Translation as a L2 Teaching and Learning Tool

Translation as a L2 Teaching and Learning Tool Third IATIS Regional Workshop, September 2014 Faculty of Philosophy, University of Novi Sad, Serbia Melita Koletnik Korošec, Mag. phil. University of Maribor, Slovenia

Roadmap • Theoretical considerations: translation and FLT • Theexperiment: - preliminary quantitative findings - preliminary qualitative findings 3. Conclusions

Translation and FLT Main approaches • Grammar Translation Method vs. communicatively-oriented approaches to FL teaching Exclusion of translation from FLT – main reason • the rejection of GMT by the communicatively-oriented approaches Other reasons: • ethno-centric • economic • pedagogic • cognitive • practical… Objections: • value-oriented • technical Cook (2010)

Value-oriented objections • an unnatural, artificial and stilted activity • de-motivating and frustrating • only appropriate in the training of future translators • (translation into L2)purposeless and has no application in the real world • isused by language teachers because they have little experience or knowledge of other teaching methods

Technical objections • elicits mistakes and promotes interference and (negative) transfer (cross-linguistic interference) • forces the learners to view the language through the prism of their mother tongue • misleads students into thinking that expressions in two languages correspond 1:1 • is not suitable in the initial stages of learning • is independent and radically different from the four skills which define language competence – reading, listening, speaking and writing • does not allow or make easy the achievement of generally accepted foreign language teaching aims – such as initial fluency in spoken language, the use of situationalised and contextualised language, and the controlled introduction of communicative strategies and communicative language use • is not suitableas a language testing tool

Latest research (and personal observations) suggest… • There are very different concepts of what the term “translation” means. • Translation is a communicative activity that can enhance the learning of L2. • Translation is not a language-learning method in itself and is usually combined with a number of general teaching approaches. • There is no country-level evidence that less use of translation in the classroom correlates with higher performance in the other language skills and there are indications that a number of countries that score highly on L2 tests use translation frequently in the classroom. • Translation can be used as scaffolding in initial L2 learning, and as a complex multi-skill communicative activity at higher levels. Report of the European Commission on translation and language learning (October 2013) http://bookshop.europa.eu/en/translation-and-language-learning-pbHC0213216/

Do you use translation in your classes? K. Malmkjaer :Translation and Language Learning, presentationBrussels, 25 Oct 2013

Experimental study Teaching grammar through translation • 2 groups, 2 teachers • one taught without resort to translation • the other taught through translation • 1st year students of English translation Exploring (1st stage): • the role of translation in the acquisition of the linguistic competence Ultimate aim (2nd stage): • its influence on the development of translation competence

Translation as a tool for language acquistion… • exercisesimplemented as part of homework assignments • a combination of synthetic and authentic materials • a combination of on- and off-line activities (Moodle) • (limited) on-line feedback

… and its effect on the development of translation competence TBC: the assessment of students’ translations • assessment grid • independent examiners • typical errors

Quantitative and qualitative methodology • Oxford Online Placement Test (Test 1) • On-line questionnaire to determine students’ linguistic background (Questionnaire 1) • Grammar Tests (Tests 2-5) Weeks 7/14/21/28 • Oxford Online Placement Test (Test 6) • On-line questionnaire to asses the student’s general opinion (Questionnaire 2) • Group interview (Interview) • Translation test (Translation)

Quantitative Study - Preliminary Results – Tests 1 & 2 (Yr 1) • Statistical analyses of Test 1 vs. Test 2 results • No statistical significance could be established in relation to absolute performance of both groups (p=0.603 i.e. p>0.05)

Qualitative Study Preliminary Results – Tests 1 & 2 (Yr 1) • Statistical analyses of Test 1 vs. Test 2 results • No statistical significance could be established in relation to absolute performance of both groups • Group A seems to have achieved somewhat better results in all relevant exercises, save for Exercise 7, and the results for Exercise 6 are identical

Preliminary Results – Tests 1 & 2 (Yr 1) • Cohen’s d • 0.067 = indicating a non-significant effect. • Both practices seem to be supportive of the development of linguistic skills of language learners

Group interview Generation 1 (YR 1) • Students enjoy doing translation tasks • In students’ opinion, translation tasks in FLT do not impede but promote the learning of language • Students request to introduce (general) translation exercises earlier in their study

Concusions • Teachers use translation in FLT already • Translation seems to besuportiveoflanguage learning • Students believe translation beneficial to language learning • Students request to introduce translation earlier in their studies

THANK YOU! (melita.koletnik@um.si)

Translation as a L2 Teaching and Learning Tool