Computer-assisted L2 learning and translation (CAL2T)

This chapter explores ways in which the use of corpora and machine translation (MT) can serve as an educational bridge in the training of both L2 translators and L2 learners in an increasingly multilingual and digital world. Adapting the well-established notion of CALL (Computer-Assisted Language Learning), broadly defined by Levy (1997 p. 1) as "the search for and study of applications of the computer in language teaching and learning", we propose to introduce the term Computer-assisted L2 Learning and Translation (CAL2T) with the aim of (1) re-conceptualising L2 translation as a core skill in contemporary translator training, and (2) re-evaluating the pedagogical potential of L2 translation to further foster linguistic and intercultural mediation skills in other learning contexts involving the use of a second, or additional, language (Campbell 1998; Witte, Harden and Ramos de Oliveira Harden 2009; Cook 2010; Leonardi 2010; González Davies 2012, 2014; Laviosa 2014). This new concept reflects three major social developments that impact similarly on L2 learning and L2 translation. These are (1) changes in patterns of contemporary mobility and migration, which result in plurilingual formations where both language learning and translation are possible communication choices; (2) the increasing use of data-driven technologies (of which corpus and MT tools are two examples) in computer-mediated learning environments; and (3) the status of English as a global lingua franca.