Forms and functions of translation in foreign language lessons
Search for effective strategies and tools for learning and mastering a foreign language. Development of communication skills of future translators. Use of audiovisual materials to expand students' vocabulary. Basic forms and functions of translation.
| Рубрика | Педагогика |
| Вид | статья |
| Язык | английский |
| Дата добавления | 24.06.2024 |
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Lesya Ukrainka Volyn National University
Forms and functions of translation in foreign language lessons
Oksana Bielykh, PhD in Linguistics, Associate Professor,
Associate Professor at the German Philology Department
Iryna Charikova, PhD in Linguistics, Associate Professor,
Associate Professor at the English Philology Department
Lutsk, Ukraine
Abstract
Translation acts as a bridge for learners to transition from basic language skills to more advanced proficiency levels, aiding in the gradual acquisition of language competence.
The use of translation in foreign language lessons can serve various forms and functions, playing a multifaceted role in language learning.
Here are some key forms of translation in foreign language lessons: literal (focuses on word-for-word rendering from one language to another), free (emphasizes conveying the overall meaning and sense of a text rather than sticking strictly to a word-for-word translation), audiovisual (audiovisual materials like videos, movies, or songs in one language might be translated or subtitled into the target language to aid comprehension and language acquisition), and written (involves expressing the meaning of a text or passage from one language into another).
These forms of translation perform the following functions: vocabulary expansion (expanding learners' vocabulary by introducing them to new words and expressions in both source and target language); grammar understanding (helping learners understand and apply grammatical structures in the target language by comparing them to the structures in their native language); cultural awareness (learners gain insights into cultural differences and similarities); communication skills (contribute to the development of communication skills, both written and oral, by requiring learners to express ideas accurately in the target language); critical thinking (encourage critical thinking to convey meaning accurately); language comparison (compare linguistic structures and expressions between their native language and the target language, promoting a deeper understanding of both). To ensure a comprehensive and effective language-learning experience, it's essential in our opinion to balance translation in foreign language lessons with other language-learning strategies, which should align with the overall goals and methodologies of foreign language education.
Key words: translation, foreign language lesson, forms of translation, functions of translation, language skills.
Анотація
Форми та функції перекладу на уроках іноземної мови
Оксана Бєлих,
кандидат філологічних наук, доцент, доцент кафедри німецької філології Волинського національного університету імені Лесі Українки (Луцьк, Україна)
Ірина Чарікова,
кандидат філологічних наук, доцент, доцент кафедри англійської філології Волинського національного університету імені Лесі Українки (Луцьк, Україна)
Переклад слугує для учнів містком для переходу від базових мовних навичок до більш просунутих рівнів володіння мовою, сприяючи поступовому набуттю мовної компетенції. Використання перекладу на уроках іноземної мови може мати різні форми та функції, відіграючи багатогранну роль у вивченні мови.
До основних форм перекладу на уроках іноземної мови відносимо: дослівний (фокусується на дослівному перекладі з однієї мови на іншу), вільний (наголошує на передачі загального значення та сенсу тексту, а не на суворому дослівному перекладі), аудіовізуальний (аудіовізуальні матеріали, такі як відео, фільми або пісні однією мовою, можуть бути перекладені або субтитровані цільовою мовою, щоб полегшити розуміння та засвоєння мови) та письмовий (включає в себе вираження сенсу тексту або уривка з однієї мови на іншу). Ці форми перекладу виконують наступні функції: розширення словникового запасу (розширюють словниковий запас учнів, знайомлячи 'їх з новими словами та виразами як вихідної, так і цільової мови); розуміння граматики (допомагають учням розуміти та застосовувати граматичні структури цільової мови, порівнюючи їх зі структурами рідної мови); культурна обізнаність (учні отримують уявлення про культурні відмінності та схожість); комунікативні навички (сприяють розвитку комунікативних навичок, як письмових, так і усних, вимагаючи від учнів точного вираження ідей мовою, що вивчається); критичне мислення (заохочують критичне мислення для точної передачі змісту); порівняння мов (порівнюють мовні структури та вирази рідної мови та мови, що вивчається, сприяючи глибшому розумінню обох мов). Для забезпечення всебічного та ефективного вивчення мови, на нашу думку, важливо збалансувати переклад на уроках іноземної мови з іншими стратегіями вивчення мови, які повинні відповідати загальним цілям і методології навчання іноземної мови.
