Cover not available
Article published In:
Translation and Translanguaging in Multilingual Contexts
Vol. 5:2 (2019) ► pp.185–209

Translation for communicative purposes

Engendering class discussions with L1–L2 translation tasks

| Macao Polytechnic Institute
An underexplored aspect of the use of translation in the L2 classroom is its potential to foster in-class communication. This article explores the efficacy of translation tasks as compared to monolingual writing tasks in engendering language-related discussions in class. The study is longitudinal and includes two experiments carried out in an EFL college setting. Data were collected over two semesters and a comparatively stronger presence of language-related episodes (LREs) was found among those who worked on translation tasks. This higher level of engagement in L2 class discussions suggests that translation tasks are advantageous in engendering student-initiated LREs, drawing learners’ attention to lexis and grammar, and fostering communication in the classroom.
Keywords: translation task, monolingual task, language-related episodes, class discussion
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
    • 1.1Translation as a communicative task
    • 1.2Language-related episodes
    • 1.3LRE-inducing tasks in L2 classrooms
    • 1.4Languaging engendered by translation tasks
  • 2.The study
    • 2.1Participants
    • 2.2Instruments
    • 2.3Methodology
  • 3.Data collection
    • 3.1Recordings
    • 3.2Transcriptions
    • 3.3Data analysis
      • 3.3.1Quantity
      • 3.3.2Nature
  • 4.Findings
    • 4.1Quantity of LREs
      • 4.1.1Results across groups
      • 4.1.2Results across tasks
    • 4.2Grammatical and lexical LREs
      • 4.2.1Results across groups
      • 4.2.2Results across tasks
  • 5.Discussion
    • 5.1Finding 1: Quantity of LREs
      • 5.1.1Encountering linguistic difficulties
      • 5.1.2Encountering similar problems
      • 5.1.3Sharing the same context
    • 5.2Finding 2: Grammatical and lexical LREs
  • 6.Concluding remarks
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 24 April 2019
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/ttmc.00031.lo
References (29)
References
Carreres, Angeles. 2006. “Strange Bedfellows: Translation and Language Teaching. The Teaching of Translation into L2 in Modern Languages Degrees; Uses and Limitations.” Accessed January 26, 2019. [URL]
Danan, Martine. 2010. “Dubbing Projects for the Language Learner: A Framework for Integrating Audiovisual Translation into Task-based Instruction.” Computer Assisted Language Learning 231: 441–456. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Ellis, Nick. 1993. “Rules and Instances in Foreign Language Learning: Interactions of Explicit and Implicit Knowledge.” European Journal of Cognitive Psychology 51: 289–318. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Flowerdew, John, and Lindsay Miller. 1995. “On the Notion of Culture in L2 Lectures.” TESOL Quarterly 291: 345–373. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Gass, Susan M., and Alison Mackey. 2007. “Input, Interaction, and Output in Second Language Acquisition.” In Theories in second language acquisition: An introduction, ed. by Bill VanPatten, and Jessica Williams, 175–199. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Källkvist, Marie. 2013a. “Languaging in Translation Tasks Used in a University Setting: Particular Potential for Student Agency.” The Modern Language Journal 971: 217–238. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
. 2013b. “The Engaging Nature of Translation: A Nexus Analysis of Student-teacher Interaction.” In Translation in Language Teaching and Assessment, ed. by Dina Tsagari, and Georgios Floros, 115–134. Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.Google Scholar
Kim, YouJin, and Kim McDonough. 2011. “Using Pre-task Modeling to Encourage Collaborative Learning Opportunities.” Language Teaching Research 151: 1–17. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Leeser, Michael J. 2004. “Learner Proficiency and Focus on Form during Collaborative Dialogue.” Language Teaching Research 81: 55–81. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Liu, Jun. 2002. “Negotiating Silence in American Classrooms: Three Chinese Cases.” Language and Intercultural Communication 21: 37–54. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Long, Michael H. 1983. “Native Speaker/Non-native Speaker Conversation and the Negotiation of Comprehensible Input.” Applied Linguistics 41: 126–141. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
