Cover not available
Article published In:
Translation and plurilingual approaches to language teaching and learning: Challenges and possibilities
Edited by Ángeles Carreres, María Noriega-Sánchez and Lucía Pintado Gutiérrez
[Translation and Translanguaging in Multilingual Contexts 7:1] 2021
► pp. 41–64

Translation in the UK language classroom

Current practices and a potentially dynamic future

| Comberton Village College | University of Cambridge

Pedagogical translation in UK secondary school language classrooms appears to have returned to favour after years of demonisation brought about by Grammar Translation pedagogy and the rise of L2-only approaches. This renewed interest is reflected in the recent inclusion of translation in the reading and writing sections of GCSE exams (taken by students in all countries within the UK except Scotland). However, there is still some uncertainty around how translation is perceived and utilised in the language classroom. What function has translation been thus far ascribed within language education? What could it be used to achieve? This article presents an overview of where translation currently sits within the secondary Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) landscape in the UK. It then examines how translation may be redefined as ‘dynamic’ and used as a communicative, creative activity to aid students with various aspects of their language learning. Examples of such activities are provided and explained. Finally, recommendations are made as to how to make Dynamic Translation accessible to students in future, namely through task-based translation projects and new forms of pedagogical translation assessment.

Keywords: pedagogical translation, dynamic translation, secondary school language education
Article outline
  • 1.Translation in language teaching: The story so far
  • 2.UK language education and TILT: Where we are now
    • 2.1A step back in time for language teaching?
    • 2.2Use of the L1
    • 2.3Translation as a planned activity
    • 2.4Translation as assessment
  • 3.Problematising and redefining TILT
  • 4.Dynamic translation: A theoretical underpinning
    • 4.1What should DT look like?
    • 4.2The value of Dynamic Translation
  • 5.Example activities
  • 6.Conclusions and recommendations
  • References
Published online: 19 January 2021
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/ttmc.00065.bar
References
Aberdeen, Helen
2018 “A Longitudinal Comparative Study of the Use of Target Language in the MFL Classroom by Native and Non-Native Student Teachers.” The Language Learning Journal 46 (4): 329–342. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Antón, Rocío, and Lola Núñez
2008 Todo esto es solo mío. Madrid: Ediciones SM.Google Scholar
AQA
2018 Higher Tier Paper 3 Reading Mark Scheme. Accessed April 15, 2020. [URL]
2018 Higher Tier Paper 3 Reading Specimen Question Paper. Accessed April 15, 2020. [URL]
2018 Higher Tier Paper 4 Writing Mark Scheme. Accessed April 15, 2020. [URL]
2018 Higher Tier Paper 4 Writing Question Paper. Accessed April 15, 2020. [URL]
2020 Scheme of Assessment. Accessed April 15, 2020. [URL]
Atkinson, David
1987 “The Mother Tongue in the Language Classroom: A Neglected Discourse.” English Language Teaching Journal 41 (4): 241–247. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Baños, Rocío, and Stavroula Sokoli
2015 “Learning Foreign Languages with Clipflair: Using Captioning and Revoicing Activities to Increase Students’ Motivation and Engagement.” In 10 Years of the LLAS E-learning Symposium: Case Studies in Good Practice, ed. by Kate Borthwick, Erica Corradini, and Alison Dickens, 203–213. Dublin: Research publishing.net. Accessed April 15, 2020. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Barnes, Katrina
2018 “Reviving Pedagogical Translation: An Investigation into UK Learners’ Perceptions of Translation for Use with their GCSE Spanish Studies and Beyond.” Translation and Translanguaging in Multilingual Contexts 4 (2): 248–281. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Bawden, Anna
2019 “Modern Language Teaching ‘Under Threat from Tough Exams.’” The Guardian. Accessed April 15, 2020. [URL]
Beauvais, Clémentine
2019 “An Emergent Sense of the Literary: Doing Children’s Poetry Translation in the Literature Classroom.” Journal of Literary Education 21: 8–28. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Bell, Clive, and Gill Ramage
2019 Dynamo 2 Rouge. London: Pearson.Google Scholar
Bialystok, Ellen, and Xiaojia Feng
2009 “Language Proficiency and Executive Control in Proactive Interference: Evidence from Monolingual and Bilingual Children and Adults.” Brain and Language 109 (2–3): 93–100. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Bolaños Cuéllar, Sergio
2008 Towards an Integrated Translation Approach. A Dynamic Translation Model (DTM). PhD Diss. University of Hamburg.Google Scholar
2016 “Equivalence within the Dynamic Translation Model (DTM): Default Equivalence Position, Equivalence Range, Initiator’s Instructions, and Translational Norms.” Forma y Función 29 (2): 183–201. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Brooks-Lewis, Kimberly Anne
2009 “Adult Learners’ Perceptions of the Incorporation of their L1 in Foreign Language Teaching and Learning.” Applied Linguistics 30 (2): 216–235. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Bruen, Jennifer, and Niamh Kelly
