USING TRANSLATION WITH ESP LEARNERS
USING TRANSLATION WITH ESP LEARNERS

Summary/Abstract: Attempts have been made to find efficient and effective ways of learning a foreign language and English for Specific Purposes (ESP) is claimed to be a productive approach for particular groups of learners. The skills of translation have become more necessary than ever today, in this modern world with compacted cultures for such groups. Although the use of translation in learning a foreign language is not generally accepted by language teachers, translation is used in learners’ foreign language learning process. It appears that learners often use translation as a learning strategy to 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. When proficient in English, it is supposed that learners can handle ESP texts through mother tongue more easily. Following this line of argument, the present study seeks to investigate the outcome of using translation (the contribution of the mother tongue) on the development of reading skills, especially comprehension, of two groups of ESP learners, undergraduates of the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, namely one trained in Automation and the second group trained in Mechanical Engineering. The research deals with more language learning aspects, but the present paper is limited to the discussion of a preliminary interview and of a test of the students’ vocabulary. Our study focused on the contribution of translation and our students’ perception on its influence on improved reading and reading comprehension. The results of the data analysis showed there was a relationship between using translation and reading comprehension. The findings are indicative of the effective role of translation and, accordingly, the necessity of emphasizing the contribution of the mother tongue to the teaching of ESP materials.

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