WHAT AND HOW TO WORK TRANSLATION IN THE EFL CLASSROOM
Carmen Koppe & Florinda Marques
RIG TRANSLATION
Is there TRANSLATION in your life?
• Think of a moment in your Native Language
life when you needed translation.
• What word or expression in English do you
remember learning through Translation?
• Do you use Translation in your classroom?
• How do you approach it in your lessons?
WHAT AND HOW TO WORK TRANSLATION IN THE EFL CLASSROOM
Carmen Koppe & Florinda Marques
RIG TRANSLATION
ANSWERING YOUR QUESTIONS
• Think of a moment in your L1 life when
you needed translation?
 ‘OVACIONAR’
 ‘ALEATÓRIO’
WHAT AND HOW TO WORK TRANSLATION IN THE EFL CLASSROOM
Carmen Koppe & Florinda Marques
RIG TRANSLATION
ANSWERING YOUR QUESTIONS
• What word or expression in English do
you remember learning through
Translation?
HAPHAZARD
JEOPARDIZE
WHAT AND HOW TO WORK TRANSLATION IN THE EFL CLASSROOM
Carmen Koppe & Florinda Marques
RIG TRANSLATION
MEANINGS
• HAPHAZARD
 done in a way that does not seem to be carefully
planned or organized
• JEOPARDIZE
 To risk damaging or destroying something important
WHAT AND HOW TO WORK TRANSLATION IN THE EFL CLASSROOM
Carmen Koppe & Florinda Marques
RIG TRANSLATION
AN INTRODUCTION TO TRANSLATION
THREE TYPES OF TRANSLATION
• Intralinguistics – same language
• Interlinguistics – from one language to
another
• Intersemiotics – verbal signs X nonverbal signs 
WHAT AND HOW TO WORK TRANSLATION IN THE EFL CLASSROOM
Carmen Koppe & Florinda Marques
RIG TRANSLATION
ROLES OF TRANSLATION THROUGH THE TIMES
TRANSLATION APPROACHES
Literal Translation – word by word
Meaningful Translation - transformation
STRUCTURAL APPROACHES
•
•
•
•
Academic activity: source text  most important
Intelligent Reader: target text leads to source text
Foreigness – target text shows source text
Target text raises source text status
WHAT AND HOW TO WORK TRANSLATION IN THE EFL CLASSROOM
Carmen Koppe & Florinda Marques
RIG TRANSLATION
ROLES OF TRANSLATION THROUGH THE TIMES
POST-MODERNISM
Target text is transformed through:
 Historical and cultural moments
 World view
 Subject knowledge
 Social and personal situations
 Interpretive Communities (Stanley Fish)
WHAT AND HOW TO WORK TRANSLATION IN THE EFL CLASSROOM
Carmen Koppe & Florinda Marques
RIG TRANSLATION
PRINCIPLES of TRANSLATION
• MEANING
Translation should reflect ACCURATELY the meaning
of the original text.
• FORM
The ordering of words and ideas should match the
original as closely as possible.
• REGISTER
Languages often differ greatly in their levels of
formality in a given context. Translators must pay
attention to aspects of formality, informality and
personal expressions.
WHAT AND HOW TO WORK TRANSLATION IN THE EFL CLASSROOM
Carmen Koppe & Florinda Marques
RIG TRANSLATION
PRINCIPLES of TRANSLATION
• SOURCE LANGUAGE INFLUENCE
“Does this sound natural/right?”
• STYLE and CLARITY
The Translator should not change the style of the
original.
• IDIOMS
Idiomatic Expressions are notoriously untranslatable.
The Golden Rule – if the idiom does not work in
the L1, do not force it into translation.
WHAT AND HOW TO WORK TRANSLATION IN THE EFL CLASSROOM
Carmen Koppe & Florinda Marques
RIG TRANSLATION
PROVERBS
"Friends are treasures."
(Horace Bruns)
"The road to a friend's house is never long.“
(Danish Proverb)
"True friends stab you in the front."
"Life is wasted on the living."
(Oscar Wilde)
(Douglas Adams)
WHAT AND HOW TO WORK TRANSLATION IN THE EFL CLASSROOM
Carmen Koppe & Florinda Marques
RIG TRANSLATION
TRANSLATION IN THE EFL CLASSROOM
• Do you use Translation in your
classroom?
• How do you approach it in your
lessons?
