Unit 1 and 2: Task 6 - Final Activity

Translation Techniques - (551037A_611)

Unit 1 and 2: Task 6 - Final Activity

Fermín Buitrago Romero 79045343

Group 551031_3

Tutor: Olga Lucia Fierro

National Open and Distance University - UNAD

Education Sciences School (ECEDU)

Bogotá, May 10, 2019

 1. Translation.

RECIPE 1. ARABIC
Couscous salad with cucumber, tomato and peppermint
Ingredients
250 c.c. milk
140 gr. of flour
40 gr. of sugar
6 gr. of fresh yeast
1 egg
1 big apple type Golden
Lemon
Cinnamon
Butter
Salt
How to make Couscous step by step
1. In a bowl large enough to remove without letting all the ingredients out, we put the juice
of 2 lemons and add the couscous, stirring vigorously until the couscous absorbs all the
lemon juice.
2. Previously, we had cut half an onion in very small cubes, 2 tomatoes and a cucumber,
and we are adding them little by little to the bowl with the couscous, stirring carefully so
that the couscous absorbs the "water" that the onion, as well as the cucumber or the tomato
are letting go.
3. Finally, we add a couple of tablespoons of virgin olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste.
At this point our couscous should already be sufficiently hydrated and soft. If it were not
so, we could add a little more olive oil. And as a final touch to bring more freshness, add
some peppermint leaves or chopped mint, and that´s it.
We refrigerate for at least 1-2 hours, and we can enjoy a fresh, rich and very nutritious dish,
ideal for summer and that will take less than 10 minutes of preparation.
You can also give it a bittersweet touch by adding some raisins!

Difficulties in the translation exercise.

 1. Word translation constant doubt: (i.e. couscous). Some terms belonging to cuisine
are strange for me in my mother tongue. It is because of my quotidian life. The
exercise of this job is not so common, and that´s why I needed to consult people
engaged with the topic. Moreover, I still have some doubts about how to translate
words – related to from typical Colombian dishes – like hibias, cubios, nabos, and
other ones that are used in typical dishes original from Boyaca. This doubt surged
from my dialogue with those who like this art.

2. Another doubt was the use of the word Salt and pepper to translate salpimentar (a
composed word). In English, people is accustomed to create constantly these kind of
composed terms. In Spanish, the process – in my direct experience – is not so
common. That’s why I had to consult a dictionary in order to not to commit a
mistake when doing.

3. Choosing between peppermint and mint to translate hierbabuena, choosing between

leaven and yeast to translate levadura. Cuisine terms are specialized terminology –
who could believe it – and one word in Spanish could be replaced by several
according to the cooking procedures, the geographical context, and the availability
of the corresponding term in the case of some very traditional products original
from specific places.

4. In the case of the giving of the instructions I had some difficulties when choosing
the right verbal tense (i.e. doubts between the use of had cut and would have cut).

5. Doubt about using the conditional clause (i.e. if it were not so,…). The problem is
that I am used to using was in the third person structures like this and, sometimes, I
need to think twice about this matter.

6. The same doubt I have, sometimes, about the use of bored – boring, tired – tiring, I
experienced about using nutritive or nutritious.
I hope I had chosen the best options to talk about cuisine, it is not my best field to talk
about.
Webgraphy
Cooking Vocabulary in English. [Blog] English Lessons with Adam - Learn English
[engVid]. Publicado el 2 ene. 2014. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOT2NxyWBbg
25 Cooking Verbs used in English [Blog] - Kitchen verbs vocabulary - Learn English
Online. English Academy. Publicado el 11 may. 2018. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aW803EzVO2I
Phrasal Verbs and Expressions about FOOD. [Blog]. Learn English with Emma [engVid].
Publicado el 2 jul. 2015. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORbBbupFzpc

2. Write a proposal in which you argue according to the given case and the course
material (no more than 300 words).
“A native speaker teacher is having troubles with his English classes because he
can’t explain some language points in the students’ L1, it is not easy for him and he is
causing confusion in the learners and their grades have dropped dramatically.
English Native speakers have a lot of advantages as language teachers but they need
to develop a special training about teaching to non-native students, one teaching option is
through translation techniques and you have to show him that translation in the language
classroom can be used as a practical and useful activity, moreover you have to invite him to
value the translation benefits because its techniques contains elements of the
communicative approach.”

Proposal (Communicative experience approach)

If you want to deal with Communicative Approach you can engage your activity
with the objective that this method has - communication is both the goal and the means to
learn some languages - (Cuéllar Lázaro 2004: 2). You need to “recreate real-life social and
functional situations in the classroom to guide students towards communicative
competence”, which makes you pay attention to the relation between right structures with
the convenient contexts. (Martín Sánchez 2010: 148-149).
However, if you think twice, you could have as your direction the utterance “as a
consequence, activities in the Communicative approach must: a) be grounded on the
transmission of relevant content for the speakers; b) subordinate form to content; and c) be
participative and interactive” (Sánchez 2009: 111). As for translation, in contrast to the
general belief that it has little to contribute (Carreres, 2006), scholars like Tudor (1987) and
Duff (1989) are convinced about the benefits of translation in the communicative language
classroom. Tudor argues that “translation, as the process of conveying messages across
linguistic and cultural barriers, is an eminently communicative activity, one whose use
could well be considered in a wider range of teaching situations than may currently be the
case” (1987, in Duff 1989: 5). In turn, Duff concludes that “translation develops three
qualities essential to all language learning: accuracy, clarity, and flexibility […]” (1989: 7).
Another perspective dealing with the use of L1 by students and teachers is offered
by Ferrer (2002). He thinks that there is a place for the L1 in the L2 classroom, and that
cross-linguistic comparison (including translation) is the best way of using the L1. If the
objective of cross-linguistic comparison is to get students aware of the similarities and
differences between L1 and L2, students will – for sure – improve grammatical and
communicative competences. Besides, they will have the opportunity to contrast social,
cultural and other contextual features through the process. It “enhances its potential to help
turn input into intake, along with its benefits for comprehensible input, negotiation of
meaning and the establishment of links with previous ideas” (Turnbull and Dailey-O’Cain
2009: 5-6).

References
Guerra, A. (2014).The usefulness of Translation in Foreign Language Learning: students’
attitudes. Retrieved from
http://repositori.uji.es/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10234/134505/62499.pdf
Kavaliauskienë, G, and Kaminskienë, L. (2007). Translation as a learning tool in english
for specific purposes. ISSN 1392–1517. KALBOTYRA. 2007. 57(3). Retrieved
from http://www.kalbotyra.flf.vu.lt/wp-
content/uploads/2012/02/Kalbotyra_57_132-139-psl.pdf
Monsalve, S.and Correal, A.. (2006). Children’s Oral Communication in English Class
Activities: An Exploratory Study. profile [online]. 2006, n.7, pp.131-146. ISSN
1657-0790.
Posen, L., (2006). EFL Learners’ Beliefs about and Strategy Use of Translation in English
Learning. RELC Journal, 37(2), 191–215.
http://bibliotecavirtual.unad.edu.co/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.asp
x?direct=true&db=eue&AN=21903965&lang=es&site=eds-live
Randaccio, M. (2016) Translation and Language Teaching: Translation as a useful
teaching Resource. Retrieved from https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/41175953.pdf