Philippine Normal UniversityNational Center for Teacher Education

Taft Avenue, ManilaCollege of Languages, Linguistics, and Literature

DEPARTMENT OF LINGUISTICS, BILINGUAL EDUCATION & LITERATURE

Translating Literary Texts as a Classroom Activity:

Implication on the MTB-MLE

A Research Primer

In partial fulfillmentof the requirements in

Litt505 (Children and Adolescent Literature)1st Semester S.Y. 2012-2013

Submitted by:

Bernard PaderesMaster of Arts in Linguistics

Submitted to:

Dr. Jennie V. JocsonFaculty

December 2012

There have been a lot of criticisms and resistance regarding the implementation

of the Mother Tongue Based–Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE) in the new K-12

curriculum. Though it promises to improve the students performance in content

subjects such as science and math; teachers, educators, and parents are apprehensive

that encouraging Filipino students to use their mother tongue in class during the early

years of schooling would lag the development of their second language. Also Stephen L.

Walter, chair of the Department of Language Development of the Graduate Institute of

Applied Linguistics listed some reasons to overlook the language factor in educational

policies.(as cited in Castillo-Llaneta, 2010) Some of the reasons are: the belief that a

nation based on one common language is better that one with diverse languages; the

belief that children need not to be schooled in a language that they already know; and

that there are certain careers that are based on a certain language.

However, there have been numerous researches supporting the effectiveness of

MTB-MLE in the development of proficiency in second languages. In such case like the

Philippines, where people, culture, and languages are so diverse; there would probably

a need for translated materials as MTB-MLE claims the “first language first” ideology

towards literacy. Also, Dr. Ricardo Nolasco, a professor of linguistics at the University of

the Philippines, (as cited in Barawid, 2012) said that there are no instructional

materials prepared for the teaching of local languages.

Since there are no materials prepared for the instruction of the local language, it

seems to be helpful if the students or the community would take part in translating

their own literature. The grammar-translations approach in language teaching has been

set aside together with other “traditional” approaches and methods with the

introduction of communicative approaches. However, there are researches that are

reconsidering the use of translation as an effective technique in language teaching and

even making it more communicative and wholistic.

Primarily, translation as a classroom activity helps improve the students’

knowledge of language form (Vaezi and Mirzaei, 2007). Also, one of the limitations of

translation activities is that it only targets two skills, namely: reading and writing.

(Stoddart, 2000). However there are articles and researches supporting the benefits of

translation activities including their focus on meaning as well their benefit in

understanding the cultural aspects of the target languages.

In an article written by Kaye (2009), he listed the benefits of translation

activities in class: if designed well, it utilizes the four language skills and enhances

communicative competence, specifically accuracy, clarity, and flexibility; contrary to

what most people believe, translation could be a highly communicative activity; it

encourages learners to discuss meaning and use; it is a real-life, natural activity ad

increasingly necessary for global environment; at lower levels, it can be a support for

writing process; it allows discussion of differences and similarities which helps learners

understand the interaction of two languages and the problems caused by their L1.

In an analysis done by Koppe regarding the use of translation in an EFL

classroom, she mentioned the translation activities help students see the link between

language and language use; encourage students to compare and contrast their first and

second languages; allow teacher sand students to identify learning difficulties; and

enable teachers to check comprehension and introduce new vocabularies and learning

and learning strategies which gives learners autonomy and language awareness.

Another research that supports the benefit of translation activities in language

teaching was the work done by Pariente-Beltran (2006). She investigated the use of

translation as a complement to language teaching and its effect to better language

acquisition. As a complement to language teaching, she found out that interlingual

translation activities encourage students to compare the discourses of between L1 and

L2; become aware of the dialect, registers, and social variations of the second language;

and learn more about the cultural aspect of the L2.

As for the acquisition of the language; she also claims that incorporation of

translation activities in second language teaching helps develop students’

comprehension and accuracy; builds up passive and active vocabulary; improves the

students’ writing skills; eases retention of sentence structure; contributes to a better

communication and expression; and facilitates problem-solving decisions.

There seems to be strong supports for the use of translation activities in the

language classroom. Also there are studies supporting the benefits of reading the

literature in the native languages

However, it seems to be timely to look for the benefits or the effects of using

translation activities in literature classes. A study should be conducted to investigate the

following:

1. Will the students get a better comprehension of the text?

2. Will it give the students a better appreciation of the text and literature per se?

3. Will they get to appreciate or understand the culture of the language?

References

Barawid, Rachel C. (June 20, 2012). Speaking in tongues. Manila Bullentin. Retrieved December 20, 2012 from http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/362782/speaking-tongues#.UNMRA-STyIM

Castillo-Llaneta, Celeste Ann. (2010). The Language of learneing: Mother- tongue-based multilingual education in the Philippines. The Forum March-April 2010 Vol 11 Issue 2. Retrieved December 19, 2012 from http://mlephil.wordpress.com/2010/05/06/the-language-of-learning-mother-tongue-based-multilingual-education-in-the-philippines/

Kaye, Paul. (March 25, 2009). Translation activities in the language classroom. Retrieved December 18, 2012 from http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/articles/translation-activities-language-classroom

Koppe, Carmen Terezinha . (____) Translations in the EFL Classroon: how and what to work. Tutora do NAP-UFPR e professora do Centro de Línguas – PUCPR. Retrieved December 19, 2012 from http://www.utp.br/eletras/ea/eletras15/texto/artigo15_4.doc

Pariente-Beltran, Beatriz. (2006). Rethinking translations in the second language classroom: Teaching discourse analysis and text translations to advanced students. Master’s Thesis. University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Retrieved December 19, 2012 from http://people.umass.edu/bparient/Research/CompleteThesis-BeatrizParienteBeltran.pdf

Stoddart, Jonathan. (2000). Teaching through translations. Journal 11 http://www.britishcouncil.org/portugal-inenglish-2000apr-teaching-through-translation.pdf

Vaezi , Shahin and Mirzaei , Mehdi. (September 2007). The effect of using translation from L1 to L2 as a teaching technique on the improvement of EFL learners' linguistic accuracy - focus on form. Humanising Language Teaching. Year 9; Issue 5; September 2007. Retrieved December 20, 2012 from http://www.hltmag.co.uk/sep07/mart03.htm#C11