{"id":909,"date":"2011-01-17T19:32:15","date_gmt":"2011-01-17T18:32:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/eltchat.com\/?p=909"},"modified":"2011-01-17T19:32:15","modified_gmt":"2011-01-17T18:32:15","slug":"can-translation-and-translation-tools-facilitate-language-learning-and-how-can-it-be-used-to-best-effect-a-summary-of-eltchat-120111","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eltchat.org\/index.php\/2011\/01\/17\/can-translation-and-translation-tools-facilitate-language-learning-and-how-can-it-be-used-to-best-effect-a-summary-of-eltchat-120111\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cCan translation (and translation tools) facilitate language learning and how can it be used to best effect\u201d \u2013 a summary of eltchat 12\/01\/11"},"content":{"rendered":"

This summary has been copied from Shaun Wilden’s blog<\/a> with his permission<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Wednesday afternoon\u2019s #eltchat was on the use of translation. Over my teaching career this has been a topic that has often come up in development session. As a teacher as I have got more experienced I think I have gone from the draconian \u2018no use of l1\u2019 to a more tolerant approach but nevertheless I was blown away by Guy Cook\u2019s revelation (in a talk I saw at the weekend) that there is no research to support the \u2018banning\u2019 of translation. \u00a0I tend to agree with the point made that translation is a skill (the fifth skill as it was referred to yesterday) but we need to be careful and ensure we draw a line between L1 use in the classroom and the use of translation.<\/p>\n

As a language learner I have always needed translation as a crutch and as one tweet said:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cShow me a beginner learner who is NOT trying to translate at some stage\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

And our learning experiences seem (for the most part) to hold this view:<\/span><\/p>\n

Teachers reflecting on their learning and translation:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Comparing structures is often quite useful \u2013 what crosses over between L1 and L2 and what doesn\u2019t<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I learnt through translation as well but must say it was when I ABANDONED translating that my acquisition took off<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I need translation skills all the time (live with an Italian)<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Translation is what helped me realise how uniquely different the two systems are, on multiple levels.<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 As a learner, I noticed a sequence (in myself) of translating from words to chunks\u2026<\/p>\n

In the summary of below I have tried to categorize the main points of chat, the topic headings are my own, I hope they reflect the chat as a whole.<\/span><\/p>\n

Why is translation ignored?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

– There is no research to suggest translation is a bad thing yet it is generally ignored<\/p>\n

– It\u2019s the effects of the Direct Method still gripping all other later approaches IMOHO<\/p>\n

– I think it\u2019s a general feeling that translation is \u2018old-fashioned\u2019 but it\u2019s not<\/p>\n

– What I remember most about my CertTESOL course is the icy stare I got from lecturers when I told them I actually enjoy translation<\/p>\n

– Perhaps the problem is that many still look at translation from a grammar translation point of view, which takes us back to those boring lessons.<\/p>\n

– Some schools actively ban L1 completely<\/p>\n

Plus points of translation:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It can be great at empowering learners when they\u2019re feeling overwhelmed by English speaker at front!<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Translation can be useful for highlighting specific differences between L1 and L2, but should we be using it for other things too <\/strong><\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Translation can be a great tool for students to grasp real meaning of what they\u2019re saying <\/strong><\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Students also seem to feel secure with some translation of vocabulary items. Maybe as you know a language more you need it less. <\/strong><\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Just yesterday a student of mine said he felt much more comfortable doing his homework and using an online translator <\/strong><\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Students find it very difficult to understand come concepts without translation <\/strong><\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Just as some students are visual learners, etc, some will benefit more than others from translating <\/strong><\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It can help convey a cultural concept from one language which does not transfer to the other <\/strong><\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Translation is handy with monolingual groups when we can\u2019t get meaning of a lexical item across after attempts: translate! Quick & effective <\/strong><\/p>\n

Some issues:<\/strong><\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It\u2019s a tricky thing for a teacher to manage or use in a multilingual class.<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 As any other tool in the language classroom, translation has to be used carefully, but it may be useful if used properly <\/strong><\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Translation perpetuates the myth that the native English teacher is always best or the NEST perpetuating myth <\/strong><\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It is widely used in mainly state education systems and often in \u201cboring\u201d grammar-translation\u201d lessons. <\/strong><\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Is there a danger of students becoming dependent on translation, if allowed more freely? The problem of overreliance. <\/strong><\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It\u2019s important that we are encouraging students to speak English rather than banning them from using their L1 <\/strong><\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 how does L1 culture affect attitude to using translation? Issues of identity, politics all play a part. <\/strong><\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Allowing students to use L1 will prevent them from acquiring important features of pronunciation, for instance<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Some way to use translation:<\/strong><\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Translation can be used in multilingual classes as personalised exercise<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The lexical approach is a big advocate of translation<\/strong><\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Mixing translation with pronunciation. Sentences written in phonemic script<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Translation and contrastive analysis are important teaching tools<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Does the teacher need to be in control or is it a way of handing over learning to the students?<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Have multilingual classes translate poems etc into their own language<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It can be extremely useful especially in ESP courses.<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Get multilingual classes to translate into their L1s, then give \u2018literal\u2019 translations back into English<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Fixing a bad translation into English is a great activity<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Learners\u2019 conversation are much more natural if they think about what they would say in L1 in the context before thinking about L2<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Translating songs<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Writing subtitles in L1 for a TV clip<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Scraps of paper: L1 one side, L2 the other. Put in circle. Roll dice, say translation (works for very clear direct equivalents)<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Getting students to translate L1 newspaper stories into L2 in summary and then present \u2013 works in reverse too<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 L1 can also be used for input or conversation trigger. For instance, a newspaper article in L1, but discussion in L2.<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Drama activity: Students act out scene in L1 then watch it in L2 \u2013 great for cultural and paralinguistic features<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 For business lessons replicating real situations useful, e.g., getting students to explain menu, news headlines, signs, etc.<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Translation great for practising reported speech as it should be practiced<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Students can build list of troublesome false cognates<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Find a badly translated menu and get students to improve it \u2013 mostly food vocabulary but a real task<\/p>\n

Links<\/strong><\/p>\n

The full transcript<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

An Interview with Guy Cook<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Guy Cook\u2019s recent talk on translation<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Links for Translators and Translator trainees<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This summary has been copied from Shaun Wilden’s blog with his permission Wednesday afternoon\u2019s #eltchat was on the use of translation. Over my teaching career this has been a topic that has often come up in development session. As a teacher as I have got more experienced I think I have gone from the draconian…
Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-909","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-summary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eltchat.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/909","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eltchat.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eltchat.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eltchat.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eltchat.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=909"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/eltchat.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/909\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eltchat.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=909"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eltchat.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=909"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eltchat.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=909"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}