This study views pedagogical translation as a means of developing language skills, especially oral communication. Contrary to the claim that translation focuses only on reading and writing, this study presents anecdot...This study views pedagogical translation as a means of developing language skills, especially oral communication. Contrary to the claim that translation focuses only on reading and writing, this study presents anecdotal evidence showing that a learner-centered approach to translation can help foreign language students improve their speaking skill through group work, problem-solving, and cooperative learning. To this end, the paper presents practical examples of lexical, structural, textual, and cultural issues that students discussed in their process-oriented Arabic-English-Arabic pedagogical translation courses at the university level. The students were divided into groups of three or four to work together at all stages of the translation process. They spent most of the class time comprehending the source text, translating it, and discussing each other＇s target versions. In the remaining class time, the whole class discussed a target text translated by any one of the groups. The students were instructed to use English in their group and whole-class deliberations. They were also instructed to use the appropriate language functions, structures, and expressions to achieve objectivity in their arguments. The study calls for further empirical research to verify the usefulness of the proposed learner-centered translation-based technique of teaching speaking展开更多
文摘This study views pedagogical translation as a means of developing language skills, especially oral communication. Contrary to the claim that translation focuses only on reading and writing, this study presents anecdotal evidence showing that a learner-centered approach to translation can help foreign language students improve their speaking skill through group work, problem-solving, and cooperative learning. To this end, the paper presents practical examples of lexical, structural, textual, and cultural issues that students discussed in their process-oriented Arabic-English-Arabic pedagogical translation courses at the university level. The students were divided into groups of three or four to work together at all stages of the translation process. They spent most of the class time comprehending the source text, translating it, and discussing each other＇s target versions. In the remaining class time, the whole class discussed a target text translated by any one of the groups. The students were instructed to use English in their group and whole-class deliberations. They were also instructed to use the appropriate language functions, structures, and expressions to achieve objectivity in their arguments. The study calls for further empirical research to verify the usefulness of the proposed learner-centered translation-based technique of teaching speaking
