Effectiveness of Translation Programs in Training Competent Translators at Yemeni Universities: A Case Study

Abstract

This study aimed at investigating whether or not translation programs at Yemeni universities help undergraduate students to be competent translators from the perspective of the students themselves, identifying their actual level of competence in translation, and finding out any differences between public and private universities in training competent translators. The researcher followed the analytical descriptive method to analyze data using a quantitative approach. The population of this study consisted of 100 senior graduating translation students-second semester at two benchmarking universities, one private university and another public university in Yemen. The whole population of 100 senior translation students was sampled for this study. Data were collected through two instruments: a questionnaire and a test and were processed and analyzed through SPSS software (version 22). The results revealed that the participants of both universities seem to be satisfied with the performance of their translation programs. However, the results also showed that the participants’ level of competence in both universities was low and has not matched the stated outcomes of the translation programs. In addition, the results revealed a statistically significant difference between public and private universities in training competent translators. Based on the findings, recommendations and suggestions for future studies were also presented.