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The translation reflex

 When we are experienced listeners of a language, we understand what is being said automatically, much the same as when we listen to our first language in optimum conditions (i.e. not with a lot of background noise or distractions). In other words, we move straight from words to meaning without taking a detour.


But many beginner listeners of a second language don’t do this; instead, it seems they are furiously scurrying to TRANSLATE everything they have heard into their first language(s). As you can imagine, this has a range of interesting effects. 


Some researchers have gone so far as to say that mental translation is ‘a strategy that beginning-level listeners feel compelled’ to use (Vandergrift, Goh, Mareschal, & Tafaghodtari, 2006:450) - it’s hard to tell from this idea of compulsion whether it’s a reflex, or whether it’s more a sense of obligation. My own sense is that a lot of beginner listeners will translate almost automatically, and they can’t help it. After all, by definition, if you’re listening to a second language it means you already have a first, and there’s plenty of evidence to suggest that the first language plays quite a big role in the processing of all second language, even when a listener (or learner) is at a very advanced stage. (The academically minded might chase up any of the following references: (Hall, 2002; Nation, 2000; Wilcox & Medina, 2013; Broersma & Cutler, 2008). Even so, it probably gets in the way.


In my research, rather than giving my participants comprehension questions which we are all familiar with from text books and exam papers, I used paused transcription and translation as an instrument to collect my data. That meant that the participants listened to a passage of up to 70 or so words all the way through, then they listened to it again in very short chunks, and had to either write what they heard in French, in a kind of mini-dictation exercise, or had to translate it into English. I wanted to include a translation exercise because I felt there was a risk if I only used paused transcription that they would write correct French even if they didn’t understand it. Asking the students to translate was trying to get at what they might understand. 


In another blog entry I’ll talk about what I found in the minutiae of the data that came out, but for now I’m interested in the very act of the translation.


Some academics criticised me, suggesting that of course they translated because that’s what I asked them to do, so I went back and looked at it very carefully. Firstly, there is quite a lot of research - as I quoted above - which talks about how you can’t escape your first language in your brain. I also talked to some of my participants, and one thing I found is that when they were doing the paused transcription (dictation), often what they were doing was listening to the French, translating it into English, then translating it BACK into French. Dictation did not bypass the translation reflex, but it ended up with the students doing TWO translations. 


My research followed students from the start of year 7 to the end of year 9 in a very typical English comprehensive school, and when I asked them to self-report on the extent to which they translated, I found a consistently moderate correlation between the level of proficiency and mental translation, although it was highly variable between individuals. 

What does this mean for us in the L1 English classroom, then? I think several things:


  1. Ask your students when they are either doing dictation, or same-language comprehension, whether like mine, they are going: target language - English - target language, or whether they are able to address the task while avoiding English. You might notice that as students increase in proficiency, they translate less, but probably not a lot in the first three years of learning. 

  2. Ask any students who are experienced users of other languages about the extent to which their other languages are creeping in, and whether they are being useful or a hindrance. (for example I had a participant who was a fluent speaker of Italian. For her, words like gateau was automatically understood as ‘gatto’ - cat, and beaucoup as ‘bocca’ - mouth). 

  3. In dictation you might want to experiment with the pros and cons of training students OUT of their translation reflex by using nonsense words, and telling them you’re doing so. This would force them to apply phonics rules and grammar without even attempting to translate. Below is a list of nonsense words I used in my vocabulary test (that’s for another blog), but a top tip in collecting the nonsense words was to start with a list of fairly unusual French surnames. 

  4. Target-language only listening comprehension is being phased out: it will appear in English GCSE exams for the last time in summer 2025, but it still appears in the A level. Given what I mentioned about the translation reflex fading away with proficiency, you should definitely ask your A level students about the extent to which they still translate. An increase in target language use at this level might be sufficient to knock that on the head - but know that while it might not be ideal, it’s also perfectly normal!





References:

Hall, C. J. (2002). The automatic cognate form assumption: Evidence for the parasitic model of vocabulary development. IRAL - International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching, 40, 69–87.

Nation, P. (2000). Learning vocabulary in lexical sets: dangers and guidelines. TESOL Journal, 1–6.

Wilcox, A., & Medina, A. (2013). Effects of semantic and phonological clustering on L2 vocabulary acquisition among novice learners. System, 41, 1056–1069.

Broersma, M., & Cutler, A. (2008). Phantom word activation in L2. System, 36(1), 26–34.

Vandergrift, L., Goh, C., Mareschal, C., & Tafaghodtari, M. H. (2006). The metacognitive awareness listening questionnaire: Development and validation. Language Learning, 56(3), 431–462.




List of non-words


Abadie

Asselin

Bonin

Bour

Catteau

Cutat

Dalle

Dupoux

Ferrand

Gougeon

Jivercle

Josserand

Jupaire

Méot

Métracte

Morler

Nolois

Octe

Plassard

Préjate

Scorailles

Sortape

Tecler

Tellene

Tinquant

Tixier

Trépanier

Triparoix

Valline

Veindre

Vignaud

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