2017 “Using a Shared L1 to Reduce Cognitive Overload and Anxiety Levels in the L2 Classroom.” The Language Learning Journal 45 (3): 368–381. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Butzkamm, Wolfgang, and John A. W. Caldwell
2009 The Bilingual Reform: A Paradigm Shift in Foreign Language Teaching. Tübingen: Narr.Google Scholar
Byram, Michael
2002 “Foreign Language Education as Political and Moral Education – An Essay.” The Language Learning Journal 26 (1): 43–47. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2014 “Twenty-five Years On – from Cultural Studies to Intercultural Citizenship.” Language, Culture and Curriculum 27 (3): 209–225. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Carreres, Ángeles
2006 “Strange Bedfellows: Translation and Language Teaching. The Teaching of Translation into L2 in Modern Languages Degrees: Uses and Limitations.” In Sixth Symposium on Translation, Terminology and Interpretation in Cuba and Canada. December 2006, La Havana: Canadian Translators, Terminologists and Interpreters Council: 1–21.Google Scholar
2014 “Translation as a Means and as an End: Reassessing the Divide.” The Interpreter and Translator Trainer 8 (1): 123–135. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Colina, Sonia
2006 “Spanish Second Language Acquisition: Applications to the Teaching of Professional Translation (and Interpretation).” In The Art of Teaching Spanish: Second Language Acquisition from Research to Praxis, ed. by Rafael Salaberry, and Barbara Lafford, 213–234. Washington: Georgetown University Press.Google Scholar
Cook, Guy
2010 Translation in Language Teaching: An Argument for Reassessment. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Coste, Daniel, and Marisa Cavalli
2015 Education, Mobility, Otherness: The Mediation Functions of Schools. Strasbourg: Council of Europe.Google Scholar
Council of Europe
2001 Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment. Strasbourg: Council of Europe.Google Scholar
2018 Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment. Companion Volume with New Descriptors. Strasbourg: Council of Europe.Google Scholar
Creative Multilingualism
2016 “Prismatic Translation.” Accessed April 15, 2020. [URL]
2019 “Languages in the UK.” Accessed April 15, 2020. [URL]
Cummins, Jim
2007 “Rethinking Monolingual Instructional Strategies in Multilingual Classrooms.” Canadian Journal of Applied Linguistics 10 (2): 221–240.Google Scholar
Davies, Alan
2003 The Native Speaker: Myth and Reality. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Department for Education
2013 The National Curriculum in England: Languages Programmes of Study Key Stage 3. Accessed April 19, 2020. [URL]
2015 Modern Foreign Languages GCSE Subject Content. Accessed April 15, 2020. [URL]
Ellis, Rod
2003 Task-based Language Learning and Teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
González-Davies, Maria
2004 Multiple Voices in the Translation Classroom. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2017 “The Use of Translation in an Integrated Plurilingual Approach to Language Learning: Teacher Strategies and Best Practices.” Journal of Spanish Language Teaching 4 (2): 124–135. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Gile, Daniel
2009 Basic Concepts and Models for Interpreter and Translator Training. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hawkes, Rachel, and Christopher Lillington
2016 ¡Viva! AQA GCSE Spanish Higher. London: Pearson.Google Scholar
Hazell, Crista
2020 Independent Thinking on MFL: How to Make Modern Foreign Language Teaching Exciting, Inclusive and Relevant. Carmarthen: Independent Thinking Press.Google Scholar
Holmes, Sam
2014 “Monsters, Myths and Multilingual Creativity.” Working Papers in Urban Language and Literacies 1611. [URL]
Huertas Barros, Elsa
2011 “Collaborative Learning in the Translation Classroom: Preliminary Survey Results.” Journal of Specialised Translation 161: 42–60.Google Scholar
Hummel, Kirsten M.
1995 “Translation and Second Language Learning.” Canadian Modern Language Review 51 (3): 444–455. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Ishihara, Noriko, and Andrew D. Cohen
2010 Teaching and Learning Pragmatics. Harlow: Pearson.Google Scholar
Källvist, Marie
2004 “The Effect of Translation Exercises versus Gap-exercises on the Learning of Difficult L2 Structures: Preliminary Results of an Empirical Study.” In Translation in Undergraduate Degree Programmes, ed. by Kirsten Malmkjær, 173–184. Philadelphia: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2008 “L1-L2 Translation versus No Translation: A Longitudinal Study of Focus-on-formS within a Meaning-focused Curriculum.” In The Longitudinal Study of Advanced L2 Capacities, ed. by Lourdes Ortega, and Heidi Byrnes, 182–202. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Kiraly, Don
2012 “Growing a Project-based Translation Pedagogy: A Fractal Perspective.” Meta: Translators’ Journal 57 (1): 82–95. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kohl, Katrin
2019 “GCSE Modern Foreign Languages Inter-Subject Comparability and the Role of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).” Creative Multilingualism. [URL]
Kramsch, Claire
