The Effect of Using Translation on Learning Grammatical Structures: A Case Study of Iranian Junior High School Students

Subject Areas : Research in English Language Pedagogy

Hossein Ghaiyoomian ¹ , Gholam Reza Zarei ²

1 - Sheikhbahai University, Isfahan, Iran
2 - Isfahan University of Technology, Iran

Received: 2015-06-16 Accepted : 2015-08-18 Published : 2015-08-18

Keywords: first language (L1), translation, second language (L2), foreign language (FL),

Abstract :

Abstract The role of L1 in second/foreign language learning has been the subject of much debate and controversy. This article reports on a piece of research carried out in a junior high school in Isfahan, Iran. This study was conducted to examine the effect of using translation from L1 to L2 on the improvement of EFL learners' language accuracy. To fulfill the purpose of the study, 62 students in grade three of junior high school were chosen by means of administering an experimental made pre-test. The participants were divided into a control group and an experimental group. The experimental group received grammar exercises in translating some phrases and sentences from Persian into English related to the intended grammatical structures during the study period while the control group just did their textbook exercises. At the end, a post-test was given to the students and the mean scores of the two groups were identified. T-test revealed that the treatment had a considerable effect on students' language accuracy.

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