Teaching English Through Translation

Jan. 2010

The use of translation in the teaching of English has been seen as a positive asset by some and as unhelpful one by others. However, in our experience as teachers, we have drawn the conclusion that translation, when used to promote learning, can be a very important tool in foreign language learning and success in the process of second language acquisition.

The advantages and disadvantages vary depending on the context that translation is being used in, but the pros of using it outweigh the cons. Examples of this optimistic view in the use of translation can be acknowledged in the following situations:

• This tool in particular helps students to improve their communication skills as well as increase their awareness of the grammatical differences between the two languages.

‘Areas of potential confusion are confronted, thus drawing student’s attention to main problems. As they realise that forms do not transfer, or that one language is richer, more precise, more logical, more versatile at certain points than the other, their awareness of language systems in general develops’.

(Soars and Soars 1987:iv)

•  It reinforces L1 by comparing and contrasting it to L2.

 

•  It conveys meaning for abstract concepts and explains as well as compares grammar points and highlights differences in word order as long as translation activities are communicatively relevant. As Lefevere has emphasised; translating is, in a way, a type of re-writing.

 

We know that the trend nowadays is to avoid translation as much as possible in language courses and get students speaking and thinking in English most of the time. However, in one way or another people still use a lot of translation to make sure that they understand the idea properly. The truth is we translate unconsciously, formally or informally and we can communicate by doing this. Moreover, students might make use of translation to double-check if they understand correctly what teachers are trying to say in English. Nevertheless if they do this, they might be indirectly questioning the quality and the effectiveness of the teaching.

 

Translation could also be a special tool in ESP classes or other groups that do not focus on communication They usually take ESP courses because they are willing to study books related to their fields and those students need equivalent words and phrases of fields that they already manage in their own languages, for example doctors, chefs, lawyers, etc.

Another case is it of ELT students. Translation is commonly used as part of their curriculum. However, translation as a skill should only be taught if the main goal of the course is to have students become translators. On the contrary, as Duff states (1989) students should use translation as a means to learn and not as an end.

 

As for the ESL community, we know that the use of translation is very common especially for non-native speakers who have still not got to grips with English at a basic level of communication. For instance, let us suppose that there is a group of ten students pertaining to five different nationalities of which three students share the same L1. It is understandable that they are likely to do double-checking among themselves.

It does make more sense to say that translation is used in English as a foreign language and that is what we believed until we had the experience in teaching English as a second language. We had reached the conclusion that people translate all the time, especially idioms, for instance. ‘Let’s play it by ear!” Some things we really have to live and see how they are applied because they might make no sense at all if translated word for word. There might be, nonetheless, some negotiation of meaning to understand what one was trying to say and this results in communication.

The fact that the teacher speaks the same language as the students does not mean that he or she can use translation in his or her classes. The translation factor tends to be very common in language courses to adults, mainly for those learners who feel the need to translate the rule and can only understand grammar if they find a similar use in their L1. It takes them a while to catch up with the group, but for some adult learners, translation was and will always be a useful partner in learning a language.

Some adults only take English classes as a leisure time activity. Subsequently they give a great deal of importance to translation and do not leave this strategy to one side because it is the easiest way for them to complete the activities and be able to communicate.

When students face unknown words, they naturally and unconsciously tend to compare those words with what they already know, which is their L1. It does not mean that we are telling students to translate, but they are constantly doing this to reach meaningful comprehension.  Therefore, there is a place for translation in English teaching, but we have to tell students why they are translating or being allowed to translate. An effective use of translation in English teaching does support communication and provides a positive learning environment where students can learn a language and also promote cultural knowledge. Translation does promote learning and teachers cannot completely ignore its use because if they choose to do so, students are going to use it in any case.