Ключові слова: переклад, урок іноземної мови, форми перекладу, функції перекладу, мовні навички.
Introduction
Statement of the problem. Outside of school, translation is experiencing a boom. It is an essential prerequisite for the smooth functioning of the international exchange of information in business, politics, technology, and culture. Translating and interpreting
- as practiced in bilingualism and multilingualism
- are the most common procedures in international communication because there are many contact situations in which language skills are more likely to ensure communication than the target language skills alone.
Becoming bilingual or multilingual is typically accomplished through language education in schools, where an artificial language environment is created. Translation is a vital tool in overcoming the limitations of the “direct method” of language teaching, which can be perceived as indirect, inefficient, and unnatural for acquiring a foreign language.
Purpose of the article. The research aim is to investigate some forms and functions of didactic translation in foreign language lessons.
To achieve the research objective, the following tasks were set:
- make a characteristic of educational translation;
- identify and characterize common forms of translation and their functions, used in schools;
- give some ideas for learning translation in foreign language lessons.
Designing a robust methodology for investigating the forms and functions of translation in foreign language lessons involves careful planning and consideration of various factors. Here's a general outline of the methodology that we used:
- Literature Review: conducting a comprehensive literature review helps to understand existing research on Forms and functions of translation in foreign language lessons.
- Data Collections Methods: observation helps to observe language lessons where translation is used; surveys or questionnaires help to gather insights from teachers or students about their experiences with translation; cognitive tasks help us to design tasks to assess cognitive processes during translation.
Analysis of research. Recently, leading scholars (V.M. Komisarov, O.O. Selivanova, T.R. Kiyak, O.V. Oguy, Y.A. Loboda, and others) have been actively studying the peculiarities of the methodology of teaching translation and the problem of developing translation competence in particular. Despite this, translation teaching methods remain an underdeveloped area of pedagogical science.
For quite some time, the necessity of incorporating translation into foreign language learning has been a topic of debate. While the need to legitimize translation as a learning objective has diminished over the years and the requirement to justify its place in language lessons is gradually fading, there is still significant opposition, particularly in school-based foreign language learning programs. Notwithstanding these challenges, many language experts maintain that translation can be integral in aiding learners to comprehend and internalize the intricacies of a foreign language.
Unfortunately, much of the discussion between proponents and opponents of translation in foreign-language learning has been at cross-purposes, since the kind of translation and its function in the learning process have not been specified (Rivers 1975:295).
For a long time, Freundstein's public opinion dominated among translation opponents: Anything that can only be learned or acquired in foreign language lessons with the inclusion of the mother tongue can be omitted without any loss to the language learning process (Freundestein 1970a:39).
Grammatical rules and translations do not contribute to language learning and should be excluded under all circumstances (Freundestein 1970b:6).
Presentation of the main material
The notion of an ideal world where foreign language learning occurs without any connection to one's native language is a utopian one. This is because numerous bilingual resources are commonly employed in foreign language instruction. For instance, textbooks frequently include a bilingual vocabulary section that offers translations of important words and phrases into the learner's native language. Workbooks and glossaries are also frequently bilingual, aiding learners in comprehending and practicing new vocabulary in context. Furthermore, bilingual dictionaries are commonly used to assist learners in their language acquisition journey. All of these resources provide proof that we learn a foreign language utilizing our native language, which is our primary mode of thinking. By utilizing these resources, learners can more effectively comprehend and practice the language they are learning, ultimately leading to greater fluency and understanding.
Educational translation is a translation used in the educational process as one of the methods of learning a foreign language. It helps to consolidate and systematize knowledge of a foreign language in terms of grammar, vocabulary, syntax, and stylistics; to expand the language competence of students.
Among translations, there are literal, full, partial, and free translations. A literal translation fully preserves the peculiarities of the language in which the text is written. A full translation reproduces the content of the original in its entirety; an incomplete translation reproduces only parts of the original; a free translation conveys the main idea of the work, but does not preserve the artistic features of the original literary language.
Translation can be either oral or written. In foreign language classes, students often need to translate an exercise or a text, so special attention should be paid to the specifics of learning translation.
In the course of integrated foreign language teaching, translation, on the one hand, is used in various activities: teaching grammar, vocabulary, monologue, dialogue, etc. On the other hand, mastery of these aspects of a foreign language allows you to correctly interpret a source text, for an adequate understanding of which you need to know how to overcome linguistic and speech difficulties when reproducing units in the target language (Baranowa 2004:15-20).
