A study of the use of translation in improving non majored english students’ reading comprehension at the faculty of english, university of languages and international studies,

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST GRADUATE STUDIES ****************************** ĐINH THI THU TRANG A STUDY OF THE U

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST GRADUATE STUDIES

******************************

ĐINH THI THU TRANG

A STUDY OF THE USE OF TRANSLATION IN IMPROVING NON- ENGLISH MAJORED STUDENTS’ READING COMPREHENSION ABILITY AT FACULTY OF ENGLISH, UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES, VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

(NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ SỬ DỤNG DỊCH TRONG CẢI THIỆN KỸ NĂNG ĐỌC HIỂU

CỦA SINH VIÊN KHÔNG CHUYÊN ANH, KHOA TIẾNG ANH,

TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ, ĐẠI HỌC QUỐC GIA HÀ NỘI)

M.A COMBINED PROGRAM THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60.14.00111

Hanoi, 2015

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST GRADUATE STUDIES

******************************

ĐINH THI THU TRANG

A STUDY OF THE USE OF TRANSLATION IN IMPROVING NON- ENGLISH MAJORED STUDENTS’ READING COMPREHENSION ABILITY AT FACULTY OF ENGLISH, UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES, VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

(NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ SỬ DỤNG DỊCH TRONG CẢI THIỆN KỸ NĂNG ĐỌC HIỂU

CỦA SINH VIÊN KHÔNG CHUYÊN ANH, KHOA TIẾNG ANH,

TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ, ĐẠI HỌC QUỐC GIA HÀ NỘI)

M.A COMBINED PROGRAM THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60.14.00111

Supervisor: Assoc Prof Dr Tran Xuan Diep

Hanoi, 2015

DECLARATION

I hereby, certify the thesis entitled “ A Study of The Use of Translation Improving Non-majored English Students’ Reading Comprehension in Faculty of English, University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi” is the result of my own research for the Degree of Master of Arts in English Teaching Methodology at University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi The thesis has not been submitted for any degree at any other universities or institutions

I agree that the origin of my thesis deposited in the library can be accessible for the purpose of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the librarian for the care, loan and reproduction of the paper

Hanoi, January 2015 Signature

Dinh Thi Thu Trang

My sincere thanks also go to all the staff, teachers and members at Faculty of Post-Graduate Studies – University of Languages and International Studies – Vietnam National University, Hanoi - for their work and services

I am also obliged to seventy non-majored English students at Faculty

of English who willingly participated in my study, contributed their efforts

to provide me with valuable source of data

Lastly, I am also thankful for the support and unconditional love and care I have had from my family, my husband and friends whose encouragements became my motivation to complete this study

ABSTRACT

The idea of using translation as a learning strategy as well as a teaching technique has received diverse compliments and criticisms during the EFL history Although some teaching methods are in complete disagreement with the use of translation in EFL classes, the fact cannot be neglected that non-majored English learners, especially in their early stages of language learning, heavily rely on their mother tongue and deploy it in various skills such as speaking, listening, writing and reading In this research attempts have been made to verify whether there is a positive correlation between the use of translation as a facilitating strategy and the improvement of non-majored English students‘ reading comprehension It was hypothesized that translation activities organized by the teacher may facilitate the process of comprehension for learners Seventy non-majored English learners from Faculty of English, ULIS, VNU were asked to complete a pilot study in the form of questionnaires to express their opinions towards translation In the experimental phase, they were divided into two groups The experimental group was taught reading text through translation activities and the control group received no translation After eight weeks of instruction, the obtained results showed there was a meaningful difference between the performance of control and experimental groups in reading comprehension pre-test and post-test

LIST OF TABLES

1 Summary of contents in New English File Pre-Intermediate 38

2 Students‘ opinions about the use of translation 42

3 Students‘ opinions about translation as an enabling strategy to

help them increase their reading comprehension

43

4 Statistics of pre-test for experimental and control groups 51

5 Statistics of post-test for experimental and control groups 53

6 Paired samples test of the means of the post test of control and

experimental groups

53

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

1 L1: First language

2 L2: Second language

3 EFL: English as a Foreign Language

4 CLT: Communicative Language Teaching

5 ULIS: University of Languages and International Studies

6 VNU: Vietnam National University, Hanoi

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECRALATION……… i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS……… ii

ABSTRACT………iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS ……… iv

LIST OF TABLES……… vi

LIST OF ABREVIATIONS……… vii

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION…… ……… 1

1.1 Statement of the problem……… 1

1.2 Objectives of the study ……….……… ……… 2

1.3 Research questions……… … 3

1.4 Significance of the study……… 3

1.5 Scope of the study……… 4

1.6 Design of the study……… 4

CHAPTER II: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND……….6

2.1 Reading and Reading Comprehension Theories……… 6

2.1.1 Theories and Approaches to Reading As a Language Skill… 6

2.1.2 Theories on Reading Comprehension……… 9

2.2 The Role of Translation In Teaching EFL……… 10

2.2.1 Definition of Translation……… 10

2.2.2 Translation in Foreign Language Teaching……… ……… 13

2.2.2.1 Objections and Disadvantages of Using Translation….13 2.2.2.2 Advocacy and Advantages of Using Translation…… 15

2.2.3 Approaches to Translations in EFL……… …….19

2.2.3.1 Bilingual Immersion……… 19

2.2.3.2 Co-teaching……… ……… … 20

2.2.3.3 Using Bilingual text……… 21

2.2.3.4 Combination Approach……… 23

2.2.4 Translation Activities in EFL classroom……….… 23

2.2.4.1 Principles of Designing Translation activities…… 23

2.2.4.2 Suggested activities……… ……25

2.3 The Role of Translation in Reading Comprehension…… … 27

2.4 Previous studies……….… 30

CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY……… ……… 34

3.1 Participants……….……… 34

3.2 Research instruments……… 35

3.3 Materials……… 36

3.4 Procedures……… 39

CHAPTER IV: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 41

4.1 Findings from pilot study……….……… 41

4.2 Research question 1……… ……… 45

4.3 Research question 2……… …… 51

CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION………55

5.1 Recapitulation………55

5.2 Pedagogical implications 56

5.3 Limitations of the research……… 58

5.4 Suggestions for further research ……….……… 59

REFERENCES 60 APPENDICES I

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION

This initial part states the problem and the rationale of the study, together with the aims, objectives and the scope of the whole paper Above all, it is in this part that the research questions are identified to work as clear guidelines for the whole research

