Training Translators for the Tourism Industry in the L2/LSP Classroom through TV Series

This work is contextualised in the field of Translation and Interpreting, more precisely in tourism translation, and falls within the area of translator training. The study is part of a larger project on the adoption of strategies for the acquisition of intercultural communicative competence (ICC) by T&I students in second language (L2) classrooms. The article examines how the use of TV series can be an effective method not only to improve language competence, but also to enhance learners’ general knowledge of the foreign culture(s); to develop their intercultural awareness, especially through the use of subtitles (both same-language subtitles and translated subtitles); and to improve their translation skills, in this case, in relation to tourism translation. Thus, this paper argues that TV series help develop trainee translators’ intercultural awareness, prepare them to be professional intercultural mediators and they can be used as parallel texts for tourism translation. The paper includes a sample of task-based activities that can empower future translators in the tourism industry to overcome ambiguity and misunderstandings, and to achieve a fruitful dialogue between people of different cultures −a key aspect to be taken into account in the tourism industry. The study finally concludes with an evaluation of these activities supported by the results of a questionnaire administered to a group of students who benefited from the learning experience. The findings confirm their effectiveness in improving both translation and intercultural communication skills.