PROS AND CONS OF TRANSLATION IN LEARNING ENGLISH

Kavaliauskien G.
Abstract
The advantages and disadvantages of translation in different linguistic
situations are discussed. The article aims at examining students attitudes to using
the mother tongue in learning English. The respondents are the students of two
specializations, psychology and social work, who study professional language at
tertiary level. The findings demonstrate that all learners need a support of the
native language in English classes, but the amount of translation depends on
students proficiency and specialization.
Introduction
A revival of interest to using a mother tongue in the English classroom is
caused by the necessity to improve language accuracy, fluency and flexibility. In
the past, learners mother tongue has been negatively viewed because of linguistic
transfer or interference, such as under- or over-production and misinterpretation.
Students use the mother tongue in class if they are linguistically incapable of
activating vocabulary. Another reason is that translation is a natural thing to do in
language learning, and code-switching between languages is regarded as naturally
developmental phenomenon.
Literature background
Translation has been an important part of English language teaching for a
long time, but it has been abandoned since communicative methodologies became
dominant. Interestingly, although translation was out of favor with English
language practitioners, it has rather stubbornly refused to die in the teaching of
languages other than English [2, p. 7].
A revival of interest to using a mother tongue in the English classroom is
caused by the necessity to improve language accuracy and fluency [11, p. 61].
Therefore, the use of mother tongue and translation can serve as a tool for
improving language skills.
There are opinions that students first language should not be allowed in a
second language classroom due to L1 interference. A learners mother tongue has
been negatively viewed because of linguistic transfer [7]. However, there appears a
widespread assumption that language transfer is an important characteristic of
second language acquisition. Cross-linguistic similarities and differences between
L1 and L2 can produce positive transfer or negative transfer such as
underproduction, overproduction, production errors, and misinterpretation [10].
Both negative and positive transfer between the L1 and L2 is important for
development of the complex system of the learners L2.
According to J. Harmer [5, p. 131], students use the mother tongue in class if
they are linguistically incapable of activating vocabulary for a chosen task.
Another reason is that translation is a natural thing to do in language learning, and
code-switching between languages is regarded as naturally developmental.
It is highly probable that L2 learners will always think most often in their
L1, even at the advanced level [8, p. 29].
C. Schweers [12, p. 7] conducted research into the issue of the L1 use in the
L2 classes and found that 88.7% of the participants felt that mother tongue should
be used in their English classes. Moreover, an experiental study of using grammar-
translation to achieve a communicative goal was vital to improve learners
performance [6].
Major objections to using translation in language teaching can be
summarized as follows. First, translation does not help students develop
communication skills. Second, it encourages to use L1 instead of L2. Third,
translation activities may be suitable for students who prefer analytical or verbal-
linguistic learning strategies. Finally, translation is a difficult skill which is not
always rewarding (http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/articles/translation-
activities-language-classroom, 2009).
The benefits of translation activities include practice of all language skills,
i.e. reading, writing, speaking and listening. In terms of communicative
competence, accuracy, clarity and flexibility can be developed. Translation is a
real-life, natural activity which many learners use on a daily basis either formally
or informally. Translation is a common strategy used by many learners even if
teachers do not encourage it. Discussion of differences and similarities between
languages help students understand problems caused by their native language.
Developing skills in translation is a natural and logical part of improving language
proficiency
(http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/articles/translation-activities-
language-classroom, 2009).
Over 20 years ago teachers and students started to use translation to teach /
learn English language [4]. Some ideas for classroom approaches and activities are
suggested in the online source quoted above. Translation is sometimes referred to
as the fifth language skill alongside the other four basic skills of listening,
speaking, reading, writing: it 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 from L2 to L1 is recognized as the fifth skill and the most
important social skill since it promotes communication and understanding between
strangers [11]. If students are aware of the differences, language interference, or
transfer, and intervention from their own language are likely to be reduced.
Native language use in the English classroom can cause students to think
that words and structures in English have a L1 correspondence, which does not
exist. Therefore, raising students consciousness of the non-parallel nature of
language allows learners to think comparatively [1]. The important question is how
to reach a balance of the L1 usage in the learning process. It is thought that four
factors should be considered, namely, the students previous experience, their
level, the stage of the course, and the stage of the individual lesson [1].
There is an opinion that eliminating or limiting the native language does not
guarantee better acquisition [9]. Translation as a teaching tool needs to take into
account grammar, syntax and other aspects of language. However good the
students are at understanding authentic materials, some of them keep mentally
translating from L2 into L1 and vice versa. This fact makes teachers of English
consider the importance of translation for learning purposes.
This paper aims at examining students perceptions of the use of translation
in various linguistic situations. The findings demonstrate that all learners need a
support of mother tongue in English classes, but the amount of the native language
needed depends on students proficiency in English.
Respondents and methods
The respondents in this research were the students specializing in Social
Sciences at Mykolas Romeris University and studying English for Specific
Purposes. There were 54 participants of two specializations 33 students (3 sub-
groups) of Psychology (PS) and 21 students (2 sub-groups) of Social Work (SW).
Their level of English proficiency differed: students of PS were intermediate, and
students of SW were pre-intermediate. The amount of time in L2 environment was
4 hours per week for 2 semesters, which made 130 hours of English instruction.
The questionnaire was designed in accordance with the accepted standards [3]. The
statements were rated on a 5 point Likerts scale from 1 to 5: strongly disagree (1)
to strongly agree (5).
Results and discussion
This section reports the findings of the survey and analyzes the key points
that emerged. For the sake of clarity in visual displays of the data, the positive
responses and negative responses are usually added up. The frequencies of positive
responses in percentage are shown in Chart 1. The 1
st
columns represent the
responses by the students of Psychology and the 2
nd
columns by the students of
Social Work.
The relevant statements of questionnaire are reproduced below.
1. In English classes, I occasionally prefer to use my mother tongue. 1
strongly disagree,2 disagree, 3 not sure, 4 agree, 5 strongly agree.
2. In writing activities, I often mentally translate ideas from my mother
tongue into English. 1 strongly disagree, 2 disagree, 3 not sure, 4 agree, 5
strongly agree.
3. While reading professional texts I use a bilingual dictionary to translate
unknown words. 1 strongly disagree, 2 disagree, 3 not sure, 4 agree, 5
strongly agree
4. In ESP vocabulary tests, it is easier for me to translate terms from English
than into English. 1 strongly disagree, 2 disagree, 3 not sure, 4 agree, 5
strongly agree.
5. In listening activities, I mentally translate what I hear. 1 strongly
disagree, 2 disagree, 3 not sure, 4 agree, 5 strongly agree.



