Task 3 : Activity Design

Tutor: Uriel Dario González Montoya

Student:

Carlos Hernán González Loaiza

Grupo:551037_24

Universidad Nacional Abierta y a Distancia UNAD

Education Sciences School

Degree in Foreign Languages with emphasis in English

CCAV Dosquebradas (Risaralda)

Course: Translation Techniques 551037

Manizales - May, 2021

https://view.genial.ly/6078e4b9cabf710d114b65ac/presentation-activity-design
 STEP 2 : REFLECTION

“Translation has progressively lost ground as an activity in language learning, especially in the
last few decades. With the advent of the communicative approach, translation was virtually
banned from the classroom and deemed unsuitable”. Zlatnar, M., Mikolič T. and Žigon T.
(2017).

The focus of real language learning is the act of communication-based on interaction. A real
context based on the diversity of interests, skills, and talents enables crucial learning during the
interaction.

During the interactions, it is important to favor language learning scenarios in the real context or
in scenarios that bring the student closer to dynamic and visual learning of the foreign language.

Therefore, it is important to encourage interaction in the foreign language with the support of
didactics and concrete examples that allow the student to understand the instruction or idea
given.

In the mother tongue, the student can better understand the ideas with the teacher's translation,
but without a doubt, it generates a wrong habit of learning English in context, so it is important
to take into account what Cook mentions when he says that “the emphasis on spoken language is
the core of audio-lingual, audio-visual, total physical response methods, and communicative
methods. The advocates for oral language pinpointed that communication is spoken rather than
written” (Cook, 2008).

In this sense, the implementation of good tools and interactive scenarios in the classroom will
gradually favor a communicative act in students where the language is privileged in context and
the mother tongue becomes more invisible. Students must be active in this process.

Based on the above, it is important to keep the following in mind: “The external and internal
goals of achieving language may be boosted if students are taken as successful L2 users instead
of lacking in language aspects” (Cook, 2001b).

The process of acquiring the English language occurs in the measure of real interaction where the
linguistic and communicative actions are mainstreamed and reacted without having to translate
or repeat them continuously. A good communication strategy in the classroom generates that
students empower themselves with important linguistic aspects and little by little make them part
of their daily lives.

Among the advantages of translation in teaching and learning English in the classroom are:

Better use of time, a good solution to clarify the meaning of a word or phrase, an adaptation to
the student's learning mode, a way to check if the student has understood, if we master the
mother tongue of our student, we can ask him to explain to us that he has learned in his language.

E.g., Teacher: How do you say "I am twenty-five years old" in English? Student: «I´m twenty
years old».

Now, the possible disadvantages to using translation:

Get the student used to looking for an exact equivalent, get into the habit of translating
everything, a faster forgetting of words, since they are not learned in context, to do learning the
target language more expensive, as the student will have to look up the words in their language,
and then translate them.

According to Brown (2007), CLT is such an approach for English language teaching that creates
a student-centered environment through task-based activities and makes them interact in the
target language. Task-based teaching involves learners in real-world tasks with a focus on
language meaning according to their needs and interest.

In this regard, it’s essential that a task-based scenario is generated in the classroom where the
student is the protagonist and, based on their musical, artistic, sports interests, among others, a
great interest and motivation for learning the language are generated, without the need to
continually translate ideas or communication aspects, since although both languages have their
particularities, in these particularities there are different ways of understanding and the student
must come to understand this without getting confused.
 SCREENSHOT

COMMENT TO A CLASSMATE
 REFERENCES

Brown, H. D. (2007). Teaching by principle: An interactive approach to language pedagogy (3rd ed.).

White Plains, New York: Pearson Education.

Cook, V. (2008). Second Language Learning and Language Teaching. London: Arnold. ISBN 978-0-

340-95876-6.

Fazal, S., Majoka, D. M. I., & Ahmad, D. M. (2016). Integration of Grammar Translation Method with

Communicative Approach: A Research Synthesis. International Research Journal of Art &

Humanities, 44(44), 121–130. Retrieved from

http://search.ebscohost.com.bibliotecavirtual.unad.edu.co/login.aspx?

direct=true&db=hus&AN=121267994&lang=es&site=eds-live&scope=site

Kaharuddin, A. (2018). The Communicative Grammar Translation Method: A Practical Method to Teach

Communication Skills of English, 233 - 243. Retrieved from

http://bibliotecavirtual.unad.edu.co/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?

direct=true&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.5863C19&lang=es&site=eds-live&scope=site,

http://journal.uin-alauddin.ac.id/index.php/Eternal/article/view/6292/5699

Larsen-Freeman, D. (2000). Techniques and principles in language teaching: Oxford: Oxford University

Press.
Zlatnar, M., Mikolič T. and Žigon T. (2017). I know languages, therefore, I can translate? A comparison

between the translation competence of foreign language and Interlingual Mediation students. In

Colina, S., American Translation and Interpreting Studies Association, & Angelelli, C. (2017).

Translation and Interpreting Pedagogy in Dialogue with Other Disciplines. Amsterdam: John

Benjamins Publishing Company, 84 - 87. Retrieved from

https://bibliotecavirtual.unad.edu.co/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?

direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=1531898&lang=es&site=eds-live&scope=site&ebv=EB&ppid=pp_83