1.1 Statement of the problem

With the new framework of learner-centered approach and the advent of Communicative Language Teaching in the realm of teaching English as a foreign language, translation has always been the core of the controversies on whether it can be a valid and effective tool in foreign language learning Until recently, translation was out of favour with the language teaching community Translation as a language learning activity was considered to be unsuitable within the context of foreign language learning (Brown, 2002) It was critized because of the close association with traditional Grammar Translation Harbord (cited in Cunningham, 2000) stated: ―A return to Grammar-Translation with all

of its negative connotations; as well, the isolation of lexis from any real context prevents students from gleaning insight into the multiple uses and meanings of the word‖

Even today translation can be regarded as a mechanical linguistic transfer of meaning from one language to another It isn‘t considered to be a useful language learning tool because of being not a communicative activity that

is not suited to the general needs of the language learner

However, the idea of abandoning the native tongue is too stressful to many learners, who need a sense of security in the experience of learning a foreign language (Kavaliauskienë, & Kaminskienë, 2007) In this respect, some scholars aired different viewpoints concerning the use of translation and opened new horizons, which showed that not only a judicious use of translation is not

debilitating, but also helps learners to establish a better connection between their own language and the target language Duff (1994, p.7) strongly supports the view that translation is an excellent means of improving one's language because

it invites speculation and discussion

Recently, foreign language teachers have been reviving the use of translation for different learning purposes It was observed that translation activity could be used for pedagogical purposes along with other traditional language teaching activities Reading, grammar exercises, translation — ―are in fact perceived by learners to be conductive to learning‖ (McDonough, 2002, p.409)

At the Faculty of English, ULIS, VNU, using only English in low-level language classes can result in misunderstanding the teachers‘ instructions or misinterpreting the meaning that reading passages convey Moreover, due to the teacher‘s focus on developing students‘ four major skills including speaking, reading, writing and listening, as well as the limited duration of class hours students‘ thorough comprehension of the reading passages are not guaranteed This is when translation may have a place in foreign language classroom However, the way teachers are employing translation method in their classes and its level of effectiveness still remain a scarce subject of investigation

1.2 Objectives of the study

This study has been conducted in an attempt to find:

1 Certain translation activities used in the process of teaching reading comprehension

2 Whether there exists a positive correlation between the use of translation in EFL context and the improvement of students‘ reading comprehension or not

First and foremost, the study aims to describe which translation activities were applied in the classroom to improve students‘ reading comprehension Secondly, the researcher also wants to verify whether translation has a positive influence on the ability of reading comprehension of non-English majored students at the Faculty of English, Hanoi University of Languages and International Studies The results obtained will pave the way for several implications for teachers to make better decision whether to integrate translation into their reading activities

non-1.4 Significance of the study

The findings of this study can draw the teachers‘ attention towards the use

of translation into their EFL classroom, which is probably out of favor in Communicative Language Teaching approach It should be noted that non-majored English students are the core participants of this study so teachers at the same context may see the relationship between the proper integration of translation in reading activities and the improvement of students‘ reading comprehension Besides, teachers may have a closer look at how translation activities can be integrated into teaching reading comprehension This study would also serve as a valuable reference for teachers and other researchers alike Teachers when having students at same level as participants may have better

decision in whether to employ this method or not in their teaching situation Finally, future researchers who share the same interest may find helpful information from this research to conduct further studies

1.5 Scope of the study

The researcher has no intention of doing an investigation into the use of translation in reading comprehension in general but just places a focus on non majored English students at the Faculty of English, ULIS, VNU

It should also be noted that the sample of the research is limited to 70 second-year non English majored students at the Faculty of English, ULIS, VNU who are currently pursuing A2 level according to Common European Framework of Reference for Languages They are chosen under non-probability sampling

Besides, this group of students was chosen instead of English-majored ones because students in this particular group tend to have lower English competence and they are supposed to have less learner autonomy, less self-regulation in learning process, and less exposure to English environment Consequently, to enhance the validity and reliability, non-majored English students with a larger population are chosen to participate in the study

1.6 Design of the study

This paper has five chapters:

Chapter I is the Introduction which features Rationale, Aims of the

Study and Research Questions, Methods of the Study, Overview of the Study

Chapter II presents theoretical background which lays the theoretical

foundation for the study by discussing Definition of Key Terms and Frameworks, and Some Related Studies Worldwide and in Vietnam

Chapter III details the methods which have been adopted and the

procedures which have been followed in the study It also includes detailed description of participants and materials employed

Next, chapter IV features the results of analyzing collected data

regarding students‘ performance in both Control and Experimental group

Chapter V: Conclusion ends the study by summarizing the main points,

giving concluding remarks and revealing the limitations, and suggestions for further studies

CHAPTER II: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

This second chapter aims to shed light on the literature of the study, specifically the theoretical background and a number of studies related to the research topic To begin with, an overview of the literature will be presented starting from the definition of reading and reading comprehension Then, several definitions of translation will be provided as an introduction before a major section of this chapter will be devoted to discussing the advantages and disadvantages of using translation in EFL context Some translation activities will also be addressed More importantly, the significance of translation in reading comprehension will be revisited as the key background of the study After that, a brief review of the related studies will disclose the research gap and rationalize the aims and objectives of this paper.

