Free Online Translation Environment Tools: Applications in the Context of Current Curriculum Trends in Upper Secondary Schools

An initial analysis is undertaken of the revival of translation in the recent history of language teaching and the role of free online linguistic resources in this process, with special attention being paid to recent initiatives on the use of free online Machine Translation (MT) in language teaching and learning. Subsequently, a school project is described, which was aimed at exploring the potential of a guided translation activity using a new free online translation environment tool, MateCat, which combines MTand Computer Assisted Translation (CAT)-tools, for the development of mediation skills in the context of current curriculum trends in Italy, specifically «mediation skills» in terms of «translation of written tests» (Council of Europe 2001, 2017). To this extent, translation activities are not intended merely as a tool for the enhancement of the learners’ communicative competence and language awareness, but also as a crucial educational objective in today’s multilingual and multicultural society. In conclusion, we reflect on possible applications of web-based multilingual translation tasks with minority language students and the need for further research across a range of differing classroom contexts.