The Effect of Mother Tongue and Translation in Reading Comprehension
Keywords:
Reading Comprehension, Translation, Mother TongueAbstract
Reading comprehension heavily relies on the self-study of learners. This research aimed to determine the reasons behind the challenges learners face, specifically the effects of their mother tongue and the use of translation on comprehending written texts. The study sought to identify problems and gaps in reading comprehension strategies, to address the lack of effective translation techniques, and to provide learners with methods to minimize the influence of their mother tongue when learning a second language. A questionnaire was distributed to a sample of 52 EFL Libyan female students at Alasmarya Islamic University in the Faculty of Human Sciences for Girls, with ages ranging from 22 to 26 years old, who were in their seventh and eighth semesters. Additionally, interviews were conducted with four English teachers from the faculty. Data collected from the questionnaire and interviews were analyzed systematically. The findings indicated several reasons why students struggle to comprehend written texts effectively. These include: a lack of practice in reading strategies at home, neglecting the use of reading comprehension strategies, failing to take initiative in improving their reading skills, viewing learning English merely as a means to obtain certification and scores, not engaging deeply with the language, not becoming more academically inclined by using available websites and applications, and not considering their future careers as teachers.
Downloads
References
Abu Abeeleh, T. W., Al-Ghazo, A., & Al-Sobh, M. (2021). Reading comprehension problems encountered by EFL students at Ajloun National University. International Journal of Language and Linguistics, 8(1), 6-15.
Al-Ashhab, O. S., & Lakshmi. (2013). Learn to teach, 2nd ed. Ehmouda for publishing.
Al-Jarrah, H., & Ismail, N. S. B. (2018). Reading comprehension difficulties among EFL learners in higher learning institutions. International Journal of English Linguistics, 8(7), 32-41.
Bardos, J. (2000). The theory and practice of foreign language teaching. Nemzeti Tankonyvkiado.
Barfield, A. (1999). In other words: how learners construct reading difficulties. Literacy across Cultures.
Brown, H. D. (2007). Teaching by principles: An interactive approach to language pedagogy. Pearson Education.
Catford, J. C. (1978). A linguistic theory of translation: An essay in applied linguistics, 5th ed. Oxford University Press.
Dennis, D. V. (2008). Are assessment data really driving middle school reading instruction? What we can learn from one student’s experience. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 51(7), 578-587.
Dole, J. A., Duffy, G. G., Roehler, L. R., & Pearson, P. D. (1991). Moving from the old to the new: Research on reading comprehension instruction. Review of Educational Research, 61(2), 239-264.
Duarte, N., & Barner, V. (2005). Reading comprehension in teaching English as a foreign language. Monografias.
Farahani, M. V., & Siyyari, M. (2015). The effect of teaching reading comprehension skills on translation quality of Iranian EFL learners. International Journal of Applied Linguistics and English Literature, 4(1), 50-59.
Freeman, D. L., & Long, M. H. (1990). An introduction to second language acquisition research. Longman.
Hollowell, K. (2013). Factors affecting poor reading comprehension skills. eHow Contributor. On line magazine.
Karshen, S., & Brown, C. L. (2007). What academic language proficiency? STETS Language and Communication Review, 6(1), 1-4.
Lexico. (n.d.). Language transfer. Available online at [ https://www.lexico.com/definition/language_transfer].
Macmillan Dictionary. (n.d.). Available online at [https://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british].
McCormick, K. (1994). The culture of reading and the teaching of English. Manchester University Press.
McDonough, J., & Shaw, C. (1993). Materials and methods in ELT. Blackwell.
Merriam-Webster (n.d.). Interference. Available online at [https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/interference]
Nagy, W. E., & Scott, J. (2000). Vocabulary processes. In: Handbook of reading research, M. Kamil, P. Mosenthal, P. D. Pearson, & R. Barr (Eds.), 3, pp. 269-284, Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Newmark, P. (1988). A textbook of translation. Prentice Hall.
Nourinezhad, S., & Kashefian-Naeeini, S. (2020). Iranian EFL university learners and lecturers’ attitude towards translation as a tool in reading comprehension considering background variables of age, major and years of experience. Cogent Education, 7(1), 1746104.
Nozen, S. Z., Kalajahi, S. A. R., Abdullah, A. N., & Jabbarzadeh, H. (2017). An investigation of the impacts of teaching writing skills through extensive short story reading. Journal of Nusantara Studies, 2(1), 53-70.
Nuttall, C. (2000). Teaching reading skills in a foreign language. Macmillan.
Oxford Owl. (n.d.). Available online at [https://www.oxfordowl.co.uk].
Pressley, M. (2002). Reading instruction that works: The case for balanced teaching, 2nd ed. Guilford Press.
Reading Horizons (n.d.). What’s the difference between ESL, EFL, ESOL, ELL, MLL, and ESP? Available online at [https://www.readinghorizons.com/blog/what-s-the-difference-between-esl-efl-esol-ell-and-esp].
Rumelhart, D. E. (2017). Schemata: The building blocks of cognition. In Theoretical issues in reading comprehension. Routledge..
Sayer, I. M. (2013). Misunderstanding and language comprehension. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 70, 738-748.
Snow, C. E., Burns, M. S., & Griffin, P. (1998). Preventing reading difficulties in young children. National Academy Press.
Vacca, R. T. (2002). Making a difference in adolescents’ school lives: Visible and invisible aspects of content area reading. In: What research has to say about reading instruction, A. E. Farstrup & S. J. Samuels (Eds.), pp. 95-111. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Vannestål, M. (2009). Linguistic interference in translated academic texts: A case study of Portuguese interference in abstracts translated into English. Master's thesis, Vaxjo University.
Yadav, M. K. (2014). Role of mother tongue in second language learning. International Journal of research, 1(11), 572-582.
Zhang, L. J. (2001). Awareness in reading: EFL students' metacognitive knowledge of reading strategies in an acquisition-poor environment. Language Awareness, 10(4), 268-288.
Downloads
Published
Conference Proceedings Volume
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
