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Does Translation help to learn a Lang? | ||
Tags: Translation | Learning Technique/Method | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Learning Techniques, Methods & Strategies |  | |
| Cavesa Triglot Senior Member Czech Republic Joined 4944 days ago 3277 posts - 6779 votes  Speaks: Czech*, FrenchC2, EnglishC1 Studies: Spanish, German, Italian | Message 17 of 29 05 November 2011 at 2:45pm | IP Logged | ||
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Translation in your target language can be a great exercise. I have two exercise books based on it and they are wonderful because the sentences make me use structures and vocabulary I tend to avoid in free speech. And there is of course key to exercises (the perfect left page-my language and right page-target language organisation) so there is no need for a communication partner. Save him or her for practice of real conversation and thinking in the language.
Many people put translation and thinking in the opposition. I don't think it is the right approach. Sure, translating in your native language for too long might be an obstacle but neither of the ways of translation will be such if used properly. If you have enough of native input (written but especially spoken) and if you practice listening and speaking enough, you will soon find out you are thinking in your target language becuase there is just no time to translate. At least it works for me 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Марк Senior Member Russian Federation Joined 4991 days ago 2096 posts - 2972 votes Speaks: Russian* | Message 18 of 29 05 November 2011 at 3:36pm | IP Logged | ||
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I think that there must be someone to correct those exercises, because we don't know if
we were wrong even if our answer differs from the key, and we don't know why it is wrong. Edited by Марк on 05 November 2011 at 3:40pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
 Iversen Super Polyglot Moderator Denmark berejst.dk Joined 6638 days ago 9078 posts - 16473 votes Speaks: Danish*, French, English, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Swedish, Esperanto, Romanian, Catalan Studies: Afrikaans, Greek, Norwegian, Russian, Serbian, Icelandic, Latin, Irish, Lowland Scots, Indonesian, Polish, Croatian Personal Language Map | Message 19 of 29 07 November 2011 at 11:03am | IP Logged | ||
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For me the most important function of translations from L1 to L2 is to force you out of your comfort zone - if you just could choose your own themes all the time you might end up a lopsided L2 with serious holes.
It is of course relevant to know whether you have committed any errors, but this is in my view only relevant if you get corrections that can help you in the future - i.e. which result in rules of thumb or additions to your knowledge about central words. That being said, I acknowledge that teachers might want to use those translations as a control of the level of each pupil. Translations from L2 into L1 are only relevant at two stages: for the beginner they may be effective in forcing you to think about the words and expressions in the foreign text instead of just accepting some vague 'general meaning'. For the advanced learner they may be a way to earn money by producing translations for the benefit of those who don't intend to learn or even care about the language of the original. Edited by Iversen on 08 November 2011 at 9:19am 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Elexi Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 5500 days ago 938 posts - 1840 votes Speaks: English* Studies: French, German, Latin | Message 20 of 29 07 November 2011 at 2:16pm | IP Logged | ||
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I would agree with Iversen - I think it is very important for a beginner (well for me, at least) to do the grammar translation thing both ways as part of their learning approach when starting out as it trains structure and gives one a sense of the differences in idiom.
After one hits the intermediate stage translating from L2 to L1 becomes less necessary because one has acquired the structure (which often equals speed) and more vocabulary. If I appear to be advocating some degree of grammar-translation at the start of learning a language, I am - I guess I am just out of fashion in language learning circles as I think immersion style learning best suits people who have acquired a basic grasp of the language already. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| slucido Bilingual Diglot Senior Member Spain https://goo.gl/126Yv Joined 6610 days ago 1296 posts - 1781 votes 4 sounds Speaks: Spanish*, Catalan* Studies: English | Message 21 of 29 07 November 2011 at 4:22pm | IP Logged | ||
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When adult people learn a foreign languages, they always use translations. I mean they use their native language like a scaffolding. I doen's matter if some gurus say otherwise.
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| Arekkusu Hexaglot Senior Member Canada bit.ly/qc_10_lec Joined 5316 days ago 3971 posts - 7747 votes Speaks: English, French*, GermanC1, Spanish, Japanese, Esperanto Studies: Italian, Norwegian, Mandarin, Romanian, Estonian | Message 22 of 29 07 November 2011 at 4:48pm | IP Logged | ||
Sure, but the question was whether we should seek to translate as an exercise. Edited by Arekkusu on 07 November 2011 at 4:48pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Arekkusu Hexaglot Senior Member Canada bit.ly/qc_10_lec Joined 5316 days ago 3971 posts - 7747 votes Speaks: English, French*, GermanC1, Spanish, Japanese, Esperanto Studies: Italian, Norwegian, Mandarin, Romanian, Estonian | Message 23 of 29 07 November 2011 at 5:03pm | IP Logged | ||
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We need to be independent in our learning and we can't access native speakers or tutors all the time. Sure, L2 translation is ideally performed with a partner, but I want to stress that it is also a very effective way to gauge our own shortcomings. You can then take that knowledge to a partner or tutor and work topically on your specific needs.
Simple exercises like L2-transl are readily available to everyone, with very little material necessary, and we can all benefit from it even when there is no native speaker available. Personally, I do L2-interpretation (orally only) because I feel that most of what I write is repetitive and I'm wasting my time. So I do it orally -- and if I can say it, I know I can write it. I skip the parts I find obvious and I concentrate on the more challenging material. If any issue shows up, I look it up, I try to find the answer, or I ask a language partner. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Bao Diglot Senior Member Germany tinyurl.com/pe4kqe5 Joined 5701 days ago 2256 posts - 4046 votes Speaks: German*, English Studies: French, Spanish, Japanese, Mandarin | Message 24 of 29 07 November 2011 at 11:42pm | IP Logged | ||
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I go with the assumption that there'll always be material that's barely accessible for me, and that I want to understand nontheless. And that's what I use translation for.
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