 Gilmara Bezerra

CLIL -Content Language Integrated Learning

 As for the definition for CLIL everybody has already stated it from
different sources. I always check the British Council
website for our assessments and any doubts because the
definitions and ideas expressed there are very clear. So
from the BBC website

” Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) has
become the umbrella term describing both learning
another (content) subject such as physics or geography
through the medium of a foreign language and learning a
foreign language by studying a content-based subject. In
ELT, forms of CLIL have previously been known as
‘Content-based instruction’, ‘English across the
curriculum’ and ‘Bilingual education’.
(http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/articles/content-language-integrated-learning)

 In my opinion, we should work with students'
learning styles and topics that are of their interest
in order to promote BICS in an environement that
students will feel comfortable and at the same time
promote CALP. If we get the students motivated, we can
teach them in any language even though they don't master
those. I think that the use of SIOP strategies would fit
properly in the CLIL settings. What do you think?

What do you think about this CLIL debate article?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/2005/feb/09/guardianweekly.guardianweekly11

“Is this the end of the language class? Taking foreign
language learning out of the language classroom and
integrating it with other subjects has a strong appeal,
but Kari Smith urges caution: language acquisition is
not always natural”

I especially like this passage: “Immigrants learning the
language of their new country often acquire the language
to a certain extent in the same way. They are surrounded
by the target language outside their own family; they
enjoy rich exposure to it. However, the fact that not
all arrive in the new country as young children, and
that the native tongue remains the language spoken in
the family, add complexity to the pro-cess of
acquisition. Therefore, new immigrants are encouraged to
take specific language courses; they need to be
introduced to formal language instruction alongside the
many opportunities for natural exposure.”

This is exactly what happens here in my school. We have
students from about 30 different countries this year.
Whenever they have a chance , they always speak in their
L1. It’s an ESL environment with EFL reality. What do
you think?

Just in case you don’t have time to read the article ,
here is how it begins.

“Thank you for the course. I wish it had been given in
my own language because I know I have lost out on much
information during the course, and you, the teacher, did
not have the opportunity to get to know the real me,
what I am able to do, what I know, what I think and who
I am.” This is the message a previous student of mine
wrote after having spent five days a week for eight
months studying to be a teacher in an additional
language (a language other than the native language).
Daniela is not the only student enrolled in one of the
many immersion or Content and Language Integrated
Learning (Clil) programmes in schools and universities
around the world who feels this way. Purely for language
learning purposes some language teachers, parents and
policy makers believe that foreign language learning can
be enhanced by teaching in the target language. “

How do you feel about it? At first, my reaction was that
I would probably react in the same way,but then I got
myself thinking about how willing was that student to
learn in a CLIL environment? Was the teacher 100%
prepared?

CLIL is getting clear for me. Here is another
interesting ppt.

http://www.content-english.org/data/dickey-pac5.ppt#256,1,Content
+ Language:  Europe’s CLIL and America’s CBI.

Here
is another:

http://www.iaie.org/download/turin_paper_casal.pdf

Manuel( 39226), I just read this article and thought
about the questions that you posted here. See what you
think!

“CLIL is a pedagogical project implemented in foreign
language learning and which has been subject of global
approval because of its many advantages for creating a
suitable environment for learning. Research has shown,
however, that while comprehension skills (reading and
listening) are really boosted in a CLIL environment,
this may not be the case of productive skills (speaking
and writing). Students seem not to have enough chances
to speak or initiate a conversation, affecting their
speaking and writing outcomes negatively. Cooperative
learning may help enhance CLIL contexts, catering not
only for the development of comprehension skills and
better reasoning, but also for interaction and
communication. Students are given chances both for input
reception and output production. This paper will address
how teachers can improve their students’ competences in
the foreign language classroom by implementing
cooperative learning structures in content-based
environments.”

We have been talking about CLIL and its definitions, but
maybe we still don’t have a clear picture of what a
lesson would look like.

Here is a lesson plan and I particularly liked the
communication piece which brings a plan for LANGUAGE OF
LEARNING, LANGUAFE FOR LEARNING and LANGUAGE THROUGH
LEARNING, which is very different from what we usually
see in lesson plans.

http://www.clil-si.org/subidos/clillessonplan.pdf

http://www.britishcouncil.org/8_-_5_clil_lesson_plan_-_vancouver.pdf

This lesson plan brings the following aims and level. I
thought it was interesting because maybe we are trying
to see CLIL as a set objective or something that has to
be implemented at once and forgetting that it has to be
done gradually and with constant feedback as we do for
any new methodology or product that we want to use.