WHAT AND HOW TO WORK TRANSLATION IN THE EFL CLASSROOM
Carmen Koppe & Florinda Marques
RIG TRANSLATION
OBJECTIONS FOR USING TRANSLATION
IN THE EFL CLASSROOM
• There is NO PURPOSE in Practicing
Translation at all
• Translating is TIME CONSUMING
• It is difficult to find APPROPRIATE
MATERIAL for the learners’ level
and for the time available.
WHAT AND HOW TO WORK TRANSLATION IN THE EFL CLASSROOM
Carmen Koppe & Florinda Marques
RIG TRANSLATION
WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE?






João Caminhante
Nicolau Jaula
Luis Braço Forte
Ferroada
Guilherme Sacode Lança
Tiago Alfaiate
WHAT AND HOW TO WORK TRANSLATION IN THE EFL CLASSROOM
Carmen Koppe & Florinda Marques
RIG TRANSLATION
REASONS FOR USING TRANSLATION
IN THE EFL CLASSROOM
The Influence of the Mother
Tongue (MT/L1)
The Naturalness of the Activity
The Skills Aspect
The Reality of Language
Translation Usefulness
WHAT AND HOW TO WORK TRANSLATION IN THE EFL CLASSROOM
Carmen Koppe & Florinda Marques
RIG TRANSLATION
REASONS FOR USING TRANSLATION
IN THE EFL CLASSROOM
Translation Usefulness
It invites SPECULATION
It develops 3 qualities essential to all
Language Learning:
 FLEXIBILITY
 ACCURACY
 CLARITY
It requires CHOICE
It is a NECESSITY
WHAT AND HOW TO WORK TRANSLATION IN THE EFL CLASSROOM
Carmen Koppe & Florinda Marques
RIG TRANSLATION
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO KNOW A WORD?
At the most basic level, knowing a word
involves knowing:
• its form and
• its meaning
• Haphazard
• Jeopardize
And of course
• Its Use
WHAT AND HOW TO WORK TRANSLATION IN THE EFL CLASSROOM
Carmen Koppe & Florinda Marques
RIG TRANSLATION
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO KNOW A WORD?
“In other words, knowing the meaning of
a word is not just knowing its dictionary
meaning (or meanings) – it also means
knowing the words commonly
associated with it (its collocations) as
well as its connotations, including its
register and its cultural accretions.
From How to teach vocabulary , Scott Thornbury, Longman
WHAT AND HOW TO WORK TRANSLATION IN THE EFL CLASSROOM
Carmen Koppe & Florinda Marques
RIG TRANSLATION
GETTING PREPARED TO TEACH
Problems  CHALLENGES
EXCEPTIONS AND COMPLICATIONS WITHIN
THE LANGUAGE ITSELF.
NATURAL CONTRAST WITH LANGUAGE 1
(The Influence of the Mother Tongue)
WHAT AND HOW TO WORK TRANSLATION IN THE EFL CLASSROOM
Carmen Koppe & Florinda Marques
RIG TRANSLATION
GETTING PREPARED TO TEACH
The item
Form
Meaning
Use
HOPE
WHAT AND HOW TO WORK TRANSLATION IN THE EFL CLASSROOM
Carmen Koppe & Florinda Marques
RIG TRANSLATION
IDENTIFYING THE CHALLENGE
The item
hope
Form/pattern
I hope (that) you like it.
Meaning
To want and expect something to happen
or be true
Use
When giving a gift.
Challenge/s
WHAT AND HOW TO WORK TRANSLATION IN THE EFL CLASSROOM
Carmen Koppe & Florinda Marques
RIG TRANSLATION
FINDING SOLUTIONS
The item
hope
Form/pattern
I hope (that) you like it.
I hope (that) you are well.
To want and expect something to happen
or be true
Meaning
Use
Challenge
Solution(s)
When giving a gift.
As a start to an informal letter
Contrast with “Espero que você esteja
bem.”
WHAT AND HOW TO WORK TRANSLATION IN THE EFL CLASSROOM
Carmen Koppe & Florinda Marques
RIG TRANSLATION
THE SOLUTIONS
The item
hope
Form/pattern
I hope (that) you are well.
Meaning
To want and expect something to happen
or be true
Use
As a start to an informal letter
Challenge
Contrast with “Espero que você esteja
bem.”
Some
Solutions
1.
2.
3.