2.1 Reading and reading comprehension theories

2.1.1 Theories and approaches to reading as a language skill

Reading is the most important skill of all skills for language learners in general and for EFL learners in particular and it is one of the most useful and necessary skills for people (Farhady, 2005)

Traditional theories approach reading as a process of comprehending words, then comprehending the relations between the words in a sentence, and finally uttering them or realizing them in silent speech Methods like ‗look-say‘,

‗whole word‘ or phonic method are based on the presented view Such techniques are very often equated with meaning-emphasis approaches Words which are supposed to be new for the reader are displayed on flash cards before embarking on reading Such a process is considered to facilitate text comprehension But at the same time it is also heavily criticised, as the words on

flash cards are devoid of context, which is the key to proper understanding and then using the words

Two currently distinguished approaches to the development of reading comprehension skills are Reading Component Approach and Metaphoric Approach The first perspective subdivides reading into six ―component skills and knowledge areas‖ and pinpoints the cognitive processes involved in reading

as having an influence on comprehension The six suggested skills and areas are:

(a) automatic recognition skills;

(b) vocabulary and structural knowledge;

(c) formal discourse structure knowledge;

(d) content/world background knowledge;

(e) synthesis and evaluation skills/strategies;

(f) metacognitive knowledge and skills monitoring (Chun & Plass, 1997)

The second of the aforementioned current approaches is Metaphoric Approach, which describes reading in terms of metaphors The bottom-up approaches, the top-down approaches, and the interactive approaches are the most common metaphors found in literature The first processing model, the bottom-up one, gives paramount importance to textual decoding which involves lower-level processes such as recognizing letters and words The top-down models, on the other hand, emphasise the reader interpretation and prior syntactic and semantic knowledge which helps in predicting the content and aids interpretation There are also models which incorporate both two models mentioned above

Their advocates suggest that linguistic knowledge of orthography, lexicology, syntax and semantics, interacts in the reading process As the interaction involves all the mentioned sources of linguistic knowledge at the same time, poor knowledge of one of them may be compensated by greater

reliance on one of the remaining three The third metaphor, the interactive processing, can be interpreted as either the general interaction between the reader and a text or the interaction of many component skills that work together simultaneously in the process of reading In the former interpretation, the reader makes use of his background knowledge to reconstruct the information conveyed by the text The latter interpretation of the interactive model takes into account the influence of both lower-level (decoding) and higher-level processing (comprehension and interpretation of the text) ―Simply stated, reading involves an array of lower-level rapid, automatic identification skills and an array of higher-level comprehension/interpretation skills‖ as Grabe puts

it (Chun & Plass, 1997, p.62) What should be stressed, however, is the fact that the two arrays of skills operate simultaneously in the reading process

The last two hypotheses concerning L2 reading that shall be presented are the Linguistic Threshold Hypothesis (LTH), also called ―short circuit hypothesis‖, and the Linguistic Interdependence Hypothesis (LIH) The first one states that: ―In order to read in a second language, a level of second language linguistic ability must first be achieved‖ Thus, to be a successful reader, one must also be a successful learner of a foreign language According to the LIH,

―reading performance in a second language is largely shared with reading ability

in the first language‖ (Chun & Plass,1997, p.63) It transpires that L1 reading performance is an indicator of L2 reading performance Thus, the ability to read

in one‘s mother language could be applied in attempts to read foreign language texts Wallace (1986, p.70) also agrees that though specific reading strategies may vary from language to language the basic processes of deriving meaning from systematised graphic shapes seems to be the same process

Perceiving reading as a mechanical phenomenon focuses on already described lower-level processing, while not accounting for such activities as selecting information relevant to a particular topic, expanding on information previously provided, following sequence of instructions, identifying answers to questions concerning a given text, detecting information implied in a passage, interpreting and evaluating writer‘s intentions, and showing awareness of the variety of literary genre

Realising the importance of reading skills development, Kellermann (1981) proposed four assumptions concerning methods of their teaching According to her, ―reading in a foreign language

1 must be taught according to a defined pattern;

2 must be taught in well-defined stages;

3 should occur frequently, regularly, and at first intensively;

4 should be accessible to all pupils literate in the native language‖ (Kellermann, 1981, p.9)

To conclude, as many researches revealed, people have an innate capacity to understand more than they actually know, and that understanding increases considerably with practice; put bluntly, with regular and extensive reading Lack of practice and stimulation, on the other hand, may result in the reduction of understanding Thus, good reading instruction and development of reading skills should become an educational priority for foreign language teachers

2.1.2 Theories on reading comprehension

―The reader rather than the text is at the heart of reading process‖ (Nunan, 1995, p.65) Thus, the focus of all language teachers and linguists carrying research on reading behaviour should be on the reader‘s mental

processes, rather than solely on processes which a text undergoes What is of paramount importance here, is the way the reader arrives at the meaning

Comprehension is the goal of both reading and listening Successful comprehension enables readers (or listeners) to acquire information, to experience and be aware of other worlds (including fictional ones), to communicate successfully, and to achieve academic success

Reading comprehension is ―from a technical perspective, a dynamic mental activity which interacts with the text to extract meaning‖ (Farhady, 2005,

p 1) It has been pointed out that a model of reading provides an imagined representation of the reading process Models of the reading process can be represented across a continuum of two opposing approaches in understanding the reading process, namely, bottom-up approaches and top-down approaches (Barnett, 1988)

Good reading comprehension involves reading the words on the page, accessing their meanings, computing the sense of each sentence and much else

as well

Thus, the product of successful comprehension is a representation of the state of affairs described in the text This representation includes causal relations between the events, the goals of the characters (protagonists), and spatial and temporal information that is relevant to the story line

2.2 The role of translation in teaching EFL

2.2.1 Definition of translation

Translation plays a very important role in an increasingly globalised world and in increasingly multilingual Europe where it is used on daily basis (Leonardi, 2010, p.17) Translation, by dictionary definition, consists of changing from one state or form to another, to turn into one‘s own or another‘s language (The Merriam-Webster Dictionary, 1986, p 725) Larson (1998)

provided a closer and more comprehensive justification as translation is basically a change of form When we speak of the form of a language, we are referring to the actual words, phrases, clauses, sentences, paragraphs, etc., which are spoken or written These forms are referred to as the surface structure of a language It is the structural part of the language which is actually seen in print

or heard in speech He also suggested that in translation, the form of the source language is replaced by the form of the receptor (target) language

