Reflective Task 5

What is your view on the preferred direction of translation? Consider arguments for and against translating into the foreign language:

Amongst the disadvantages, you will probably have mentioned the difficulty of the task, the fact that students may not have the necessary command of the language. As for advantages, you may consider this type of exercise as a good test of students' command of L2, or a way to add variety to your classroom.

Within the professional world of translators, translation into L2 is not encouraged. Professional translators work into their mother tongues. However, in specific contexts, those whose language is considered as a 'minority language' are increasingly being requested to translate from and into their foreign language(s) (Campbell, 1998). Because of the market needs for this type of activity, it is felt that students need to be trained to translate both ways.

In spite of the controversial nature of this type of activity, the use of translation into the foreign language is being reconsidered. Thus, in relation to grammar, Cook (2002: 6) supports its use and suggests that translation ensures students' use of structures which might otherwise be avoided. In any case, as we have noted earlier, the purpose of translation needs to be clearly specified. In the particular case of translation into the foreign language, more work and more controlled circumstances are required. Thus, Weatherby (1998) suggests a target-text-centred approach, with emphasis on the process, rather than the product.

In contrast to translation into L1, the comprehension stage is easier in translation into the FL, as students are reading in their first language. However, the encoding/rewriting stage is more problematic. The use of real texts, parallel texts, is crucial in this case, as they provide models for the students to construct their texts. Your students, however, may lack sufficient background in textual and register conventions to realize which features are important. Therefore, the first step in this activity (translation into the FL) should be to sensitize students to the textual and stylistic requirements of L2 texts.

Weatherby (1998) suggests using realistic texts, arranged in a sequence and with an appropriate degree of difficulty. She proposes the following model:

• study of authentic FL texts;
• production of original FL texts;
• study of L1 texts; error analysis;
• translation of carefully selected texts.

To exemplify this model, and see a practical application of the theoretical concepts presented above, the following section will focus on a practical case study.