Use examples to illustrate the pattern
Contrast English and Portuguese to
show the difference
Use translation
WHAT AND HOW TO WORK TRANSLATION IN THE EFL CLASSROOM
Carmen Koppe & Florinda Marques
RIG TRANSLATION
TRANSLATION ACTIVITIES
• BROKEN TELEPHONE LINE: reverse translation
• COLLOQUIAL EXPRESSIONS: translate daily
expressions. Various meanings for the same adjective
like:
 Little room
 Little time
 For a little while
 Little mind
(from Translation, Allan Duff)
WHAT AND HOW TO WORK TRANSLATION IN THE EFL CLASSROOM
Carmen Koppe & Florinda Marques
RIG TRANSLATION
TRANSLATION ACTIVITIES
 Word order and reference – it is very important
for a correct communication. The English language is
not very flexible in its word order.
• Reference and meaning – how to use it, this, which
etc.
 It´s raining.
 It´s a pity.
 Take it or leave it.
 The Orient-Express is one of the world’s great
railways – not only does it get there, but it does it in
style. (ele só não chega lá, como o faz com estilo).
(advertisement for the Orient Express).
WHAT AND HOW TO WORK TRANSLATION IN THE EFL CLASSROOM
Carmen Koppe & Florinda Marques
RIG TRANSLATION
TRANSLATION ACTIVITIES
 Verbal tenses – they are not always equivalent in
L1.
• Use of the gerund, simple past, past participle.
 Parking prohibited – É proibido estacionar.
 Cycling on the footpath is not allowed – É proibido
andar de bicicleta na trilha.
 Seeing is believing – Ver para crer.
 Swimming – natação.
 Surfing – surfar
WHAT AND HOW TO WORK TRANSLATION IN THE EFL CLASSROOM
Carmen Koppe & Florinda Marques
RIG TRANSLATION
TRANSLATION ACTIVITIES
 Concepts and notions
• Call my bluff – give three meanings for a word, but only one is
correct according with the context. It helps students to decide if
they should use translation, equivalence or keep the word in
English.
WHAT AND HOW TO WORK TRANSLATION IN THE EFL CLASSROOM
Carmen Koppe & Florinda Marques
RIG TRANSLATION
TRANSLATION ACTIVITIES
 Bilingual sentence building – words are ‘passed’ by
students and are alternated between L1 and L2 and
add other words until they are able to form a
sentence:
1. coelho, 2. rabbit, 3. grey rabbit, 4. coelho cinza, 5
venha, coelho cinza, 6. come, grey rabbit, 7. come
here, grey rabbit, 8. venha aqui, coelho cinza. E
assim por diante.
 Guess my word – Things that ... are round / move /
smell
In groups, students add words in L1 or L2. They
translate all of the words and describe them to a
partner without saying the word, practicing the
vocabulary in English.
WHAT AND HOW TO WORK TRANSLATION IN THE EFL CLASSROOM
Carmen Koppe & Florinda Marques
RIG TRANSLATION
TRANSLATION ACTIVITIES
 Mixed language story-telling – story in L1, substitute
key-words into L2. Students write down everything
that they understand in L2. A second reading and
increase the number of words in English. Students
retell, using as much L2 as they can. Finally the
teacher retells the story for the last time, but now all
in English.
 Translating what you wrote me – in pairs, students
write a letter in L1. They exchange the letters,
translate them and answer in L2.
 Students choose songs/poems – students choose
texts in L1, translate them and choose the part that
they believe was well translated and they put their
texts up on the classroom walls.
WHAT AND HOW TO WORK TRANSLATION IN THE EFL CLASSROOM
Carmen Koppe & Florinda Marques
RIG TRANSLATION
USEFUL FIXED EXPRESSIONS
How do you say these expressions in your language?
1. I’m bored.
2. What’s the matter with you?
3. Here you are.
4. It’s time you got up.
5. There’s nothing to do around here.
6. Anything else?
7. I have nothing to do with that.
8. It’s over there.
9. Have you got a light?
10. That’s funny.
11. Nothing for me, please.
12. Is that seat taken?
From American Hotline Progress & English File1 - OUP
WHAT AND HOW TO WORK TRANSLATION IN THE EFL CLASSROOM
Carmen Koppe & Florinda Marques
RIG TRANSLATION
MIXED LANGUAGE READING TEXTS
context clues
PLI DEMAIS DÁ SALTIMPAÇÃO
É muito difícil plomar toda a gide de Eugênio corristada. Mas, naquele feriado
corristaram-se todos. Bem cedo, chegou o lafo que trabalhava no Rio de
Janeiro. Depois chegaram os galpos que tensem no litoral. Em seguida
veio a lafa Maíra e o lafo João com os jetos que tensem no interior. Na
hora do tode, lá estavam eles, num total de quinze chintas.
