1) The document summarizes a study that explored Taiwanese college students' beliefs about and use of translation in English learning. 2) The study collected data through questionnaires and interviews of 351 students to understand their beliefs about translation, the translation strategies they use, and how these relate to background factors like proficiency and major. 3) The results showed that students believe translation can help with English learning but may not be necessary at higher levels, and they reported using translation for vocabulary learning, reading comprehension, and converting between languages.

1. EFL Learners’
Beliefs about and
Strategy Use of
Translation in
English Learning
Presenter: Yang, Hao-Ting (Tim)
Instructor: Dr. Pi-Ying Teresa Hsu
Date:2012.10.15
1

2. Citation
Liao, P. (2006). EFL Learners’ Beliefs about and
Strategy Use of Translation in English Learning .
Regional Language Centre Journal, 37 (2), 191-
215.
2

3. • Introduction
• Literature Review
• Question&Result
• Data Collection
• Discussion
• Reflection
3

4. Introduction
4

5. Background
Although the use of translation in learning a foreign
language is much maligned by language teachers,
translation is widely used in learner’s foreign language
strategy comprehend, remember, and produce a foreign
language. However, relatively little research attention so
far seems to have been devoted to a consideration of the
use of translation in language learning.
5

6. Purpose of study
To explore the role of translation in Taiwanese
college students’ English learning strategies about using
translation to learn English
6

7. Literature Review
7

8. Literature Review
converting the target language expression into the
native language; or converting the native language into
the target language
( Oxford, 1990)
8

9. Literature Review
Reading
strategies
Vocabulary
learning Benefit Reading
comprehension
Culture
background
knowledge ( Hsieh, 2000)
9

10. Literature Review
Translation was found to be a frequently used learning strategy.
Out of a total of 11 cognitive strategies indentified by the
researchers, translation accounted for 11.3% of all strategy uses by
beginning and intermediate-level ESL learners, second only to such
strategies as repetition (19.6%), note taking (18.7%), and imagery
(12.5%).
( O’Malley et al. ,1958b)
10

11. Question&Result
11

12. Question
 What are Taiwanese students’ beliefs about using
translation to learn English?
 What kinds of learning strategies employing
translation do Taiwanese students report using?
 What are the relationships among learners’ beliefs
about translation and their use of translation as a
strategy?
 To what extent do learners’ background variable (e.g.
proficiency level, academic major) relate to their
beliefs about and use of translation?
12

13. 351 students enrolled in a five-year junior college in
central Taiwan.
13

14. What are Taiwanese students’ beliefs about using translation to
learn English?

16. What kinds of learning strategies employing translation do Taiwanese
students report using?

18. To what extent do learners’ background variable (e.g. proficiency
level, academic major) relate to their beliefs about and
use of translation?

19. Data Collection
19

20. Questionnaires 40
Interviewing 30
20

21. Instrumentation
IBT Inventory for Beliefs
about Translation
ITLS Inventory for
Translation as Learning
as a Learning Strategy
IBQ Individual Background
Questionnaire.
21

22. Discussion
22

23. Discussion
At the college level, it is believed possible and even
necessary to use English without translation because students
at that level are believed to know English well enough to
improve their linguistic skills without their mother tongue
being involved.
23

24. Reflection
24

25. Reflection
Future research could be conducted on English
teachers’ beliefs about using translation or L1 to learn
English and make a comparison between these teacher’s
beliefs with their students’.
25

26. Thank you!
26