The International Journal of Translation and Interpreting Research, 2021
The study reported on examined the question of whether translators’ cognitive faculties might be ... more The study reported on examined the question of whether translators’ cognitive faculties might be able to predict their performance on a translation task. Research on individual cognitive differences in translation has been a new issue in the realm of Translation Studies. However, the majority of previous studies have targeted single cognitive faculties for the purpose of investigation and we therefore know little about how sets of cognitive faculties can affect the process of translation from one language into another. In this study, three individual cognitive differences were targeted: emotional intelligence (EI), tolerance of ambiguity (TA), and working memory (WM). For the purposes of the study, 54 Iranian MA students of Translation Studies were sampled as participants. The participants completed measures of their EI, TA, and WM. In addition, they were requested to translate an excerpt from English (Source Language) into Persian (Target Language). The results of multiple regressi...
Emphasis on second language (L2) learner as the most significant agent responsible for the proces... more Emphasis on second language (L2) learner as the most significant agent responsible for the process of L2 acquisition has had significant implications for the both fields of L2 leaning and teaching. As L2 learning is concerned, we now know that learners should be helped to take responsibility for their own L2 learning and thus they should move towards independence in the process of L2 acquisition. As L2 teaching is concerned, teachers are now more preoccupied with facilitating the process of L2 learning rather than ‘teaching’ in its traditional sense of the term. These implications have presented themselves in what is called self-directed L2 learning. The purpose of this paper is to present a review of self-directed learning, discussing the improvements that this line of innovation has brought to L2 learning and even L2 teaching. The review is presented with respect to both theoretical underpinnings and research of self-directed L2 learning. Further, the practical implications of sel...
International Journal of Comparative Literature and Translation Studies, 2017
The condition under which translation is undertaken has been the subject of little empirical rese... more The condition under which translation is undertaken has been the subject of little empirical research. The present study aimed to determine whether time pressure would have influential effects on the quality and quantity of a translation task performed by Iranian students of Translation Studies. For this purpose, the students in two intact MA translation classrooms were selected as the participants of the study; i.e., one control group and one experimental group. The participants in the control group were allowed as much as time they needed to perform the translation task whereas the participants in the experimental group were allowed only 30 minutes to perform the task. The results of the study indicated that time pressure had significant influences on both the quality and quantity of the translation task performed by the participants. A trade-off was observed as the participants in the experimental group produced more translated materials than the participants in the control group...
International Journal of Applied Linguistics and English Literature, 2016
The present empirical study was conducted to compare instructed vocabulary teaching and incidenta... more The present empirical study was conducted to compare instructed vocabulary teaching and incidental vocabulary acquisition that are two common approaches to teaching second language (L2) vocabulary in the literature. For this purpose, 53 Iran learners of English as a Foreign Language were selected from a larger sample and were then randomly assigned into a control group and two experimental groups as the participants of the study. The participants in the groups received placebo instruction while those in the experimental groups were either explicitly instructed or incidentally exposed to a number of targeted words (TWs) selected for the purposes of the study. The results of an immediate posttest of the TWs demonstrated that the participants in both experimental groups benefited from instruction on/exposure to the TWs compared to the participants in the control group who were neither instructed on nor exposed to the TWs. The results of a delayed posttest indicated that, though there was a difference between the two experimental groups in the immediate posttest with respect to the acquisition of the TWs, the difference faded away in five-week interval as the experimental groups performed rather similarly on the delayed posttest. At the end, the implication of these findings for L2 vocabulary research and pedagogy would be discussed, along with some suggestions for researchers who wish to follow this trend of research.
The condition under which translation is undertaken has been the subject of little empirical rese... more The condition under which translation is undertaken has been the subject of little empirical research. The present study aimed to determine whether time pressure would have influential effects on the quality and quantity of a translation task performed by Iranian students of Translation Studies. For this purpose, the students in two intact MA translation classrooms were selected as the participants of the study; i.e., one control group and one experimental group. The participants in the control group were allowed as much as time they needed to perform the translation task whereas the participants in the experimental group were allowed only 30 minutes to perform the task. The results of the study indicated that time pressure had significant influences on both the quality and quantity of the translation task performed by the participants. A trade-off was observed as the participants in the experimental group produced more translated materials than the participants in the control group when compared on a time-constant scale. The quality of their performance, however, lagged behind the quality of performance by the participants in the control group. These results can be explained by the competition model of cognition which hypothesizes that different dimensions of a cognitive task are in constant competition to win over attentional resources and that the competition is highly influenced by the condition in which the task is performed. The implications of the study for both translation theory and practice are also discussed.
