A Step Forward to Using Translation to Teach a Foreign/Second Language

The article presents a progress report on research into using translation as an effective teaching method in a foreign/second language class. The report includes a) research into the use of translation in the past; b) first approach: adaptation of approaches used in translation courses; c) feedback from the trial; and d) further in-vestigation into using translation as a second language teaching methodology. A student survey about the initial application of translation found their range of expectations for the subject and revealed diversity in their first and second language abilities. The students ’ work showed the common errors they would make even after consulting dictionaries and ‘translation aids’. As a result, ‘translation ’ could be understood from a wider perspective. Finally, possible further development of the act of translating as a teaching methodology in the advanced level second/foreign language class is discussed