However, a differentiated functional analysis of the spectrum of school translation forms presupposes that the terms used are unambiguous, which is not the case. The concept of translation is applied to different linguistic phenomena and activities in methodological guidelines and relevant specialist articles, so it is first necessary to “agree” on some basic translation concepts relevant to schools. We start from the premise that we are dealing with forms and functions of school-based, i.e. didactic, translation. Concerning a reorientation of translation didactics in foreign language teaching, we differentiate between the following types of school translation: foreign language translation vocabulary
- translating as a form of exercise or as a form of performance assessment (translation from the foreign language into the native language as the target language or translation from the native language into the foreign language as the target language;
- with back-translation variants);
- translation as a literal (written, oral) translation or as a free rendering of a text, a template;
- translation of individual words or individual sentences.
At school, translating a foreign language text into your native language is both a means of teaching a foreign language and its goal. A large number of tasks in modern foreign language textbooks are devoted to the translation of text or sentences. Many tasks are impossible to complete without preliminary translation, even if translation itself is not part of the task. Perception and comprehension of a foreign language text are more difficult without preliminary translation, which should be considered as the main method of developing comprehension.
The main tool for translating educational texts is a bilingual dictionary. Learners should be able to use a dictionary, extract maximum information from a dictionary entry, and apply the information correctly and creatively to the information obtained in the dictionary. When teaching translation, the teacher should explain and demonstrate the different types of dictionaries. First, students need to master the technique of working with a dictionary. For example, they need to know how words are arranged in dictionaries, in what forms, and what determines the choice of lexical matches in a dictionary. However, students should remember that a dictionary cannot reflect all cases of the contextual and situational meaning of words. That's why the students need to be taught to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words in the translation process without resorting to a dictionary. To determine the meaning of an unfamiliar word, students need to learn to use context, knowledge of word-forming elements, and other factors that influence the translation of a word. When choosing methodological techniques, teachers need to take into account the following factors: knowledge of the native language (erudition, general outlook), and understanding of the text (level of grammar and vocabulary).
In an educational setting, particularly in language classes, various forms of translation are employed to enhance learning and understanding of different languages. Here are some common forms of translation used in schools:
Literal translation: This form of translation focuses on word-for-word rendering from one language to another. It helps students understand the direct meaning of words and phrases in a different language.
Interpretation: In language classes, teachers might provide interpretation, verbally translating spoken or written content from one language to another to facilitate comprehension for students.
Free translation: This form of translation emphasizes conveying the overall meaning and sense of a text rather than sticking strictly to a word-for- word translation. It helps students understand the context and intended message.
Audiovisual translation: In language learning, audiovisual materials like videos, movies, or songs in one language might be translated or subtitled into the target language to aid comprehension and language acquisition.
Paraphrasing: Teachers might use rephrasing or paraphrasing techniques to explain the meaning of sentences or phrases in a different language without providing a direct translation. This helps students grasp the concept in the target language.
Comparative translation: Students might be given texts in both languages side by side, allowing them to compare and contrast the two versions. This method helps in understanding linguistic nuances and cultural differences between languages.
Collaborative translation: Students work together to translate texts or content from one language to another, encouraging communication, cooperation, and sharing of language skills among peers.
In initial lessons, the focus is exclusively on the translation of individual, isolated sentences, not on the translation of texts, i.e. coherent pieces. In general, it is much more difficult to translate from your mother tongue into a foreign language than the other way around. It is not for nothing that literary translators, for example, almost always translate into their mother tongue, as they have the most secure feel for the language and the most differentiated vocabulary in their first language. The passive vocabulary is always much larger than the active vocabulary, even in the native language. Moreover, finding the right words in a foreign language, choosing the right expressions, observing the correct sentence structure, selecting the appropriate level of style, and choosing the right time is a real challenge. For this reason, translating authentic texts is only recommended for advanced learners, but not at school. The described psycholinguistic mechanisms of the translation process make it possible to identify the skills and abilities necessary for its successful implementation:
- ability to perceive textual information in the process of reading (reading, viewing, searching);
- speed reading skills;
- the ability to synchronize several types of speech activity: reading (visual perception) and speaking;
- recognition of reference points in the original text while reading under time constraints;
- skills of overcoming interlanguage interference;
- skills of retaining in memory the syntactic structures (syntagms) chosen by the translator, which must be consistent with each other at the syntactic level in the translation text (Chernowatyi 2013:263-268).
