Role-playing

Initial situation

The aim of this course is to train students in translation review. This professional activity consists of comparing the original document with its translation and correcting errors in the latter. The teacher, having practiced this activity in her professional career, knows that when reviewers and reviewees meet, the exchanges can sometimes be problematic and are not always effective, especially because of emotional factors that tend to compromise the formulation as well as the understanding of advice. Therefore, she wishes to prepare her students to interact appropriately as reviewers

Project implementation

First, the teacher presents the necessary rules for a good relationship between reviewer and reviewee. She then discusses less appropriate attitudes that can be observed in practice. These inappropriate attitudes are presented in a caricatured way to allow students to understand the nuances between a caring and constructive professional behavior and an unproductive behavior to avoid.

Two extreme reviewer attitudes are presented. An overly authoritarian reviewer, who does not sufficiently explain the proposed corrections and adopts a superior attitude (by sighing or praising his/her own merits). On the other hand, a reviewer who is too timid, who does not manage to impose his/her vision of things, to assert the importance of his/her comments, and who is too conciliatory with the reviewer. In the role of the reviewee, two extremes are also presented. First, a person who is overconfident refuses to apply the proposed corrections and questions the authority instead of arguing objectively. Then, on the contrary, a person who is too complacent/indulgent and does not defend his point of view even when he or she is right.

The teacher then proposes a staging of the professional situation through role-playing. First, the teacher and the assistant play/propose situations that illustrate these different roles, one assuming one of the four personalities described and the other the person in charge of reacting to and rationally managing the personality being played. Following these presentations, the students are invited to react and discuss what they have observed and felt.

Then, on the basis of a text provided by the teacher, accompanied by a revised version annotated with the various errors noted, the students, in groups of 3, take part in the role-play by interpreting one of the four personalities at a time. Alternatively, one person takes on the role of reviewer, another the role of reviewee and the last the role of observer of the interaction. Having to interact with an overly authoritative or reserved reviewer allows students to practice dealing with the difficult interactions that may await them in their future professions.

Thoughts and advice

The teacher reports that the playfulness of the role-play format appeals to students and motivates them. It allows them to transpose the theoretical situation into practice. It is also an opportunity to help them overcome their fear of “doing it wrong” since the roles to be adopted require precisely inappropriate behavior.

The activity was proposed as part of a complete course. There is no assessment available specifically for this activity. However, the teacher noted that the activity is engaging enough to get students to interact. As a result, at times, some students wanted to experience all the roles and it was difficult to stop the interactions. The assistant who helped set up the activity also noted that students may be nervous about the exercise at first, but that in the end everyone actively participates and gets caught up in the game.