Meet The Speakers: Jurgen Basstanie

19/03/2018 - 08:07

Room 316
11:45-12:25
40-minute workshop

DeepL. How the translation tool revolutionised teaching translation & communication

Jurgen Basstanie

The German translation tool DeepL has revolutionised the way translators work today. Never before has any translation tool been able to reach this quality level. Will the future of translators be at risk or will they just have a wonderful tool to speed up their work? And what does all this mean for how we teach translation today?

Jurgen Basstanie’s Bio

BELTA Board Member
Belgium

Jurgen Basstanie has been teaching English since 1994. He holds a Master’s degree of Germanic Languages and in Teacher Training from the University of Antwerp, and an MSc in Applied Linguistics from the University of Edinburgh.

He has taught English and Dutch at the University of Edinburgh, The University of Antwerp, VLEKHO Business School (now KULeuven) and at Thomas More university college.

Why have you chosen this topic for your presentation

Anyone who is involved in teaching translation will be interested in the power of this translation tool. But DeepL has its limitations. The workshop will explain how DeepL has affected teaching translation today.

What do you want participants to take away from your presentation?

A way of dealing with the new technology in a smart way

Summary of presentation

DeepL is probably the invention of the past year in the world of translation, but also in the world of language teaching. Launched by Linguee in August 2017, DeepL has revolutionised the way we teach translation and communication courses. Many teachers feel at a loss now that this AI based tool is becoming widespread amongst the students who have discovered it. What are my experiences on how we can embrace the new technology in my communication and translation courses? Depending on how you deal with this powerful translation tool DeepL might be a blessing or a curse.