The skills and abilities highlighted above allow us to move on to consider the classification of translation training exercises. In the methodology, an exercise is defined as a specially organized repeated performance of individual operations, actions, or activities in a training environment to master or improve them (Skliarenko 1999:72-92). The system of exercises for the development of translation competence according to L. Chernovaty includes three types of subsystems: A - preparatory exercises, B - exercises for developing translation skills, and C - exercises for incorporating the developed skills into the structure of translation skills. Each subsystem includes groups of exercises: for overcoming lexical difficulties; for overcoming grammatical difficulties; developing skills in translating realities, names, and foreign words; developing skills in using translation transformations; for developing a mechanism for selecting equivalents; for developing skills in switching from one code to another - dictationtranslation. Thus, in the researcher's opinion, the following exercises should be used to teach written translation: equivalent (full) written translation and hetero-valid (partial) translation. The researcher notes that the exercises should meet the requirements of systematicity, i.e., have a clear structure within a relatively complete period of training, ensuring the formation of skills and their inclusion in translation skills (Chernowatyi 2013:152).
Even in the initial lessons, there are many starting points for practicing and raising awareness of convergences and divergences specific to language pairs, which can be progressively systematized and practiced as interlingual standard equivalences: lexical, morpho-syntactic, textual learning content, through which the pupil learns that several languages are not to be regarded as different names for one thing, but that these different names verbalize different views of the same thing, different ways of organizing and structuring the “world”.
When it comes to translating a piece of text or activity, it's crucial to consider the linguistic and cultural nuances, phrases, and accurate translations. Effective translation requires an awareness of the differences in grammatical structures between languages. For example, Ukrainian lacks the article, gerund, or infinitive complex as compared to English. Therefore, it's essential to practice grammar exercises before translation to master conveying the same idea using different grammatical structures. By doing so, learners can better understand the subtleties of the language and create accurate translations. Word order is also important in the translation process. It is necessary to teach students to understand the stylistic features of a text. Conducting a stylistic analysis of a text helps to understand its meaning more deeply and translate it without losing meaning. Particular attention should be paid to the stylistic devices the author uses and their transfer to another language. The type of systematic translation exercises proposed here goes beyond the use of translation for language comparison that was previously common and recommended in older guidelines and methodologies of the subject. In line with Eastern European foreign language theorists, the term “confrontative language exercises” is used here in preference to the “contrastive” analyses otherwise customary in this country, which would restrict the foreign language exercise program to translation in one direction and the comparison of deviations or differences. To ensure a comprehensive and effective language-learning experience, it's essential to balance translation in foreign language lessons with other language-learning strategies, which should align with the overall goals and methodologies of foreign language education.
In confrontational exercises at the linguistic level, the students learn to differentiate between word meaning, specific sentence meaning, and situational text meaning.
Some ideas for classroom activities:
- In a collaborative learning activity, the learners are divided into groups and assigned different sections of a text to translate. Each group works on their assigned section, carefully analyzing and interpreting the content to ensure accurate and appropriate translation. Once the groups have completed their tasks, they come together to connect their translated parts into a cohesive and complete text. This involves using appropriate transitions and connecting language to ensure smooth flow and coherence between the different sections. Through this process, learners not only develop their language skills but also their ability to collaborate and communicate effectively with others.
- In this language learning activity, each learner is encouraged to bring in a short text, proverb, or poem that they enjoy and present it to the class. During the presentation, the learner explains why they chose the specific piece and what it means to them. Afterward, the class uses the text as a basis for translation exercises, allowing learners to practice their language skills in a fun and engaging way. This activity not only helps learners improve their language proficiency but also encourages them to share their interests and perspectives with their classmates.
- When it comes to language learning, learners often come across word combinations where one word can have multiple meanings depending on the context. In such cases, learners are required to translate the word combination, taking into consideration the context and the intended meaning of the word. This can be a challenging task, as it requires a good understanding of the language and its nuances. However, it is an important skill to develop for effective communication in the target language.
Given the importance of organizing personality- oriented dialogue interaction, group work should be a mandatory element of teaching translation from a foreign language or vice versa, which involves all students in interactive speech, stimulates the development of general and compensatory skills and personally important traits (ability to work in a team, responsibility, sociability), and creates an emotionally positive microclimate in the group. To group work methods belong:
- Learners search for the key sentence of each paragraph of the text.
