This paper attempts to examine the place of translation, especially from English into the vernacular, in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) with particular reference to Korean vernacular-medium secondary schools and universities.
The prob...
This paper attempts to examine the place of translation, especially from English into the vernacular, in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) with particular reference to Korean vernacular-medium secondary schools and universities.
The problem of the use of translation and the mother tongue has long been a controversial issue.
The paper discusses the following matters:
(1) the multiple meanings of translation
(2) many different ways of conveying the meaning of target language lixical items
(3) the arguments for and against the use of the mother tongue in the classroom
(4) a realistic solution to the problem of the exclusive use of translation prevalent in Korea: a doctrine of compromise between translation and direct method
(5) the chief drawbacks of the wide and almost exclusive use of translation and some suggestions of effective classroom activities for restricting translation.
Translation is by no means the goal in TEFL, nor should it serve even as chief aid.
We must acknowledge, however, that translation is inevitable and a skill in its own right, and that judicious use of translation may prove effective in TEFL.
Active language practice so far neglected should by all means be incorporated in our grammar-translation oriented TEFL classroom.