constructing pathways to translation - Higher Education Commission

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Swell in Malmkjar(1988) therefore believes, that along with the emphasis on Source
Text analysis, equal degree of textual awareness of the Target Text will enable the
language learners to make appropriate choices about the TT phrasing.
It is also important to maintain the difference between Linguistics and Language, while
teaching English language courses. Language is the tool for the translator, rather then the
object of study. The translator must be taught to use the tools skillfully and
appropriately, which implies that teaching should concentrate on the use of language in
communication, rather than on the linguistic study of language, itself.
Language teaching in Translation courses, appears to be effective for L2 competence.
The only need is to improve traditional teaching methods. Students must decide whether
to preserve, as in the Source Text, or to change for the new audience, the individual style
of the author, the conventions, formats and tradition of the genre, culturally – specific
items, and referential facts given on the text (Duff, 1989). Like any teaching method,
however, classroom translation must be applied within a principled theoretical
framework. Bilingual teaching is one innovative approach to avoid the trap of the
Grammar Translation Method.
As a study aid, written translation is eminently suited to the development of thoughtful,
critical reading, for as anyone who has translated knows, there is no better way of
coming to understand a text than to try to translate it.
For pedagogic purposes, the process of translation is as important as the finished product,
for the process is the means for achieving the desired product. Provided these principles
are followed, and that a variety of texts are used which provide practice in expressing a
range of linguistic functions, translation can be used as a time saving and efficient class
room management tool, as a variable study-aid and as a way to promote thoughtful
communication. It can, at the same time, be developed into a useful skill, relevant to the
learners’ everyday lives.
Swell and Higgins in Malmkjer (1988) mention that proponents of communicative
methods of language teaching have long held that translating is counter productive to the
development of all round proficiency in a foreign language. But, on the other hand, it has