In addition, Munday referred to translation as a connection between the source and target language ―The term translation itself has several meanings: it can refer to the general subject field, the product (the text has been translated) or the process (the act of producing the translation, otherwise known as translating) The process of translation between two different written languages involves the translator changing an original written text (the source text or ST)

in the original verbal language (the source language or SL) into a written text (the target text TT) in a different verbal language (the target language or TL)‖ ( Munday, 2001, p 4)

Nevertheless, Dagilienė (2012) believes that translation is perceived differently by linguists, methodologists and teachers Its use in foreign language teaching provokes a great deal of disagreement and criticism She also points that the main reason for this is the fact that throughout the years there have been

a number of studies carried out, which have either favoured or completely ignored the use of translation as a learning method Dagilienė concludes that

―translation was considered as inefficient, unreliable and irrelevant‖ (2012, p.2) Significant limitations led to the idea that the use of translation in language learning had to be avoided

On the other hand, the term ―communicative translation‖ is an attempt

―to produce on his readers an effect as close as possible to that obtained by the readers of the original Semantic translation attempts to render as close as the

semantic and syntactic structures of the second language allow, the exact

contextual meaning of the original‖ (Newmark, 1981, p 30)

It is argued that all second language learners access their L1 while

processing the L2 ―The L2 user does not effectively switch off the L1 while

processing the L2, but has it constantly available‖ (Cook, 1992, p.571) When

working with second language learners, teachers must not treat the L2 in

isolation from the L1 In fact, one cannot do so, ―the L1 is presented in the L2

learners' minds, whether the teacher wants it to be there or not The L2

knowledge that is being created in them is connected in all sorts of ways with

their L1 knowledge‖ (Cook, 1992, p 584)

Despite the observations that L2 learners make of their native language,

at least in the early stages of language acquisition, there has been little research

on the extent to which non-natives' thoughts are in the TL (target language) and

― the effectiveness of thinking in the TL as opposed to thinking in the L1‖ ( Cohen, 1995, p 100) In other words, ―at present it remains unclear precisely

what role the native language plays in L2 reading comprehension‖ (Kern, 1994,

p 441) A survey was given to bilingual and multilingual university students to

discover factors influencing language of thought It was explored that not only

do people with access to two or more language shift frequently between them,

these shifts can be either unintentional (e.g., it is easier to think in one language

than another and so the brain automatically shifts language) or intentional (e.g.,

using another language to help understand the grammar or vocabulary of the

target language) (Cohen, 1995)

―Meaning is a communicative and therefore a social phenomenon

Nothing bears meaning and makes sense unless it occurs in communication,

which by nature is a social activity Yet, meaning is encoded in and by

language The construction of meaning is therefore both social and linguistic at

the same time

This is to say that meaning, although signaled by language, does not totally reside in it, but is created in part between people in every instance of language use‖ (Farahzad, 2004, p 79) She further added that L2 language texts have a static part of meaning, but differ in their interpretations of the source text and have more interpretations in the target language

Learners can develop their reading comprehension ability by translating target language text into their native language It is quite clear that text is trying

to make sense of its features like sentence structures, context and register In other words, there should be a kind of textual analysis, which is very important

in reading comprehension In fact the difference between translation and reading

is the degree of attention paid by the reader or translator, that is; in translation attention weighs far more heavily than in mere reading (Chellappan, 1982)

2.2.2 Translation in Foreign Language Teaching

2.2.2.1 Objections and Disadvantages of using translation in EFL context

A great deal of research has been written on the use of translation in EFL/ESL classes When talking about the application of translation or the act of translation in language teaching, it will be important to make distinction between two types of translation, which are called pedagogical translation and real translation Pedagogical and real translation differ from each other on three counts: the function, the object, and the addressee of the translation (Klaudy ,

2003, p 133).The first voice to cry out against the use of translation in foreign language teaching came from the Reform Movement of the late 19th century, and it was followed by a wave of renewed attacks by proponents of the Audio-Lingual, the Direct, the Natural, and the Communicative Language Teaching throughout the 20th century

A historical overview of the use of translation shows that after Grammar Translation Method, which strongly used translation as the major activity for

language learning in the classroom, as dissatisfaction towards the translation method grew and the demand for oral competence became more evident, the 19th century reformers in Europe believed that, among other things,

grammar-―translation should be avoided, although the native language could be used in order to explain new words or to check comprehension‖ (Richards & Rodgers

2001, as cited in Wharton, 2007, p.3) The use of mother tongue was banned especially by advent of Direct Method This method which was established by the efforts of reformists like Sweet saw no place for the use of the students L1 in the classroom, however as mentioned in Cook (2010, p.18) Sweet didn‘t reject translation and explicit grammar teaching and boycotting translation was much more a matter of practical expediency which was brought about by changes in learner and teacher demography

Duff (1994) reveals further reasons why teachers objected to the use of translation in foreign language classes His viewpoint stresses that translation is text-bound and confined only to two skills — reading and writing Thus, it is not

a communicative activity as it doesn‘t involve oral interaction Duff also insists that the use of the mother tongue, then, is required, which is not desirable Moreover, it is boring, both to do and to correct

The wave of attacking translation did not end that as people devoted to various other methodologies have also protested against school translation Newson (1998, p.64) provides a summary of the main objections in the following way Translation, he writes, ―does not allow or make easy the achievement of such generally accepted foreign language teaching aims as‖ (1) fluency in spoken language, (2) the controlled introduction of selected and graded structures and lexical items, or (3) the controlled introduction of communicative strategies Translation leads to no observable learning effect, either of new vocabulary or structural items, and does not foster communicative language use In the same way, Malmkjær (1998, p.5) lists a number of further

general objections to school translation, which are the following Translation (4)

is independent of the four skills which define language competence: reading, writing, speaking and listening; (5) it is radically different from the four skills; (6) it takes up valuable time which could be used to teach these four skills; (7) it

is unnatural; (8) it misleads students into thinking that expressions in two languages correspond one-to-one; (9) it produces interference; (10) it prevents students from thinking in the foreign language; and (11) it is a bad test for language skills

