31-ways to use translation in be

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Thirty-one ways to use translation in the business English classroom

Maurice Claypole

M. Claypole 2007

Using business newspapers1. Headlines: Translate a news headline from the Financial Times

or the business section of a British newspaper into L1. Another

student translates it back again.

2. International viewpoint: Compare two newspaper items (L1 andL2) on similar topics. Comment on the differences.

3. Business report: Write a summary of a business report from anL1 newspaper in English.

4. News reporting: Watch a news item in English. Students write areport in L1. Swap reports and translate into English.

Using the company as a resource5. How to find us: Write down three different ways of giving

directions to a company in L1. Translate them into English.

6. The company tour: Write down a brief guided tour of thecompany in L1. Translate it into English.

7. International procedures: Write the description of a serviceprocedure or production process in L1. Translate it into English.

8. Company publications: Compare appropriate hard copycompany material (brochures, instruction manuals, contracts)available in L1 and L2 from your company or a close competitor.Discuss the problems facing the translators and their relativesuccess in translation. Discuss the merits and disadvantages ofthe use of bilingual or multilingual material.

9. Company websites: As 7. but using material downloaded fromcompany websites.

10. Company translation: Offer company material (as in 7. and 8.) inL1 and translate into English. Compare with the translations thecompany is using.

11. Reporting a video: Watch part of a company video in L1 or L2as available. Elicit any relevant vocabulary. Students write ashort summary in L1 and translate into English.


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12. Visitor guide: Produce a 2-language guide book for visitors toyour company. Each group could tackle a different departmentor aspect of the business.

13. Gourmet translation: Translate a menu from the canteen or alocal restaurant or write a visitors guide to eating out includinguntranslatable local specialities.

General exercises14. It wasnt me: Select a sentence from a text. Translate it.

Change it to negative. Translate back.

15. Time-shift: Write down in L1 four sentences about what you did

yesterday. Another student translates them into English.Another student changes the time frame to the future (e.g.tomorrow). Translate back into L1.

16. Sex change: Write a report about a male character in thecompany. Translate it. Change the character to a female.Translate the story back and compare.

17. Reporting: One student stands up and speaks in L1 on achosen topic for 30 seconds. Other students listen but are not

allowed to make notes. When he has finished they write down abrief summary of what was said half the class in L1 and half inL2. Students swap sheets and translate. Compare. Discuss.

18. Note taking: One student stands up and speaks in L1 on achosen topic for 30 seconds. The other students listen and takenotes, half the class in L1 and half in L2. They then write asummary in the other language. Students swap sheets andtranslate. Compare. Discuss.

19. Written Chinese whispers: Give each student a short writtenmessage at the top of a sheet of paper. The student translates itfolds over the paper to hide the original text and passes to thenext student who translates it back before folding it and passingto the next student. At the end the transformation of themessage is compared and discussed.


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20. Bilingual consequences (requires at least 4 students): Dictatethe first sentence of a story in L1. The sentence must havesome missing information (e.g. a name of a person, action orresult) which each student completes and translates the wholesentence into English and writes it at the top of a sheet of paper.

The paper is then folded over twice to conceal the informationand passed to the next student. The next sentence in the storyis then dictated and so on. At the end the finished stories areread out.

21. Translation mutation: Write down an English sentence with twoor three clauses, e.g.

A man was walking along the street when suddenly he heard a loud bang.

Translate it into L1.

Change the sentence one word or item at a time, e.g.

A man was walking along the street when suddenly he heard a loud bang.A man was walking across the street when suddenly he heard a loud bang.A man was walking across the bridge when suddenly he heard a loudbang.A man was running across the bridge when suddenly he heard a loudbang.A woman was running across the bridge when suddenly she heard a loudbang.

A woman was running across the bridge when suddenly she heard a loudcrash.

and so on. Each time, adjust the translation. Discuss whatthings change in one language but not in the other.

This can also be done permitting absurdities:I like drinking beer but wine always gives me a headache.I hate drinking beer but wine always gives me a headache.I hate eating beer but

I hate eating beer but .. a handkerchief.

22. Bilingual input texts: Read and discuss the existing translation(Andre Gide).

23. Error correction: Teacher provides a translation with errors in.Find them.


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24. Translation game: Translate the instructions for a board game.Write down the names of the chess pieces / cards / footballjargon / in L1 and L2.

25. As the song goes: Translate the refrain of a well-known L1 song

text into English.

26. Idiomatic translation: Translate common English idioms into L1.

27. International instructions: Take the instructions for use from anymachine (e.g. headphones, microwave) and compare L1 and L2versions. Use as a model (with caution) to write instructions fora similar machine.

28. The glossary test: The class compiles a list of 10 words from a

recent topic. Half the class translates these 10 words into L1 tocreate a second list. The other half forms English sentenceswith the original words. Can you translate these sentencesusing the words from the second list? If not, why not?

29. Borrowed English: Make a list of words used in L1 that havebeen taken from English. Translate them and discuss. Have themeanings been changed to produce false friends?

30. Multiple meanings: Give each group of students a word in

English with more than one meaning or usage (e.g. table, board,check, interest). Using dictionaries each group lists andcompares the different meanings and usages of the word inboth L1 and L2. Discuss the issues of translation.

31. Breakfast translation: bring in packaging with multi-lingualinformation (e.g. breakfast cereal, fruit juice, spreads. List theingredients in both L1 and L2. Groups write simple recipes ordietary recommendations using these. Swap texts and translate.

31-ways to use translation in be

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