Teaching Translation

Translation is concerned with written and spoken rendering of the meaning of words, groups of words, sentences and texts in another language. As a form of communication it establishes contacts between communicants who speak different languages.

Translation (word-for word, adequate, free, literary) is employed by the teacher at the initial, intermediate, and advanced level of FLT. V.Komisarov underlined the following instances when translation is either helpful or indispensable.

1. To introduce abstract logical notions that cannot be easily explained in a descriptive way or by mime, words like (think, hate, turn, actual, peace, etc.).

2. In order to save time and avoid diverting learners' attention by lengthy explanations of the meaning of words, word combinations or sentences.

3. To check comprehension of lexical units in order to avoid unnecessary ambiguity which may arise in the process of teaching by ostensive means (e.g. a picture of a tree may be understood as a "tree" or a kind of tree – an oak tree, a birch tree, an ash tree, etc.).

4. To explain when introducing new grammatical/phonetic material (usually at the initial stage of instruction) especially the phenomena which do not exist in the native language (e.g. the continuous and perfect forms of the verb, the gerund, the prosody of interrogative sentences, etc.).

5. To clarify the meaning of synonyms or antonyms of the target language.

6. To check the knowledge of the learners in written and oral texts on lexical and grammatical material.

7. To introduce phraseological units which are difficult, sometimes impossible, to understand without resorting to translation.

8. To deal with stylistic devices during text interpretation sessions at the advanced stage of instruction.

9. To compare the expressive means in the source language to those of the target language.

Translation helps the learners to establish sets of equivalent substitutes in the target language for the lexical, grammatical and stylistic phenomena of the source language.

Now that a communicative approach to language teaching is universally recognized, translation seems to be confined to two skills – reading and writing.

Translation develops three qualities essential to all language learning: accuracy, clarity and flexibility. It trains the learner to search (flexibility) for the most appropriate words (accuracy) to convey what is meant (clarity). This combination of freedom and constraints allows the learners to contribute their own thoughts to a text discussion.

Translation should reflect accurately the meaning of the original text; nothing should be arbitrarily added or removed, though occasionally part of the meaning can be "transposed", (cf. Chamberlin D. C., et al., 1995).

The sequence of words and ideas in the translation should match the original as closely as possible. This is particularly important in translating legal documents, contracts, etc. But differences in language structure often require changes in the form and order of words.

Language teaching methods do not all use the same register. Register is a term employed by some linguists to indicate the uses to which a language is put – occupational, emotive, informative. A description based on samples of one register may be quite different from one based on samples of another. To resolve these differences it is necessary to distinguish between formal or fixed expressions and informal expressions in which the writer or speaker sets the tone. The importance of certain words, idioms and constructions is not identical in all registers of the language. Register gives colour to language and to ignore it in translation is to translate the words rather than the meaning (Hedge C.D., p. 85).

Idiomatic expressions are notoriously untranslatable. These include similes, metaphors, phrasal verbs, proverbs and sayings, slang and colloquialisms. If the expressions cannot be directly translated the students can try any of the following:

• retain the original word in inverted commas: 'yuppies';

• retain the original expression with the literal explanation in brackets: Indian summer (dry, hazy weather in late autumn) = бабине літо:

• use a close equivalent: talk of the devil (literally, 'the wolf at the door');

• use a non-idiomatic or plain prose translation: a bit over the top = чокнувся.

Teacher's Role

In Peter Newmark's opinion the teacher's role will not be that of a passive spectator. Some of the weaker students may need help in understanding meaning implied. This can be helped indirectly, not by translating for the students but by listening to their translations and pointing out to such items that have not come through. With better students listen carefully, taking notes. In the second stage of discussion, bring together groups which have found different solutions. In the final stage - class discussion - teacher's contribution is vital. After listening to the suggested translations, the teacher indicates his preferences ( there may be several), gives his reasons, and if he wishes, offers his own alternative translations.

Most translation activities are based on the work in pairs or small groups. The purpose of this is to give the students a chance to listen and to be heard, to test their ideas against those of others, to compare them and to choose the most accurate.

One of the teacher's main tasks in group work is to control the language of discussion. Since the students will naturally want to use their mother tongue in discussion, it is essential that they don't forget the starting point, which is the text in English. All discussion should be centered round the text.

In these activities much of the correction is done by the students themselves which has its advantages. As the students are pooling their suggestions and listening to each other, they are more receptive to any corrections given ( they are learning from each others’ mistakes). The teacher is no longer caught in the trap of having to correct the same work again and again (as it happens with written translation); here one comment is good for all.

Students are sometimes asked to translate without being given any introduction to the kind of material they will be working on. As a result, they are not mentally prepared for that activity. This is a weakness which should be avoided.

One of the strongest objections to the use of translation is that it is time-consuming and "wasteful". There is little point in asking a group of students to sit silently in a room translating the same text which can be just as well done at home. In order to avoid wastage and to make best use of the student's time M. Swan has suggested certain basic provisions in devising the activities:

1. all students should be equally involved in the task; nobody should be kept "hanging around";

2. the activities should involve as much oral work as possible; the writing can also be done in the form of notes, to be used in later discussion;

3. the material itself should preferably be short and varied (longer texts being reserved mainly for out-of-class work);

4. time-limits should be set, where necessary in order to prevent the students from getting "stuck" and to ensure that sufficient time is left for discussion [cf. Swan M., 1993].

In any group there will be both "hares" and "tortoises", "sprinters" and "plodders". Some students will be frustrated if they are kept waiting, others if they are broken off before they have finished. This frustration can be avoided either by allowing the group to join up for discussion in their own time, when they are ready, or by setting strict time limits or asking the students to do as much as they can in the time.

Thus, the teacher's role in using translation in TEFL covers such items as:

1. the work in class;

2. pair and group work;

3. language correction;

4. purpose;

5. time.