2.2.2.2 Advocacy and advantages of using translation

In spite of the aforementioned ideas, recently, attempts have been made to revive translation in EFL/ESL and dedicate some time to it in the process of language teaching and learning Translation is sometimes referred to as the fifth language skill alongside with the other four basic skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) More importantly, there are ―significant and visible signs

of a revival of translation in language teaching according to

recent literature and applied linguistics‖ (Malmkjaer, 1998, p.1) Many theorists, linguists, teachers agree on the importance of using translation in foreign language classes

Scientifically, as Lengyel and Navracsics (1996, p.60) show, there is some neurolinguistic evidence to suggest that the human brain is predisposed to acquire more than one language, and in this context the role of translation must also be re-examined In their study, Lengyel and Navracsics look at the question whether translation is as natural a language activity as are speaking, listening, writing and reading, and whether translation also has inherited elements Similarly Ross in Kavaliauskienë&Kaminskienë, (2007, p.133) asserted: Translation holds a special importance at an intermediate and advanced level: in the advanced or final stage of language teaching, translation from L1 to L2 and L2 to L1 is recognized as the fifth skill and the most important social skill since

it promotes communication and understanding between strangers‖ Butzkamm and Caldwell in their book The Bilingual Reform: A Paradigm shift in Foreign Language Teaching (2009) stated the old taboo on mother tongue will be swept away Their advocacy of mother tongue is not just another plea for a flexible and a less rigid attitude, but a systematic program in which mother-tongue use is seen as essential (cited in Cook 2010, p.50) As can be seen at Community Language Teaching, the teacher translates what the students want to say in chunks (Larsen-Freeman 2000, p.96) but as they go further translation will fade out The Communicative Approach was initially hostile to the use of translation

in the classroom, but later it adopted a flexible approach (Bonyadi, 2002)

For instance, Schaffner (1998) claims that the translation and related exercises could be beneficial to foreign language learning

1 To improve verbal agility

2 To expand students‘ vocabulary in L2

3 To develop their style

4 To improve their understanding of how languages work

5 To consolidate L2 structures for active use

6 To monitor and improve the comprehension of L2

(Schaffner, 1998)

He also suggests that translation in foreign language classes is in the process of becoming a form of ―pedagogical translation‖, which is no longer viewed as an ineffective tool in language learning and is evaluated as a way to enrich learners‘ competences

Likewise, according to Howatt (1984), translation is not as terrible as it appears to be and Duff (1992) gives reasons why he thinks translation is useful:

1 The influence of the mother tongue People‘s L1 shapes their thinking and translation helps them to understand better the influences among languages

2 The naturalness of the activity It is a natural and necessary activity that is going on all the time, and that will always be needed

3 Develops mainly two skills aspects Language competence is a two way system that communicates into and from the second language

4 The reality of language is another important aspect It is authentic material

5 Usefulness:

a) Invites speculation and discussion

b) Develops 3 qualities essential to all languages: accuracy, clarity and flexibility

c) The teacher can select material to illustrate particular aspects of language, and studentssee the links between language usage and grammar

d) Gives practice of a variety of styles and rgisters

María González and Mª Luz Celaya in their book New Teachers

in a New Education System (1992, p.29) go even further into that point, when stating that translation can be very useful as a class activity ―if taken as a tool among others to help in the learning and not as the only possible approach.‖ They continue giving reasons to support translation validity:

1 Students become aware of both L1 and L2 patterns and the correspondence between them

2 Structures are placed within the cognitive frame of L2 So L1 as well

as FL structures are studied

3 Problems of transfer may be diminished; mental agility, flexibility and memorisation are favoured

4 Translation forms a natural part of the learning process and is something that students probably do often outside the classroom

Moreover, Pilar Godayol (1995) specifies some of the points on these above mentioned lists and adds other benefits of using translation in the foreign language classroom translation:

1 develops basic abilities: mental agility, memory, linguistic precision, clarity;

2 leads the student to speculate, argue and defend his/her ideas;

3 exercises linguistic accuracy: comprehension, search for equivalence and written production;

4 analyses the contrast between the languages: grammar and semantics, and strengths and weaknesses are discovered;

5 investigates the sociocultural weight that lies hidden behind the words; 6.encourages students to immerse in the world of professional translation

Moreover, as Duff (1989) believed, translation is the fifth skill in language learning, ―it was right at the heart of language teaching‖, which means

it is worth considering reasons for taking translation as a technique in teaching EFL Firstly, as Nunan (1995) pointed out, what the students think and feel about language learning is of great importance in language teaching and this should be taken into account in any course planning In some cases, it is inevitable that language learners use L1 as a resource Indeed, it is a kind of individual learning style for some students They need to be able to relate lexis and structure of target language into their equivalents in their mother tongue Therefore, sound pedagogy should take advantage of this learning method rather than try to deny it Secondly, translation makes students develop their reading comprehension ability in grammar as well as in vocabulary It is quite certain that before translating any text, students should read it carefully trying to make sense of its features like sentence structures, context and register In other words, according to Chellapan (1982), there should be a kind of textual analysis, which is very important in reading comprehension The distinction between translation and reading is the degree of attention paid by readers or translators That is to say in translation, the weight of attention is far heavier than sole

reading The third reason behind the choice of translation is that according to Herry and Higgins (1992), translation is a conscious process of learning, in which exist two types of activities, both of them require a full engagement of learners The former is understanding the source text in L1 and the later is formulating it in L2 This is considered what distinguishes translation from other activities Furthermore, Duff (1990) claimed that translation is a kind of communicative activity, which is practiced within meaningful context It enhances the interaction not only between teachers and students but also among students themselves Eventually, translation can be used as an evaluating technique in reading lesson Since reading comprehension is totally unobservable in classroom, it is important for both teachers and students to be able to assess comprehension precisely That is among the other techniques like doing, transferring, answering, extending and modeling, students can be asked

to translate part of the reading text into their native language to ensure if they have fully grasped the meaning of the content, which can be done at post-reading activity

