Videos of
teachers teaching English in Arabic have been mushrooming in large quantities
since the closure of schools in March 2020 due to COVID-19. Many teachers built
on a self-made theory that translation is the magic formula for students to
improve their English language skills and to succeed in their studies. The word
for word translations made my hackles rise so badly that I decided to write
this post as a reaction to all the disservice some teachers are doing the
Moroccan learners of English.
First,
many people think only a knowledge of two languages is sufficient
enough to teach one -- or both. This is not true because, on the one hand, there is no perfect one-to-one
correspondence between languages, as linguists tell us, and if this were true,
Google could do the job of language teachers. On the other hand, knowledge of a
language is not sufficient to teach it because real teachers have special
abilities to integrate their
knowledge of the language with teaching strategies, techniques, and skills to
structure an environment conducive to effective and sustainable learning
instead of resorting to way-out methods like translation. As Bloomfield puts it: “Translation into
the native language is bound to mislead the learner, because the semantic units
of different languages do not match and because the student under the practiced
stimulus of the native form is almost certain to forget the foreign one.”
Second,
many people confine language learning to word recognition and resort to
translation as a shortcut to save time and effort. However, language is more
than words and vocabulary, and translation is not enough for learners to
completely comprehend what they are reading for example. In addition to word
polysemy, very often what is implied or left unsaid is as important as what is
said because language is loaded with culture and carries more than words. Thus,
learners need to develop necessary analytical skills and reading strategies and
not the misconception that effective reading requires translation and
comprehension of every single word.
Third,
heavy emphasis on translation makes students “too examination-conscious.” and
thus encourages a memorization approach to learning. This memorization approach
does not facilitate the acquisition of practical skills, values, and attitudes
in learners at all, nor does it help to meet the long-term objectives of
learning foreign languages. It merely concentrates on passing of national
examinations by students and, thus, exacerbates the “certificate syndrome”
which is one of the most notorious features of our adopted education system.
Fourth,
translation does not do students any service, but rather renders them lazy
language learners, dependent on teachers’ spoon-feeding. We all know from
experience that students do not suddenly become active and independent on their
own; it is teachers’ attitude towards learning and their teaching style that
make all the difference. Too often, ordinary teachers make students
dependent on them, while artisan ones allow students to be
independent and critical thinkers. Besides, mollycoddling students with
translations and similar crutches will certainly encourage them to take
advantage of it and do as little as possible to get by knowing that teachers
are there to provide whatever help they need at school. So, they never try to
learn to fly on their own and may have a disadvantage for life.
Fifth,
translation deprives students from thinking in the target language. Students
who are used to translating every single word become less confident in their
ability to make hypotheses about how language works. Their mind stops trying to
guess or use language learning strategies to enable them to take responsibility
for their own learning. So,
they “examine the target language through the grammar and lexis of their native
language”. Also, translation makes learners less confident in their ability to
communicate in the target language although communication is one of the main
objectives of foreign language learning. What is even worse is that these
students get stuck writing the simplest thing in English and ask for help to
translate every single word and idea from Arabic into English. As
Arthur W. Chickering and Zelda F. Gamson put it, "Learning is not a
spectator sport. Students do not learn much just by sitting in class listening
to teachers, memorizing prepackaged assignments, and spitting out answers.”
Sixth, teachers who
emphasize translation make bad use of class time which is one of the few
opportunities many students have to hear and practice English. Our students
rarely have a chance to use English outside the classroom, and depriving them
of the opportunity to use it in class will only demotivate especially those
whose objectives go beyond the walls of school. Also, Moroccan students often
expect English classes to be fun and hope to have funny teachers who integrate
games and role-plays into their classrooms so they can play with English and do
not want a Grammar Translation drill sergeant who disregards the productive use
of the opportunities given by the classroom.
Seventh, I wonder whether
translation could help achieve the following objectives described in the
Moroccan Pedagogical Guidelines?
1. To develop the communication
competencies necessary for a variety of real-life purposes.
2. To develop knowledge
and sub-skills necessary for a variety of real-life purposes.
3. To develop study
skills leading to learner autonomy.
4. To develop the
intellectual abilities of the learner.
5. To develop
cross-cultural communication competency.
6. To enhance the
learner’s awareness of, and reflection upon, global issues.
7. To reinforce values
pertaining to character, civility, and citizenship.
