외국어 교육에서의 번역의 역할 재고

Translation Reconsidered as an L2 Teaching Device

This paper reexmanined translation as an L2 teaching device. Translation was uniquely used to practice language in the traditional grammar-translation method (GTM). With the demise of the GTM, and onward in the present Communicative Language Teaching Approach, translation is dismissed as unfavorable or even detrimental to the acquisition of a second or foreign language. The main culprit for this is L1 interference. Some other reasons, which were closely related to the GTM, have also been pointed out. They include a focus on form exclusive of meaning, lack of opportunities to use language meaningfully, too much emphasis on accuracy and not on fluency, and so on. The reasons that translation is denied in language teaching lie in the fact that it has been used in the GTM context and has always been associated with the method. However, translation has begun to receive a new interest: It is now being recognized as an act of communication and its usefulness in language teaching is being reconsidered. The use of translation has many advantages: Most of all, translation which relates the L1 and L2 systems at the text level makes it possible to prevent L1 interference in advance (unlike the popular belief) and to engage in meaning-oriented communicative activities. Thus, translation, if it is used in new, creative ways departing from the GTM, can serve as a useful and powerful tool for teaching a foreign language and can enhance L2 acquisition eventually. It is so especially for advanced-level language students.