“Aims: • To increase students’ knowledge of subject
content. • To develop students’ knowledge of
content-related lexis. • To develop all four language
skills within a content-based context. • To develop
academic skills such as note taking. • To provide
material and information for further topic and language
based studies. Level: Intermediate and above, CLIL
transition stage.”

Some of our classmates have already mentioned the
http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/articles/clil-a-lesson-framework.

What I think that is interesting in this website on the
view of Steve Darn, Izmir University of Economics,
Turkey is that he explains it clearly adn maybe CLIL is
just another word for something that we already do.

Look at these passages from the article. In  my opinion,
the last one really says it all.

“A CLIL lesson is therefore not a language lesson
neither is it a subject lesson transmitted in a foreign
language. According to the 4Cs curriculum (Coyle 1999),
a successful CLIL lesson should combine elements of the
following:

Content – Progression in knowledge, skills and
understanding related to specific elements of a defined
curriculum  Communication – Using language to learn
whilst learning to use language  Cognition – Developing
thinking skills which link concept formation (abstract
and concrete), understanding and language  Culture -
Exposure to alternative perspectives and shared
understandings, which deepen awareness of otherness and
self.  

In a CLIL lesson, all four language skills should be
combined. The skills are seen thus:

Listening is a normal input activity, vital for language
learning  Reading, using meaningful material, is the
major source of input  Speaking focuses on fluency.
Accuracy is seen as subordinate  Writing is a series of
lexical activities through which grammar is recycled. “

“Conclusion From a language point of view the CLIL
‘approach’ contains nothing new to the EL teacher. CLIL
aims to guide language processing and ’support language
production in the same way as ELT by teaching strategies
for  reading and listening and structures and lexis for
spoken or written language. What is different is that
the language teacher is also the subject teacher, or
that the subject teacher is also able to exploit
opportunities for  developing language skills. This is
the essence of the CLIL teacher training issue.”

Gilmara Bezerra
In my opinion CLIL has many advantages and is completely
applicable here in my school. As we saw from the
conclusion of the article from Steve Darn is that WE,
the language teachers, are also the subejct teachers. I
teach ESL students from 3 to 5 grades and the curriculum
brings science, social studies, math , geography , etc.
However, they do have these subjects at their mainstream
classes too. The coursebook we use for ESL is AVEVUES is
here is the support website for your appreciation.
http://www.hbavenues.com

This website http://bilingualeduc.ning.com/group/clil
brings a lot of interesting activities and information
about CLIL. What I liked the most is the fact that it
incorporate SIOP strategies to the CLIL approach. "CLIL
Lesson Planning: Sheltered Instruction & Academic
Language"

Gilmara Bezerra
Hi Manuel, I really think that the idea of the handbook
with useful chunks of language. I also think that we
could use more SIOP strategies to promote BICS. It does
work and that's how we get non-native students into
speaking here. They do go through the silent period, and
we do see them talking in the playground and when it
comes to class, they simply zip and don't talk. This
kind of situation can happen in CLIL too. The teacher
should be the main source for the students providing
them with opportunities to succeed in the content and
language too.

Gilmara Bezerra

CALL – Using technology to teach English

My contributions on the debate about CALL:

The integration of technology in the content areas to help the students better understand the subjects is very valuable and here in the USA we use it a lot.  All the classes have Smartboard, and computers, besides a computer a lab, where the students have lessons on how to use the Internet as a research tool.

I have recently used GOOGLE EARTH in my lessons and it is amazing to see how much we can benefit from that. So,I suggest a discussion on GOOGLE EARTH.

Podcasts and blogs are very interesting topics too and I am sure we are going to learn a lot from each other on how to use those.

POD means (PERSONAL ON DEMAND), so if you have an IPod, you can listen to the songs at the time that you want…

Here is a link of video showing how Google Earth can be used in class.

http://www.atomiclearning.com/k12/en/google_earth

_________________________________________________________

I think that the use of CD’s is very important because of the right pronunciation.  I taught American English for some time and then got a job at Cultura Inglesa and the English taught there was British English. I could tell the big difference in  the pronunciation and wouldn’t start a lesson without listening to the CD for my own sake.  Here in the USA is even more important, because I am from Brazil and my students are from different nationalities , so I need a source that will help me be the right model for my students.

