Teachers' and students' perceptions towards using translation tasks to improve foreign language vocabulary A case study of third year English Students at University of Mohamed Seddik ben Yahia,Jijel

Abstract

The current state of knowledge of foreign language vocabulary acquisition has led language teachers to become more aware of the wide range of factors that influence the learning of new words. Furthermore, the negative attitude towards translation as another pedagogical means in Foreign Language Teaching (FLT) has prevailed for much time (Cook, 2010). Nonetheless, currently, many theorists and linguists agree on the importance of using translation activities in foreign language teaching and underline its beneficial effects to expand vocabulary (Schäffner, 1998). This study aimed to investigate the teachers’ and students’ perceptions towards the use of translation tasks to improve English as a foreign language (EFL) learners’ vocabulary. To achieve this aim, a descriptive study was conducted; it was based on the analysis of data gathered from a questionnaire devoted to 60 third year students of English at the university and an interview designed for two teachers. Both research tools explored the students’ and teachers’ perceptions towards the usefulness of translation in teaching vocabulary. The results obtained from the investigation confirmed our hypothesis about the effectiveness of using translation to enhance EFL learners’ vocabulary.