in legal translator training.