In a nutshell, it can be proposed that despite various objections, translation has been proved to be a positive addition to language teaching method It can be either taught separately or integrated with other four skills depending on the aim of the teacher as well as the nature of the curriculum

2.2.3 Approaches for using translation in the classroom

2.2.3.1 Bilingual immersion

The idea of using bilingual immersion is a tempting one, only to be constrained by budgetary and bilingual instructor availability concerns The concept is to fully translate a whole class within a subject category A point to note would be that certain subjects more readily fit within this formulaic approach ESL or EFL students learning math or music in English would fare better than trying to study history under the same format Newly arrived

immigrants with inadequate language skills in their new home‘s national language may take good advantage of a bilingual immersion approach to learn their L2 quickly

Within the context of bilingual lectures, the idea of note taking in L1 springs to mind The students are translating directly what they‘ve heard in L2, English, and denoting the gist in L1 Students have found 1) the note taking was easier in L1 and 2) their understanding upon review was maximized, in terms of time and brevity Since Benoussan and Rosenhouse (1990) note that students tend to translate from L2 to L1 when reading L2 texts, why not take advantage

of this within the context of an immersion program Urgese (1989) and Parks (1982) note that translation can be used as a good way to teach and test comprehension, especially of the main ideas within the text

One of the other major advantages of the bilingual immersion programs is the easing of cultural assimilation Quite often, cultural factors are overlooked in

a teacher‘s efforts to have students improve, as noted by Cohen and Norst (1989) in Nimmannit‘s (1998) online paper Students who feel unconfident and insecure will not be ideal learners and certainly will be less open to absorbing the class content

2.2.3.2 Co-teaching

This co-teaching approach allows students to make use of both their native and target language grammars Skiba relates that Cook (1991) also adds that code switching may be used within the context of teaching English as a second or foreign language Cook offers up some palatable examples of code switching usage activities where students might use the second language to obtain some information from a text or an audio message and then answer comprehension questions in the first language

Furthermore, matching the material used with students‘ backgrounds can easily facilitate a guided negotiation of meaning By choosing texts and topics

that are more readily relatable to student‘s cultural backgrounds, the EFL instructor ease students‘ recall of the text as students will be able to access their own schemata to process the ideas presented in readings or discussions as noted

by Rumelhart (1977)

Holliday (1994) explored an aspect of tying consciousness-raising and cultural awareness together Holliday found that using BANA methodology (Methodologies derived and used in English speaking environments Britain, Australia, and North America.) in countries with dissimilar cultures resulted in a rough adjustment for students and teachers Certainly this style of teaching doesn‘t take into account the learners‘ mindsets as influenced by their cultural backgrounds Edwards et al (1996) relates that some forms of consciousness raising seem to contribute to shortening the delay of students in learning sentence structures This co-teaching approach may alleviate some aspects of culture shock as well Many students experience some dissonance when studying a language as they examine the differences between their own culture and the target language‘s culture Certainly if they don‘t reach a shock level, they may experience culture stress as related by Stevick (1976) in Holland and Shortall (1997)

2.2.3.3 Using Bilingual text

The use of bilingual text in the classroom may be a boon or an omen for an ESL teacher The idea being that students sometimes need a crutch to support their ascendancy towards native-like fluency may raise eyebrows amongst BANA authorities What‘s crucial to examine is the absorption time, i.e., the time needed to actually learn vocabulary and structures for functional use

Now a teacher employing bilingual text shouldn‘t overemphasize the native language text He doesn‘t need to read it for the students The only translation should be a written one All of the student‘s verbal input should be in

English By using Carter‘s (1987) definition in Willis (1997), allowing lots of exposure to the target language in a range of contexts will aid comprehension but it won‘t necessarily lead to production It seems ESL or EFL instructors need to examine the concept of context Brown (1994) talks of misplaced context where a student‘s misapplies ‗book‘ knowledge through an overuse of formality Teachers must be cautious in teaching oral forms and their written equivalents Students often are not aware of subtle differences in meaning, some because of cultural differences

The use of bilingual text cuts down on the time needed to learn vocabulary and hence, the time needed to reach a better reading comprehension level

Laufer (1996) felt that based on his research, L2 learners generally rely on vocabulary to help them negotiate meaning in text and speech Laufer continues with comments about a minimum threshold to use guessing effectively would be about the 3000 word family level That is what is needed

by a reader to successfully understand and use a contextual guessing strategy successfully

Students though, eventually need to recognize that truly knowing a word involves relating that word to other words in a number of ways as mentioned by Cook (1991) in Skiba Now, as Brown (1987/1994) in Willis (1997) points out, whether students may over-generalize using inductive reasoning to apply to circumstances that don‘t follow a certain rule of use or fit

a particular contextual meaning is more difficult to determine Teachers warning students of multiple meanings may suitably head off overgeneralization

In this case, pointing up multiple meanings of words in a student‘s own language will serve as a consciousness raiser Students should be made aware of the fact that all languages share some common aspects, i.e., sentences, grammatical structure, general and specific vocabulary

2.2.3.4 Combination approaches

An interesting alternative is to combine some of the approaches mentioned such as the usage of bilingual immersion and bilingual text Some of the bilingual immersion programs in international schools have adopted this approach as evidenced by my contact with students in international schools in Hong Kong and Taiwan At commercial schools in Taiwan and Hong Kong, some of them use bilingual textbooks and co-teachers as a way of coping with time limitations

Another approach is Weschler‘s (1997) proposal, which suggests using a hybrid of the grammar-translation method combined with a communicative method Of course, adults can learn using an ―English only‖ approach, but serious constraints involving time, limited ESP goals, and the ideal circumstances seriously limit the potential possibilities

The idea of using the native language to translate idea for idea rather than word for word is not a novel idea But Weschler makes some convincing arguments that EFL courses need to use a different methodology than ESL classes