1996. “The Role of the Linguistic Environment in Second Language Acquisition.” In Handbook of Research on Language Acquisition: Second Language Acquisition, ed. by William C. Ritchie, and Tej K. Bhatia, 413–468. New York: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Malmkjær, Kirsten. 1998. “Introduction: Translation and Language Teaching.” In Translation and Language Teaching: Language Teaching and Translation, ed. by Kirsten Malmkjær, 1–11. Manchester: St. Jerome.Google Scholar
Schjoldager, Anne. 2004. “Are L2 Learners More Prone to err When They Translate?” In Translation in Undergraduate Degree Programmes, ed. by Kirsten Malmkjær, 151–162. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Schmidt, Richard W. 1990. “The Role of Consciousness in Second Language Learning.” Applied Linguistics 111: 129–158. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Storch, Neomy. 2007. “Investigating the Merits of Pair Work on a Text Editing Task in ESL Classes.” Language Teaching Research 111: 143–59. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
. 2013. Collaborative Writing in L2 Classrooms. Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Storch, Neomy, and Gillian Wigglesworth. 2007. “Writing Tasks: the Effects of Collaboration.” In Investigating Tasks in Formal Language Settings, ed. by María del Pilar García Mayo, 157–177. London: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar
Swain, Merrill. 1985. “Communicative Competence: Some Roles of Comprehensible Input and Comprehensible Output in its Development.” In Input in Second Language Acquisition, ed. by Susan M. Gass, and Carolyn G. Madden, 235–253. Rowley, MA: Newbury House.Google Scholar
. 1993. “The Output Hypothesis: Just Speaking and Writing Aren’t Enough.” Canadian Modern Language Review 50 (1):158–164. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
. 1995. “Three Functions of Output in Second Language Learning.” In Principle and Practice in Applied Linguistics: Studies in Honour of H.G. Widdowson, ed. by Guy Cook, and Barbara Seidlhofer, 125–144. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
. 1997a. “Collaborative Dialogue: Its Contribution to Second Language Learning.” Revista Canaria de Estudios Ingleses 341: 115–32.Google Scholar
. 1997b. “The Output Hypothesis, Focus on Form, and Second Language Learning.” In Applying Linguistics, ed. by Vivien Berry, Bob Adamson, and William Littlewood, 1–21. English Language Centre: University of Hong Kong.Google Scholar
. 1998. “Focus on Form through Conscious Reflection.” In Focus on Form in Classroom Second Language Acquisition, ed. by Catherine Doughty, and Jessica Williams, 64–81. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
. 2005. “The Output Hypothesis: Theory and Research.” In Handbook of Research in Second Language Teaching and Learning, ed. by Eli Hinkel, 471–483. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Swain, Merrill, and Sharon Lapkin. 1998. “Interaction and Second Language Learning: Two Adolescent French Immersion Students Working Together.” Modern Language Journal 821: 320–337. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
. 2001. “Focus on Form through Collaborative Dialogue: Exploring Task Effects.” In Researching Pedagogic Tasks: Second Language Learning, Teaching and Testing, ed. by Martin Bygate, Peter Skehan, and Merrill Swain, 99–118. Harlow, UK: Longman.Google Scholar
Williams, Jessica. 1999. “Learner-generated Attention to Form.” Language Learning 491: 583–625. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Zojer, Heidi. 2009. “The Methodological Potential of Translation in Second Language Acquisition: Re-evaluating Translation as a Teaching Tool.” In Translation in Second Language Learning and Teaching, ed. by Arnd Witte, Theo Harden, and Alessandra Ramos de Oliveira Harden, 31–51. Bern: Peter Lang.Google Scholar
Cited by (1)

Cited by one other publication

Laviosa, Sara
2022. Translation and Education. In The Cambridge Handbook of Translation, ► pp. 298 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 20 july 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.