Os zades de Eugênio, atrapalhados com o bralem e a donda, resolveram pedir
pli. Aí começou a saltimpação! Todos queriam pliar: o zulinho do macarrão
foi gripado quatro vezes; foram achados quatro lebures na clambinha do
latildo; havia água por todo o lado, pois os jetos resolveram drolar o
bangoula. Todos andavam e proscravam apressados, porém ninguém se
manidia.
Foi um dia saltimpado, mas muito alegre. Até hoje a gide de Eugênio ainda dá
muitas corbatas ao lembrar de todas as saltimpações que
aconteceram.
FLORINDA MARQUES - 1998
WHAT AND HOW TO WORK TRANSLATION IN THE EFL CLASSROOM
Carmen Koppe & Florinda Marques
RIG TRANSLATION
MIXED LANGUAGE READING TEXT
The Barbarians came in the night…
When the telephone kudunisi in the middle of the night, something
unusual is happening. It was just such a tilefonima that woke me
up at dawn on the 21st of April, 1967. From the other end of the
telephone gramis the journalist, George Papachristophilou, told
me in a trembeling foni:
”There’s been a coup – there are tanks everywhere and they are
surrounding everything – leave your spiti – if you stay, they’ll get
you.”
“Are you serious?” I rotisa him.
“Ne, I tell you, I can see rifles, machine guns, helmets, soldiers, get
out while you can!” ... (taken from Vocabulary, Morgan & Rinvolucri, Oxford 1986)
WHAT AND HOW TO WORK TRANSLATION IN THE EFL CLASSROOM
Carmen Koppe & Florinda Marques
RIG TRANSLATION
COMPARING TEXTS
TEXT A
Joan Chen was born in Shangai, in 1961. When
she was 14, some people from a film studio
came to her school and chose her to study at
the studio. She was happy about this chance,
but mainly she liked the idea of getting out of
school. Soon, however, she discovered that she
really liked acting. At age 18, she won the
Golden Rooster, China’s top Film award.
From Interchange 2 - CUP
WHAT AND HOW TO WORK TRANSLATION IN THE EFL CLASSROOM
Carmen Koppe & Florinda Marques
RIG TRANSLATION
COMPARING TEXTS
TEXT B
Nicole Kidman was born in Honolulu, in 1967 and
grew up in Sidney. She became interested in
acting early on. Her first experience came when
she was 6 years old and she played a sheep in
her school’s Christmas pageant.
She got a couple of of TV parts before she made her
breakthrough. In 1985, the Australian Film
Institute named her Actress of the Year for her
role in the TV miniseries Vietnam. She was only
17.
From New Interchange 2 - CUP
WHAT AND HOW TO WORK TRANSLATION IN THE EFL CLASSROOM
Carmen Koppe & Florinda Marques
RIG TRANSLATION
FINAL CONSIDERATIONS
Translation Role in the EFL classroom:
 It helps students to see the link between language
usage and use.
 It helps student to see the similarities and
differences between MT and L2.
 Through a comparison of the target language and
the students’ native language, most language
learning difficulties are revealed. (the Challenge
Principle)
 By allowing or even inviting students to give a
translation of a word, teachers can check
comprehension.
 It can be used to introduce new vocabulary.
WHAT AND HOW TO WORK TRANSLATION IN THE EFL CLASSROOM
Carmen Koppe & Florinda Marques
RIG TRANSLATION
FINAL CONSIDERATIONS
Translation should never be
overused – it is an activity which
has a place in language teaching, if
properly designed and used at the
right time and with the right
students.
WHAT AND HOW TO WORK TRANSLATION IN THE EFL CLASSROOM
Carmen Koppe & Florinda Marques
RIG TRANSLATION
REFERENCES
•
•
Articles from the BRAZ-TESOL Newsletter:
Is There a Place for Translation at Basic Levels? Ana Beatriz B. de Souza (Dec 1996)
Two Translation Exercises for Beginners. Mario Rinvolucri (Sep 1997)
American Hotline Progress (OUP)
•
English File (OUP)
•
How to Teach Vocabulary – Scott Thornbury (Longman)
•
Interchange Third Edition – Level 2 (CUP)
•
Mosaic – Advanced level (Heinle&Heinle)
•
New Interchange – Level 2 (CUP)
•
Skyline – Level 3 (Macmillan)
•
Teaching Grammar – Jeremy Harmer (Longman)
•
Translation – Alan Duff (OUP)
•
Translation Studies – Susan Basnett (Routledge)
•
Using L1 in the Classroom – www.its-teachers.com
•
Using the Mother Tongue – Sheelagh Deller/Mario Rinvolucri (SBS Publishing)