2.2.4 Translation activities in EFL classroom

2.2.4.1 Principles of designing translation activities

Almost all authors seem to be in agreement that translation is most useful

as a quick and easy way to present the meaning of words and contextualized items, and when it is necessary to draw attention to certain differences that would otherwise go unnoticed (Harmer 1991, p.162, Ellis 1992, p.49, Nunan, Lamb 1996, p.99) Besides this, it is suggested as an appropriate activity in works trying to apply Lakoff‘s idea of conceptual metaphors to language teaching (Deignan, Gabry, Solska 1997, Kovecses, Szabo 1996, Lazar 1996, Ponterotto 1994) However, it would be a shame to limit the role of translation only to the presentation of lexical items One should rather explore ways for it

appropriate application within the communicative paradigm, and create challenging language activities which have cognitive depth

According to Leonardi (2011), translation as a pedagogical tool can be successfully employed at any level of proficiency, at school or university, as a valuable and creative teaching aid to support, integrate and further strengthen the four traditional language skills: reading, writing, speaking and listening One

of the possible ways to integrate translation in foreign language classes can be through the use of translation activities Researchers Nolasco and Arthur (1995) suggest that translation activities should meet the following criteria:

1 Language is used for a purpose

2 Translation activities create a desire for communication

3 Translation activities encourage students to be creative and contribute their ideas

4 Students are focused on what they are saying, rather than how they are saying it

5 Students work independently of the teacher

6 Students determine what to say or write

Moreover, translation activities need not be used in isolation, but should

be included in an inherent part of the language learning course

Husian (1994) also pinpoints three principles when incorporating translation into communicative language teaching First, the teacher has to offer students opportunities to do translation in contexts, rather than in discrete sentences Lin (2008) recommends consecutive translation; that is, the whole text should be divided into consecutive and related sentence units This ensures that single sentences will not be too heavy of a burden for students in terms of processing the language Consecutive and related sentences also provide students with a complete text Second, translation material to be must be authentic and meet student needs, avoiding obsolete and extremely difficult

subject matter and structure Last and not least important, translation is used to increase students‘ awareness in recognizing the similarities and differences between two languages

2.2.4.2 Suggested activities

Activities to be used are numerous and varied Some follow and are explained in some detail Bear in mind, these are generally intended for EFL use, not ESL use, because of the possible need to translate in to multiple languages for ESL classes

a Lost in the translation

This activity is a variation of one of Weschler‘s (1997) ideas for an activity First the teacher form a circle of up to 10 seated students All students will receive a number from 1 to 10 Each even numbered student will receive a different English short passage (4 sentences) written across the top of a piece of paper given to him or her Odd numbered students will each receive one of the same English passages translated into a native language one, also written on the top of a piece of paper Students then proceed to translate the main idea of the passage and write their translation below the original Students then fold the paper over concealing the original passage, only showing their translated version of the sentences The students will then each pass their papers in a clockwise fashion, again repeating the same process of folding to conceal the sentence that a student has read to write his translated sentences Continue until

a piece of paper has completed the circle or until the teacher decides to stop the activity (based on time or other factors)

Now students examine what meaning has been lost in the translation

of the sentences This helps students to not only improve their vocabulary base,

so necessary for accessing meaning, but it also allows students to participate in a consciousness raising activity concerning grammatical and contextual structures

in their own native language and the L2, English As an expansion activity,

students may try to figure out how some of the sentences could be used in a dialogue Examining which ones would fit, both contextually and meaningfully, will help students to recognize subtle structural differences in sentences related

to wording and usage of idiomatic phrases Then students could act out some of the dialogues constructed in English with suitable translation written down through group work This will allow students to gain useful production practice, necessary to improve their speaking skills

b Bilingual dialogues

This technique employs pairing students off One receives a native language version of a dialogue, the other an English version of the same dialogue Then both students attempt to translate the dialogue Later, the two students will compare results and act out the English dialogue Depending on student levels, the discussion about the translated dialogues may be held in the students‘ native language or in English Again, this is another activity that serves as a consciousness raiser in comparing a student‘s L1 with his or her L2 Students will generally be able to access their L1 and use it to learn new vocabulary by translating This activity is also useful for pointing up built in redundancies in language whereby there are numerous ways to express the same meaning

Finally, the acting out of the English dialogue offers the students practice that is necessary for improving their speaking skills

c Role-plays with native language brainstorming

This is a technique where a set of English discussion phrases are usually pre-taught and practiced Students now break into brainstorming groups

to develop strategies for their later discussion with an opposing group The students for their brainstorming may use L1 After, students seeking additional appropriate English vocabulary and sentences for the discussion may ask the teacher for help

Students should consult bilingual dictionaries first, attempting to formulate expressions themselves The teacher should point out some distinctions in meaning or formality for some words to be used in the discussion Students, depending on their level of familiarity with the topic, may also be given a list of possible strategies and/or positions that they may use in later discussion sessions Finally, the students prepare for the discussion practicing the English expressions the teacher has given them before getting to the discussion itself The teacher should follow with a critique of the discussion This might include; presentation sequencing, word usage, grammar errors, body language, etc Now may be included a further discussion of cultural differences related to the subject discussed or the situation and how it would differ in the L1

Students benefit from this activity in a number of ways First, they improve their ability to formulate a strategy Secondly, they work on their dictionary usage skills with the teacher introducing different levels of appropriate language Thirdly, students can gain useful vocabulary and phrases within a contextual framework with examples provided by the teacher and other classmates Fourthly, students gain needed production practice for improving their speaking in a conversational format Lastly, students will be introduced to L1 and L2 cultural differences by the teacher‘s critique of their discussion concerning presentation, word usage, etc and any follow up discussion

2.3 The role of translation in reading comprehension

Translation might provide a guided practice in reading Before starting translating a text it ―should be read carefully and analyzed in detail to determine the contents in terms of what, how and why it is said‖ (Leonardi, 2009, p.143) Careful text analysis improves students reading comprehension and promotes vocabulary development Translation can help students improve their writing

skills because it is a transfer of a text from one language into another Leonardi (2010) claims that a good translation should flow naturally, re-create both the style and the context of the original text, and follow target language conventions As translation is regarded a communicative activity, it involves communication between the teacher and the student Learners are encouraged

