Thorsten Schröter

Translation primarily refers to interlingual translation here, i.e., the transfer of texts (broadly understood) between distinct languages. Wordplay is used synonymously with puns, while language-play is a broader concept referring to the intentional manipulation of linguistic elements for special effects. Language-play thus includes, but is not limited to, wordplay. This paper provides an overview of the issues involved in the translation of language-play, including wordplay. To this end, definitions, categories, and arguments related to translation on the one hand, and to word- as well as language-play on the other, are presented. This includes an introduction to different modes, purposes, and challenges of translation, as well as a discussion of the possible forms, functions, and effects of language-play, partly in relation to humour. Based on this groundwork, claims and findings related to the combination of the fields, i.e., the translation of word- and language-play, will be summarized. The paper concludes with an attempt at placing word- and language-play translation into a broader context, including societal and educational concerns, as well as the latest changes affecting the translation profession.

Recent research underscores the significance of data-led and collaborative reflection in enhancing teaching practices and professional development of teachers. While video-based reflections have been extensively studied, the potential of corpus-based methods remains underexplored. We address this gap in two ways. Firstly, we describe a research and development project in which we employed a corpus linguistic tool to analyse and reflect on our own lectures, with the ulterior aim of promoting a corpus-based reflective practice (CBRP) model that would help other teachers do the same. Secondly, we introduce collaborative micro auto-ethnography (CMAE) to illustrate how our model can facilitate the noticing of different aspects of teacher talk and lead to, what we call, snowball reflections (i.e., a sequence of reflective talk that extends a topic and spreads from one participant to the next). Our approach shows that corpus analysis, coupled with collaborative reflections, has the potential to not only enhance language use but also stimulate broader and deeper pedagogical discussions on and insights into teaching styles and student engagement, going beyond analyses of single words and lexico-grammatical patterns in teacher talk. We argue that there should be institutional support for developing new corpus-based professional development initiatives and that researchers can benefit from using ethnographic data together with detailed analyses of interactions.

English is taught in Swedish schools from the primary level, often from year 1. However, grades are normally not awarded until year 6, and the official information as to what English instruction in the early years should focus on in terms of content and learning objectives is quite limited, as are the guidelines regarding assessment. Against this background, we have interviewed a number of Swedish primary school teachers about the curriculum and other official documents regulating English education in Sweden, as well as their teaching and assessment practices, including the challenges they perceive and the strategies they employ to overcome them. Contact between the school and the students’ homes has been an additional, though related, focus. The participants confirmed that they experienced English instruction in primary school as not very well regulated, leaving them with some uncertainty as to how they should organize it and, in particular, how the students’ performance should be assessed. The fact that English is ubiquitous in most young Swedes’ lives was addressed as well. While the teachers did adopt different strategies to deal with the challenges they faced, they also expressed a need for enhanced guidance or cooperation.