Translation activities for the teaching of German: an analysis based on arguments against translation in foreign language teaching

Abstract

Translation can be considered a methodological tool for teaching foreign languages, and different researches present multiple didactic-methodological proposals for the insertion of translation in teaching/learning contexts. However, the fact that arguments against the use of translation in this context continue to exist, suggests that such researches are not sufficiently known. This article presents an analysis of translation activities for teaching the German language, extracted from a bibliography in German on the subject, compiled in recent years. It was verified how these activities are proposed and if they are related to the roles historically assigned to translation in language teaching. The aim was to identify characteristics in the activities that allow confirming or refuting criticisms against the use of translation in teaching. The bibliography that was studied contains proposals for reformulation of known translation activities, as well as new ideas and suggestions. It is observed that translation continues to be a part of classroom practice and that, through the influence of more recent perspectives on language teaching, the ways of using it are constantly modified, so that existing criticisms are not justified. The research aims to contribute to the dissemination of new ways of using translation in teaching German as a foreign language.