Pedagogical Suggestions: A Better Way of Encoding L1 Translation on the L1-L2 Mapping to Effectively Prime the Target L2 Sentence in Production

• Published in: Institute of British and American Studies Vol. 44; pp. 65 - 92
• Main Author: Nam, Hyunjeong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 영미연구소 30.10.2018
• Subjects: 학제간연구
• ISSN: 2508-4135; 2508-5417
• DOI: 10.25093/jbas.2018.44.65

Considering the entrenchment of current L1 use in many classrooms and the limitations of learning contexts in Korea, the present study aims to make practical pedagogical suggestions focusing on ‘how’ L1 translation should be used to effectively promote L2 production rather than its pros and cons of using L1 translation. A total of 54 English majors participated in the study and their L2 production with different types of L1 translation was compared. From the comparison of L2 sentence production between the learning group with the ‘WfW L1 translation’ (the contrived word-for-word translation) and the group with the ‘CTIM L1 translation’ (the translation close to the intended meaning in actual communication), the present study confirms the dramatic effect of L2 learning with the ‘CTIM L1 translation’ on L2 sentence production. This finding is promising since the effect was more beneficial in the test reflecting real English communication. If the use of the L1 translation in L2 learning is unavoidable in English classes in Korea, faute de mieux, the study suggests that 1) a sentence level approach rather than the L1-L2 word list may be more constructive for L2 production; 2) L1 translation on the L1-L2 mapping should be close to the intended meaning in real communication; and 3) if a test in class must be conducted in L1, the test should be designed in a way to maximize the priming of the target L2. KCI Citation Count: 1