EFL Learners’ Beliefs about and Strategy Use of Translation in English Learning

Abstract

Although the use of translation in learning a foreign language is much maligned by language teachers, translation is widely used in learners’ foreign language learning process. It appears that learners often use translation as a learning strategy to comprehend, remember, and produce a foreign language. However, relatively little research attention so far seems to have been devoted to a consideration of the use of translation in language learning. Thus, this study aims to explore the role of translation in Taiwanese college students’ English learning, particularly in terms of their learning beliefs and learning strategies about using translation to learn English. The data from survey questionnaires and qualitative interviews will address the following research questions: (1) What are students’ beliefs about using translation to learn English? (2) What learning strategies employing translation do students report using? (3) What are the relationships among learners’ beliefs about and use of translation? (4) To what extent do learners’ background variables relate to their beliefs about and use of translation? Pedagogical implications are also discussed. The results of the study hope to sensitize EFL teachers to various learning strategies involving translation and to the possible benefits of using translation for English learning reported by the students.