_________________________________________________________

…to which extent teachers are qualified enough to manage technology.  Only now some classes are getting Smartboard, others classes have always had it. Teachers had to go to a training and there were the ones who were really excited about that and others who didn’t even want to be there because they didn’t even use an overhead projector in their classes, so traditional they were. They simply freaked out! Besides that, they receive a mini laptop to prepare their lessons to use with the Smartboard. Imagine the situation if you are not even familiar with a desktop??!! I think it might be true for many people. Not only for the fact that they are not familiar with technology, but because they see it as a big challenge to their teaching styles. ..We can handle at least the basic use of technology as a CD player and a TV for example. Even the blackboard/white board could be considered technology…

Materials and Resources

Let’s suppose the following scenario. A friend offers you a lesson plan about a unit that she taught and you are going to teach. She explained everything to you and it sounds just perfect and great because you won’t have to sit and plan your own, right?

Wrong!!Teachers are not expected to use a material without knowing what it is all about. You have probably done something like that and know for sure that this does not work. It might have worked for her group, but even though the unit is the same, key points vary from class to class and here is where the importance of evaluations of materials come.

 Evaluations of materials and resources are crucial for a successful class. Evaluations should not only take place during lesson planing, but while and post-use of the teaching practices used in the lesson plan. Teachers must know what they are going to use to deliver the lesson, including all the supplementary materials and make sure that the media that is going to be used works.

Based on Tomlinson’s 12 point procedure for evaluating materials I am going to analyse Unit 10 of the course book Gude, Kathe and Michael Duckworth 2002. “Matrix Pre-Intermediate Student’s Book”. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Overview

I am going to start with a picture walk in the unit just to have an idea of what the unit brings. I have never taught this coursebook, so I am going to describe my first impressions of it and make a pre-use evaluation to see how much I like it and if I would adapt any kind of activity or even add a supplementary material.

The unit brings clear pictures that support the topic “Off To See The World”. It starts with an unusual picture that invites the students to think about it as for building background for a reading activity. I can tell it is for at least an intermediate level class due to the grammar presented and complexity of tasks.

It works with the four skills starting a reading activity, followed by a listening comprehension as part of the grammar presentation and listening for specific information based on transportation. The speaking part is great because it brings pictures to support the conversation and chunks of words as a model to start the speaking activity. The writing brings a great sample to give students an idea of what they are expected to do including  steps to better writing to guide the students. The unit wraps up with a word focus that recycles the unit vocabulary and skills and with a great reading activity that enables students to practice their comprehension skills and learn new words  by the context.

I agree with Tomlinson when he described that even the most rigorous evaluation can fail to predict the actual effect of the materials is use. My impression of this unit is that it allows a lot of interactive activities and that the communicative apporach is clear to take place.However, as I have never seen this unit in its true colors and don’t know if the activites are going to work as I pictures them to…

Individual Factors

Index

1-Introduction

2- Learner’ Self-Reports and Analysis

2.1- Learner 1

2.2- Learner 2

2.3- Learner 3

2.4- Learner 4

2.5- Learner 5

2.6- Learner 6

2.7- Learner 7

2.8- Learner 8

2.9- Learner 9

2.10- Learner 10

2.11- Learner 11

2.12- Learner 12

2.13- Learner 13

2.14- Learner 14

2.15- Learner 15

2.16- Learner 16

2.17- Learner 17

2.18- Learner 18

2.19- Learner 19

3.Conclusion

4. Bibliography

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1-Introduction

 

During the study of the subject Individual Factors we had the opportunity to review and learn more about the factors or differences that influence the learning of a second or a foreign language as well as to better understand our students’ weaknesses and strengths in the process of language learning.

 

In this assignment we are going to analyze 19 learners self-reports and identify the type of motivation, learning style, learning strategies and personality factors as they appear in the reports.

 

2- Learner’ Self-Reports and Analysis

 

2.1- Learner 1

I think one problem for me and perhaps everyone else learning a language is you have to be stimulated to learn.

