Teaching vocabulary

3- USING TRANSLATION

• T can resort to translation if s/he thinks that no other technique will work. Translation is not recommended because, although it is the shortest way for presenting the meaning, it does not present how the word is used in a sentence. The problem is that once the student has known the meaning, S loses any incentive to see how the word functions in a context. Moreover, it is sometimes impossible to find equivalents of English words in Arabic.
• Translation is used for teaching abstract words that may not be understood through either visual elements or examples T gives the Arabic equivalent followed by an example. Ss repeat the example not the Arabic meaning. T should never translate full sentences. It is strange to find Ss' textbooks stained with translation not only of full sentences but also of whole paragraphs.

• 05/04/20

• Dr. Hanaa El-Baz