Proceedings of a conference, "Translation in second language teaching and learning", that took place at the National University of Ireland, Maynooth, March 27-29, 2008

Translation can help improve foreign language teaching and learning - this study shows how. In an increasingly globalised world and in an increasingly multilingual Europe, translation plays an important role. Significant signs of a new revival of translation in language teaching have become visible, as shown by recent literature on applied linguistics. This book contributes to this movement, embracing both a theoretical and an empirical purpose by integrating viewpoints from Applied Linguistics, Translation Studies and Second Language Acquisition. In an attempt to show how the use of translation in foreign language classes can help enhance and further improve reading, writing, speaking and listening skills, this work calls for a re-evaluation and a rehabilitation of the translation activities in the foreign language classes.

This book provides a historical overview of approaches to translation in language education. It explores the functions and scope of translation in the L2 classroom. Translation, as a valid resource and an indispensable skill in today's multilingual communication, should become an integral element of contemporary foreign language learning.

Oxford Applied Linguistics features books providing thorough yet accessible coverage of controversial topics related to language use, including learning, teaching, research, and policy. All titles are based on extensive research and include comprehensive bibliographies. The authors are noted authorities in their fields.

The aim of this volume is to record the resurgent influence of Language Learning in Translation Studies and the various contemporary ways in which translation is used in the fields of Language Teaching and Assessment. It examines the possibilities and limitations of the interplay between the two disciplines in attempting to investigate the degree to which recent calls for reinstating translation in language learning have borne fruit. The volume accommodates high-quality original submissions that address a variety of issues from a theoretical as well as an empirical point of view. The chapters of the volume raise important questions and demonstrate the beginning of a new era of conscious epistemological traffic between the two aforementioned disciplines. The contributors to the volume are academics, researchers and professionals in the fields of Translation Studies and Language Teaching and Assessment from various countries and educational contexts, including the USA, Canada, Taiwan R.O.C., and European countries such as Belgium, Germany, Greece, Slovenia and Sweden, and various professional and instructional settings, such as school sector and graduate, undergraduate and certificate programs. The contributions approach the interplay between the two disciplines from various angles, including functional approaches to translation, contemporary types of translation, and the discursive interaction between teachers and students.

The dynamics of immigration, international commerce and the postcolonial world make it inevitable that much translation is done into a second language, despite the prevailing wisdom that translators should only work into their mother tongue. This book is the first study to explore the phenomenon of translation into a second language in a way that will interest applied linguists, translators and translation teachers, and ESOL teachers working with advanced level students. Rather than seeing translation into a second language as deficient output, this study adopts an interlanguage framework to consider L2 translation as the product of developing competence; learning to translate is seen as a special variety of second language acquisition. Through carefully worked case studies, separate components of translation competence are identified, among them the ability to create stylistically authentic texts in English, the ability to monitor and edit output, and the psychological attitudes that the translator brings to the task. While the case studies mainly deal with Arabic speakers undergoing translator training in Australia, the conclusions will have implications for translation into a second language, especially English, around the world. Translation into the Second Language is firmly grounded in empirical research, and in this regard it serves as a stimulus and a methodological guide for further research. It will be a valuable addition for advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students of applied linguistics, translation theory, bilingualism and second language acquisition as well as those involved in teaching or practicing translation at a professional level.

Compared with STEM fields, foreign language (FL) education and second language acquisition have only slowly embraced open education and the new knowledge ecologies it produces. FL educators may have been hesitant to participate in the open education movement due to a lack of research which investigates the benefits and challenges of FL learning and teaching in open environments. This book contextualizes open education in FL learning and teaching via an historical overview of the movement, along with an in-depth exploration of how the open movement affects FL education beyond the classroom context; fills the research void by exploring aspects of open second language learning and teaching across a range of educational contexts; and illustrates new ways of creating, adapting and curating FL materials that are freely shared among FL educators and students. This book is open access under a CC BY ND licence.

Translation and Own-language Activities provides structured, practical advice and guidance for using students' own languages within the ELT classroom. Translation and Own-language Activities provides structured, practical advice and guidance for using students' own languages within ELT classrooms. Taking into account both the growing interest and concerns about use of translation in English lessons, the book presents effective ways of integrating carefully chosen activities, covering themes such as tools, language skills, language focus and techniques. The practical activities range from using bilingual dictionaries to translating long texts, with a number of tasks drawing on easy-to-use web tools. The book also considers the relationship between translation and intercultural understanding.

This monograph mainly focuses on the idea that language teaching in higher education involves making use of new approaches and technology. It identifies the key determinants of the materials needed to improve language teaching on the basis of the actual experimental research included in the respective contributions. Thanks to its unique perspective, the book offers a distinctive approach to addressing empirical research on second language teaching, translator training and technology. As universities are some of the best arenas for analyzing teaching techniques for various subjects, higher education teachers can use this book to thoroughly prepare for the application of pilot studies and learn more about students' responses to new teaching and translation techniques. An enlightening guide for scholars and students with an academic interest in acquiring the basic principles of language teaching and translation, this book mainly provides actual cases in which the implementation of technology was useful to second language teachers and translation trainers. As the authors are experienced scholars, readers will not only come to understand how to use new teaching strategies, but also discover that the proposals described in each chapter can be useful to any level of second language training for teachers and translators.

This book provides an overview of second language (L2) motivation research in a specific European context: Hungary, which has proved to offer an important laboratory for such research, as a number of major political changes over the past 30 years have created a changing background for L2 learning in an increasingly globalized world. The book provides an overview of theoretical research on L2 motivation, together with detailed information on large-scale L2 motivation studies in Hungary. Further, it presents a meta-analysis of the most important investigations, and qualitative data on teachers’ views regarding success in L2 learning. In turn, the interdisciplinary nature of L2 motivation is taken into account and relevant antecedent constructs to L2 motivation are investigated. Lastly, the book outlines possible future directions for L2 motivation research.