Dr Martin Ward

Profile

I have been teaching at the University of Leeds since 2017, having also graduated from Leeds in 1999 with a BA in Chinese and Japanese Studies (first class honours). I gained my M.Ed (2003) and PhD (2006) in Asian Culture from Hiroshima University in Japan as a Monbusho Scholar. My Phd thesis (in Japanese) examines the work of CMS missionary J.R. Wolfe in Fujian Province in the 1860s and 70s, in particular exploring the somewhat political nature of his missionary work in the context of the unequal post-Tianjin Treaty China. A crucial aspect of the meeting of cultures and civilizations is the role of translation, and my research focus later moved to centre around translation studies and translation pedagogy.

Responsibilities

• Associate Professor of Chinese and Japanese Translation
• AHC Faculty Academic Lead for Global Campus Experience

Research interests

I am a former joint chief editor of the journal hosted by the Centre for Excellence in Language Teaching (CELT): The Language Scholar.

I am engaged in on-going scholarship into the teaching of Chinese and Japanese to English translation at higher education institutions. In 2020 I established the international East Asian Translation Pedagogy Advance (EATPA) network to bring together practitioners in the field of Chinese/Japanese/Korean translation pedagogy at universities around the world to stimulate pedagogical advances within the field. This network has now grown to bring together over 100 academics at more than 50 institutions globally into a dynamic community of practice.

I also conduct research into the translation of Chinese political discourse and regularly give speeches on the subject, in particular at translation studies conferences in China.

Qualifications

• PGCAP
• Fellow Advance HE
• PhD (Asian Culture)
• M.Ed (Asian Culture)
• B.A. Chinese and Japanese Studies

Professional memberships

• Overseas Expert of the Translators Association of China (TAC)
• European Society for Translation Studies (EST)
• Advance HE

Student education

I have previously taught a variety of modules at Leeds, including Japanese language, religion in Japan, and others, and now mainly teach Chinese and Japanese to English translation at undergraduate and postgraduate (MA) level. I also supervise PhD students with research projects in the field of Chinese or Japanese to English translation. The focus of my pedagogic research (also known as ‘scholarship’) has been the role of translation modules in strengthening students’ employability skills. This plays out in my teaching through the way I have been developing opportunities for students to engage in collaborative online international learning (COIL) into various areas of my teaching practice, providing students the opportunity to work collaboratively on translation pieces with their peers around the world, and develop key subject-specific, generic, and intercultural communication skills.

Recognising my achievements, I was awarded the Early Career Faculty Teaching Award 2021 for Early Career Excellence in the Faculty of Arts, Humanities, and Cultures, a University of Leeds Early Career Teaching Award in 2022, and then a University of Leeds Sustained Excellence Teaching Award in 2024.

I am the AHC Faculty Academic Lead for Global Campus Experience, working to further enhance the international student experience at Leeds and also embed international collaborative learning (such as COIL) into student education across the Faculty, as well as being the institutional lead for COIL.

Passionate about educational outreach, I regularly visit local high schools to give taster sessions in Chinese, Japanese, and translation.

Research groups and institutes

• Japanese
• Chinese
• Translation
• East Asian Studies
• Centre for Translation and Interpreting Studies