The lack of self-motivation is clear in this report, thus he needs to develop intrinsic motivation to help him feel comfortable with the process of learning a language and reach his goal. His high external locus of control should be worked towards the reason why he is learning to keep himself motivated…

Developing Language Skills

1.Introduction

2.Reading

2.1 The Traditional Approach

2.2 Authenticity

2.3 Types of Question

2.4 A Top Down Bottom Up Approach

2.5 Conclusion

3. An Overview on the Language

4.Writing

4.1  A Traditional Perspective

4.2 From Product to Process

4.3 Audience and Feedback

4.4 Conclusion

5.Speaking

5.1 An Interactive Approach

5.2 Grouping

5.3 Topic or Task?

5.4 Conclusion

6. Listening

6.1 General Considerations

6.2 Activities

6.3 Conclusion

7.Bibliography

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. Introduction

 

The discussions and unit analysis during the subject Material and Resources in EFL gave us a broader view of how to better choose materials for our classes. During the study of the subject we learned how to proceed micro and macro evaluations on the content, curriculum as well as on the supplementary material, design and adaptation of materials. This analysis enriched our knowledge as English Teachers making us more aware of what to choose for the preparation of our lessons looking forward to having a positive feedback from our students.

 

This subject, Developing Language Skills, invited us to go through a comprehensive analysis on how the four skills are applied into course books units. Understanding how each skill is going to fit the students’ needs and how it is presented in the unit is extremely important for the success of lessons. This subject has definitely enhanced our views on how to make a better use of each part of a unit without skipping it for assuming it is challenging for the students or for the teachers themselves.

 

The goal of this assignment is to analyze how the unit Teen Links from the course book Bachillerato Made Easy from Richmond Publishing deals with the four skills according to the theory examined in this subject.

Teacher Academy at Elon University-NC

June 28 -July 2

Last week I had the opportunity to attend the workshop “Raising ESL Students Achievement” at Elon University as part of the North Carolina Teacher Academy program.  I was with a group of 7  teachers from my school. We had a wonderful time together  and could develop our personal and professional skills leaded by highly qualified instructors who made the classes interesting and interacting. Besides that, we had a great variety of food at the cafeteria and yummy snacks during the breaks. We also exercised a lot! At 6:30 am we were ready to go  for a 3 mile walk !!!!! We had to stay at the campus during the workshop, which made this experience even more interesting for me because I had never stayed at a campus before, so it was my College experience.  THANK YOU” TEACHER ACADEMY” FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY.

Urban Education Symposium

June 15 -18 I attended CMS Summer Teacher Conference at Waddell High School this week. The workshop I chose was about Urban Education and it was very interesting to learn about this topic and see different points of views from the teachers attending it.

Here are the highlights:

*We received the book “The Dreamkeepers”  to be read in advance with  a set of activities that had to be done prior to attending the conference;

* We kept a journal as a reflection of all the thoughts of the day/activities;

*There was one presentation about Second Language Acquisition in which the teachers were ESL students learning Vietnamese;

*We explored our school profile to get to know more about the students and community;

*Integration of arts to represent experiences;

*Bullying: Addressing the Violence;

*Visited learning labs;

*Critical Literacy and

*Action plan. Each teacher was expected to set goals as an action plan.

Camping at the Outer Banks -NC

June 12 – To get into the Summer mood nothing better than going to the beach to spend the weekend. We camped at the Ocean Waves Campground. The site is right at the beach. Wonderful place and the weather was perfect! The camping has clean bathrooms with showers  and  you can even take your TV or laptop because they have cable and Internet. Here is the link for the campsite www.oceanwavescampground.com

 

Broadway show + Chima Brazilian Steakhouse = End of school year, start of summer vacation

June 11 – Last day of school for students was yesterday. This means the beginning of the summer vacation for teachers. We will get back to work on August 18.

To celebrate , I had lunch with my friends after school at  Boardwalk Billy’s ( a place in Charlotte that reminds me of PIER 21 in Brasilia) and went out last night and saw the Broadway show “The Phanton of the Opera” and stopped by at Chima Brazilian Steakhouse for a quick bite and a caipirinha. It was a great way to start my vacation!

http://www.thephantomoftheopera.com/us_tour/

http://www.chima.cc/

http://www.boardwalkbillys.com/