ed. 2002 Language Acquisition and Language Socialization: Ecological Perspectives. London: Continuum.Google Scholar
Krashen, Stephen
1982 Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition. New York: Pergamon.Google Scholar
Kumaravadivelu, Bala
2003 Beyond Methods: Macrostrategies for Language Teaching. New Haven: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Laufer, Batia, and Nany Girsai
2008 “Form-focused Instruction in Second Language Vocabulary Learning: A Case for Contrastive Analysis and Translation.” Applied Linguistics 29 (4): 694–716. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Laviosa, Sara
2014 Translation and Language Education: Pedagogic Approaches Explored. London: Routledge. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Levine, Glenn S.
2003 “Student and Instructor Beliefs and Attitudes about Target Language Use, First Language Use, and Anxiety: Report of a Questionnaire Study.” Modern Language Journal 87 (3): 343–364. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Liebscher, Grit, and Jennifer Dailey-O’Cain
2005 “Learner Code-switching in the Content-based Foreign Language Classroom.” The Modern Language Journal 89 (2): 234–247 [reprint]. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Lund, Jess
2017 JLMFL Blog. Accessed April 15, 2020. [URL]
Lynch, Tony, and Joan Maclean
2000 “Exploring the Benefits of Task Repetition and Recycling for Classroom Language Learning.” Language Teaching Research 4 (3): 221–250. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Macaro, Ernesto
1997 Target Language, Collaborative Learning and Autonomy. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar
2009 “Teacher Use of Codeswitching in the Second Language Classroom: Exploring ‘Optimal’ Use.” In First Language Use in Second and Foreign Language Learning, ed. by Miles Turnbull, and Jennifer Dailey-O’Cain, 35–49. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
National Centre for Excellence for Language Pedagogy (NCELP)
2020a “Meaningful Practice: Definition, Rationale and Principles.” Accessed April 15, 2020. [URL]
2020b “Principles for Teaching Grammar in a Foreign Language.” Accessed April 15, 2020. [URL]
Nord, Christiane
2005 “Translating as a Purposeful Activity: A Prospective Approach.” Tradterm 111: 15–28. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Paas, Fred, Alexander Renkl, and John Sweller
2004 “Cognitive Load Theory: Instructional Implications of the Interactions between Information Structures and Cognitive Architecture.” Instructional Science 321: 1–8. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Park, Eun Sung
2013 “Learner-generated Noticing Behaviour by Novice Learners: Tracing the Effects of Learners’ L1 on their Emerging L2.” Applied Linguistics 34 (1): 74–98. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Phipps, Alison, and Mike Gonzalez
2004 Modern Languages: Learning and Teaching in an Intercultural Field. London: SAGE.Google Scholar
Pun, Jack, and Ernesto Macaro
2019 “The Effect of First and Second Language Use on Question Types in English Medium Instruction Science Classrooms in Hong Kong.” International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism 22 (1): 64–77. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Pym, Anthony
2018 “Where Translation Studies Lost the Plot: Relations with Language Teaching.” Translation and Translanguaging in Multilingual Contexts 4 (2): 203–222. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Pym, Anthony, Kirsten Malmkjær, and María del Mar Gutiérrez-Colón Plana
2013 Translation and Language Learning: The Role of Translation in the Teaching of Languages in the European Union. A Study. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union.Google Scholar
Robinson, Douglas
1998 “Hermeneutic Motion.” In Routledge Encyclopaedia of Translation Studies, ed. by Mona Baker, 97–99. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Sarkar, Mela, and Lise Winer
2006 “Multilingual Codeswitching in Quebec Rap: Poetry, Pragmatics and Performativity.” International Journal of Multilingualism 3 (3): 173–192. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Spada, Nina, and Patsy M. Lightbown
2008 “Form-focused Instruction: Isolated or Integrated?” TESOL Quarterly (42): 181–207. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Stephen Spender Trust
2019 “Creative Translation in the Classroom and the Polish Spotlight. An Evaluation of Two Educational Outreach Programmes Run by the Stephen Spender Trust.” Accessed April 19, 2020. [URL]
Storch, Neomy, and Gillian Wigglesworth
2003 “Is There a Role for the Use of the L1 in an L2 Setting?” TESOL Quarterly (37) 41: 760–770. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Tinsley, Teresa
2019 “Language Trends 2019: Language Teaching in Primary and Secondary Schools in England.” British Council: Alcantara Publications. [URL]
Turnbull, Miles, and Jennifer Daily O’Cain
eds. 2009 First Language Use in Second and Foreign Language Learning. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Williams, Martin
2015 “The Seven Big Language Learning Issues Facing the UK.” The Guardian. Accessed April 15, 2020. [URL]
Worth, Jack, and Giulia De Lazzari
2017 Teacher Retention and Turnover Research: Research Update 1. Slough: National Foundation for Educational Research.Google Scholar