―to discuss rights and wrongs as well as problems related to the translation task‖ (Leonardi, 2009, p.145) On the one hand, students are involved in a conversation on the translation topic, which helps them strengthen their speaking skills On the other hand, students are requested to talk to both the teacher and other learners, and through listening to both the lecturer and the students improve their listening skills

When a learner tries to read a reading passage in a foreign language, a lot

of mental processes take place in his/her mind Meanings of the words in the passage are consequence of the generalization of concepts, of the synthesis of many perceptive experiences; they are, therefore, act of thought Thoughts, words, and meanings are tightly interwoven, and it is probably more interesting

to study them as a single system rather than try to isolate components and maniacally demark their limitations (Reading and concept evolution, 2008)

Here Vygotsky proposes the idea of inner speech and believes the process of reading is a kind of changing words into sense Inner language, in Vygotsky's opinion at least, is a translation of words into thought (cited in Ehrich 2006, p.13) While translating a text into mental language, we have to turn meaning into sense Paulhan, quoted by Vygotsky, defines sense as "the sum of all psychological events aroused in our consciousness by the word"(Ehrich, 2006,p.15) Meaning - in this view - is just one of the zones of sense, the most stable, and precise A word acquires its sense from the context

in which it appears; in a different context, its sense is altered Mental translation

is related to what Vygotsky has called ―inner speech,‖ an internalized language

that is for oneself, as opposed to external, social speech produced for others (Upton & Lee-Thompson 2001) When EFL learners, mostly in beginner and low-intermediate level, try to read a passage, they unconsciously translate it in their minds in order to make it meaningful for themselves Kern (1994) defines mental translation as the ―mental reprocessing of L2 words, phrases, or sentences in L1 forms while reading L2 texts‖ (p 442) Studies have shown that mental translation is a common cognitive strategy for high school and adult language learners (Upton & Lee-Thompson 2001)

Models of the reading process can generally be placed across a continuum of two opposing approaches as well as a fusion of them in understanding the reading process, namely, bottom-up, top-down and interactive approaches (Seng&Hashim 2006, p.30) As defined by Nunan (2003, pp 70-72) bottom-up models consist of lower level reading processes Students start with the fundamental basics of letter and sound recognition, which in turn allows for morpheme recognition followed by word recognition, building up to the identification of grammatical structures, sentences and longer texts Top-down models, on the other hand, begin with the idea that comprehension resides with the reader The reader uses background knowledge, makes predictions, and searches the text to confirm or reject the predictions that are made the third type are interactive models that combines elements of bottom-up and top-down models assuming that a pattern is synthesized based on information provided simultaneously from several knowledge resources

From this point of view, translation can be considered as an interactional approach of reading comprehension It has characteristics of bottom-up model in identifying letters and words of foreign language as well as those of top-down model in using the previous knowledge and life experiences or content schemata

to help the learner to understand a text

2.4 Previous studies

Since the idea of using translation in language teaching has not many proponents, there are not numerous researches concerning this issue but some of them containing the most effective ones are noted below Cohen (1995) conducted a study surveying factors influencing language of thought, concluded that bilingual or multilingual subjects intentionally or unintentionally shift thinking in one language or another one to understand the grammar and vocabulary items of the target language Another study by Jahangard et.al (2010) which was conducted on high school students in order to find whether students who gain lexical knowledge through the translation method are able to transfer their knowledge to reading comprehension showed that a significant improvement in the reading scores of the learners in Grade One and Two after the vocabulary instruction treatments were introduced

As Liao (2006, p.196) reported In O‘Malley et al.‘s study (1985), translation was found to be a frequently used learning strategy Out of 11 cognitive strategies identified by the researchers, translation accounted for 11.3% of all strategy uses by beginning and intermediate-level ESL learners, second only to such strategies as repetition (19.6%), note taking (18.7%), and imagery (12.5%) Moreover, as Atkinson in Kavaliauskienë& Kaminskienë (2007, p.134) has said‖ Native language use in the classroom can cause students

to think that words and structures in English have an L1 correspondence, which may not exist Therefore, raising students‘ consciousness of the non-parallel nature of language allows learners to think comparatively

Kern (1994) in his study on the language of thought used by L2 learners

in comprehending L2 texts looks at the role of translation as a cognitive strategy

in the L1 reading comprehension process About 51 students whose L1 is English were asked to make verbal report of what they were thinking as they read a text in French as well as how they went about making sense of what they

read He found out that not only did these participants make frequent use of translation as a strategy to understand L2 text, but that ―mental translation during l2 reading may facilitate the generation and conservation of meaning‖ A partial replication of this study by Hawras (1996) supports Kern‘s findings Hawras argues that, for beginning language learners, ―mental translation is not just the major, but the only comprehension tool at the student‘s disposal‖ Though some may not agree with this extreme conclusion, it does stress the importance of L1 in early acquisition stage of L2

Zohrevandi (1992) once described a communication activity integrated with translation In this activity, students were divided into groups, and each group was assigned words and phrases in their L1 The students then had to complete a short English dialogue by using the given words and phrases in L1 Following that, each group engaged in a role-play of their dialogue, and the group that performed the best received an award In addition, students were asked to analyze their dialogue in terms of semantics, syntax, and pragmatics Other communicative activities recommended by Zohrevandi include having students translate movies into English or having students act out movies in English These activities incorporated with translation develop students‟ four skills in reading, listening, speaking, and writing, and the fifth skill, i e., translation, as well Levenston (1985) likewise regards translation as an efficient teaching and evaluation tool in communicative language teaching He suggested teachers use interpretations in role-play activities For instance, a student played

a foreign visitor He went to a department store and had a communication breakdown with a sales clerk there At this time, another student came as an interpreter to give help These situations can be extended to other contexts, such

as post offices, banks, restaurants, airports, and so on In these authentic situations, translation serves a communicative purpose rather than as static grammar drills out of context