RumeliDE Dil ve Edebiyat Araştırmaları Dergisi, sa.15, ss.346-357, 2019 (Hakemli Dergi)
There has always been a controversy around the use of translation in language teaching. When the
word “translation” comes to one’s mind, grammar-translation method is echoed at the same time. It
is criticized as an old-fashioned approach in language teaching. Nowadays, most English language
teachers agree that the teacher-centred grammar-translation method does not make much
pedagogical sense and only raises passive learners in terms of creative thinking skills. Some scholars
feverishly argue that translation should be totally banned in language teaching. However, the
grammar-translation method and translation as a pedagogical tool in language classes should be
differentiated. Translation is a communicative activity as it takes place in the real world. Students can
think upon how they are saying something and can promote their thinking skills when translation is
used as a classroom practice. In this case study, 23 B1 level students were asked to translate Turkish
songs and subtitle film scenes into English as a task in a writing class for a month. Students regarded
translating task into L2 as a valuable class activity in their writing classes. In the semi-interviews
conducted with the students, it was seen that it helped them to expand their vocabulary knowledge
and consider pragmatic factors while translating. Moreover, it increased their awareness of L1 and
L2 differences. Therefore, there is a need for further research on the effects of translation tasks on
language learning and how it can be used in the best way in language teaching.