- Learners discuss the problem.
- Learners draw up a diagram/table on the topic or text.
- Learners compose a story based on the table/ diagram/drawing, brainstorming.
- Learners work in groups on short texts then regroup and compare their versions, before producing a final text. This can then be compared with an `official' published version.
- Learners translate and then other learners back translate, then compare versions and discuss why there are differences.
- Learners look at `bad' translations and discuss the causes of errors.
- Ask learners to find different kinds of texts for comparison and translation, for example, recipes, e-mails, graffiti, technical texts, post-its, etc.
In our opinion, the most productive exercises for developing written and oral communication skills are two types of exercises: the first type is exercises on translating sentences (or texts) from the native language into a foreign language, and the second is creative exercises on composing stories and reports on events in personal or social life using active lexical and grammatical material. This type of exercise is not present in foreign textbooks, but it is extremely important because it is based on a binary comparison of the two languages. This makes it possible to “highlight” discrepancies in the designation of equivalent concepts found in two languages, and the construction of grammatical structures that reflect the specific ways of thinking of the native speaker. Therefore, the teacher should independently develop exercises of this nature, taking into account the actual grammatical and lexical topics within the program.
Conclusions
To sum up we can say that the use of translation in foreign language lessons can serve various forms and functions, playing a multifaceted role in language learning. To the forms of the translation, we refer to literal, free, audiovisual, and written translations. They all serve different aims, such as further development of creative skills and abilities in oral and written communication, the ability to read in-depth, accurately, and comprehensively understanding a text of a certain complexity; replenishment of students' vocabulary and intensive activation of lexical items accumulated at the previous stages of learning; training and correction of pronunciation skills; development of discussion and communication skills, abstracting and translation skills from the native language into a foreign language and vice versa. To ensure a comprehensive and effective language-learning experience, it's essential to balance translation in foreign language lessons with other language-learning strategies, which should align with the overall goals and methodologies of foreign language education.
We consider the investigation of developing and assessing innovative pedagogical approaches that integrate translation as a tool for language learning to be a prospect for further research. This includes investigating the effectiveness of translation-based exercises, projects, or games in promoting language proficiency.
Bibliography
1. Баранова С. Переклад як складова лінгвістичної підготовки юристів. Вісник Сумського державного університеу. 2004. Вип. 3(62). С. 15-20.
2. Черноватий Л. Методика викладання перекладу як спеціальності. Вінниця: Нова книга, 2013. С. 263-268.
3. Freudenstein R. (1970a). Lernpsychologische Aspekte im neusprachlichenUnterricht. Der fremdsprachliche Unterricht 4. Heft 16. S. 26-41.
4. Freudenstein R. (1970b). Auswirkungen der Sprachlaborarbeit auf den Fremdsprachenunterricht heute und morgen. Phywe-Sprachlabor-Seminar. Giessen. S. 6.
5. Скляренко Н. Навчання граматичного матеріалу. Методика навчання іноземних мов у середніх навчальних закладах. К., 1999. C. 72-92.
References
1. Baranova S. (2004) Pereklad yak skladova linhvistychnoi pidhotovky yurystiv. [Translation as a component of linguistic training for lawyers] Wisnik Sumskogo dershawnogo universitetu. - Bulletin of Sumy State University, 3(62). 15-20. [in Ukrainian].
2. Chernovatyi L. (2013) Metodyka vykladannia perekladu yak spetsialnosti. [Methodogy of teaching translation as a speciality] Nova knyha. 263-268. [in Ukrainian].
3. Freudenstein R. (1970a) Lernpsychologische Aspekte im neusprachlichen Unterricht. [Aspects of learning psychology in new language teaching] Der fremdsprachliche Unterricht 4. Heft 16. S. 26-41. [in German].
4. Freudenstein R. (1970b) Auswirkungen der Sprachlaborarbeit auf den Fremdsprachenunterricht heute und morgen. [The impact of language laboratory work on foreign language teaching today and tomorrow] Phywe-Sprachlabor-Seminar. Giessen. S. 6. [in German].
5. Skliarenko N. (1999) Navchannia hramatychnoho materialu. [Teaching grammar material] Metodika nawchannja ino- zemnich mow u serednich nawchalnich zakladach. - Methods of teaching foreign languages in secondary schools. 72-92. [in Ukrainian].
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