Chart 1 First cylinders show responses of Psychology students, second
cylinders show the responses of Social Work students.

As it is seen in Chart 1, students of both specializations need to use
their mother tongue in performing class activities. However, just a few students of
PS need it in writing and listening, 30% and 25%, respectively. In other activities,
importance of translation is essential and it is between 70% and 90% depending on
specialization.


Chart 2 Self-evaluation of translation skills by students of PS. First cylinders
show grades translating from L2 into L1. Second cylinders show grades translating
from L1 into L2.
Chart 2 shows students self-evaluation of translation abilities. Translation
from L2 into L1 is easier and evaluation grades are better than grades awarded for
translation from L1 into L2. The findings for SW specialization are similar and not
displayed here.
The obtained data have been processed statistically using Statistical Package
for the Social Sciences (SPSS) in order to determine how comparable and reliable
the data are. Internal consistency reliability was estimated by computing
Cronbachs Alpha coefficients. According to the theory [3], results are reliable if
the value of Cronbachs Alpha coefficient is at least 0.60. Here the values of
Cronbachs Alpha coefficients have been equal to 0.912, 0.866 and 0.816 in PS
groups, respectively, and in SW groups 0.773 and 0.844, respectively, which
proves that obtained data are reliable. Computations of non-parametric Spearman
correlation coefficients for each survey statement have been conducted by a means
of SPSS. Generally Spearman correlation coefficients can range between negative
one (-1.00) and positive one (+1.00). The larger the coefficient is, the stronger the
relationship is. So if a correlation is close to one it indicates a very strong
relationship, while coefficients that are near zero indicate very weak relationships.
The value of statistical significance of correlation coefficients is important for the
interpretation of the relationship between two samples. If it is equal at least to
0.05, the relationship is not likely to be due to chance. Larger than 0.05 values of
the significance level mean that the probability of the significant relationship
between two items is smaller than 95% and, therefore, the relationship is likely to
be due to chance.
Computations of correlation coefficients between the responses of PS
students on translations from L1 to L2 and from L2 to L1 revealed the following:
correlation is significant at the level 0.01 (2-tailed) and Spearmans coefficients are
equal to 0.839 and 0.701, respectively. For the responses of SW students,
correlation is also significant at the level 0.01 (2-tailed) and Spearmans coefficient
is equal to 0.808. These data confirm that relationships are not due to chance, and
the findings may be extended beyond the limited samples of the respondents who
participated in this research.
Conclusions
The following conclusions have been drawn. First, all the learners
customarily rely on their mother tongue in learning English. Second, the amount of
the native language that students need depends on their proficiency and linguistic
situations. Finally, the statistical processing of the research findings showed that
the data are significant in spite of the small sample of recipients and may be
extended beyond it.
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