The present empirical study was conducted to compare instructed vocabulary teaching and incidenta... more The present empirical study was conducted to compare instructed vocabulary teaching and incidental vocabulary acquisition that are two common approaches to teaching second language (L2) vocabulary in the literature. For this purpose, 53 Iran learners of English as a Foreign Language were selected from a larger sample and were then randomly assigned into a control group and two experimental groups as the participants of the study. The participants in the groups received placebo instruction while those in the experimental groups were either explicitly instructed or incidentally exposed to a number of targeted words (TWs) selected for the purposes of the study. The results of an immediate posttest of the TWs demonstrated that the participants in both experimental groups benefited from instruction on/exposure to the TWs compared to the participants in the control group who were neither instructed on nor exposed to the TWs. The results of a delayed posttest indicated that, though there was a difference between the two experimental groups in the immediate posttest with respect to the acquisition of the TWs, the difference faded away in five-week interval as the experimental groups performed rather similarly on the delayed posttest. At the end, the implication of these findings for L2 vocabulary research and pedagogy would be discussed, along with some suggestions for researchers who wish to follow this trend of research.
Translation and language teaching techniques which take language learners' first language (L1) as... more Translation and language teaching techniques which take language learners' first language (L1) as point of reference for teaching the second language (L2) have been long discouraged on the ground that these teaching techniques would end in the fossilization of L2 structure forms in the learner's Interlanguage system. However, in recent years, the status of L1 use in L2 teaching and learning has revived as a result of the recognition that L1 can serve purposes in L2 teaching and learning (Hunt, 2012). In the last two decades, strong theoretical arguments have been posed for L1 use in language classrooms. Most of these arguments are based on the ground that L1 use can facilitate the processes of both L2 teaching and acquisition. Abundant research has been done in recent years to validate these theoretical arguments. The current paper would give a review of this research, with reference to three L1-based techniques for language teaching and learning that have appealed most to L2 researchers (i.e., translation, code switching, and L1 glossing). The conclusion drawn from this research is that language learners can benefit L1 use and L1-based techniques in their L2 acquisition. Further, along with the theoretical arguments and empirical evidence in defense of L1 use in language classrooms, L2 learners and teachers have begun to express more positive attitudes towards L1 use, and related techniques, in their own classrooms. Yet, there remain some challenges and obstacles for L1 use in language use. Suggestions are made as to how to address these challenges so that L2 pedagogy and use would benefit most from L1 use in language classrooms.
The International Journal of Translation and Interpreting Research, 2021
The study reported on examined the question of whether translators’ cognitive faculties might be ... more The study reported on examined the question of whether translators’ cognitive faculties might be able to predict their performance on a translation task. Research on individual cognitive differences in translation has been a new issue in the realm of Translation Studies. However, the majority of previous studies have targeted single cognitive faculties for the purpose of investigation and we therefore know little about how sets of cognitive faculties can affect the process of translation from one language into another. In this study, three individual cognitive differences were targeted: emotional intelligence (EI), tolerance of ambiguity (TA), and working memory (WM). For the purposes of the study, 54 Iranian MA students of Translation Studies were sampled as participants. The participants completed measures of their EI, TA, and WM. In addition, they were requested to translate an excerpt from English (Source Language) into Persian (Target Language). The results of multiple regressi...
Emphasis on second language (L2) learner as the most significant agent responsible for the proces... more Emphasis on second language (L2) learner as the most significant agent responsible for the process of L2 acquisition has had significant implications for the both fields of L2 leaning and teaching. As L2 learning is concerned, we now know that learners should be helped to take responsibility for their own L2 learning and thus they should move towards independence in the process of L2 acquisition. As L2 teaching is concerned, teachers are now more preoccupied with facilitating the process of L2 learning rather than ‘teaching’ in its traditional sense of the term. These implications have presented themselves in what is called self-directed L2 learning. The purpose of this paper is to present a review of self-directed learning, discussing the improvements that this line of innovation has brought to L2 learning and even L2 teaching. The review is presented with respect to both theoretical underpinnings and research of self-directed L2 learning. Further, the practical implications of sel...
International Journal of Comparative Literature and Translation Studies, 2017
The condition under which translation is undertaken has been the subject of little empirical rese... more The condition under which translation is undertaken has been the subject of little empirical research. The present study aimed to determine whether time pressure would have influential effects on the quality and quantity of a translation task performed by Iranian students of Translation Studies. For this purpose, the students in two intact MA translation classrooms were selected as the participants of the study; i.e., one control group and one experimental group. The participants in the control group were allowed as much as time they needed to perform the translation task whereas the participants in the experimental group were allowed only 30 minutes to perform the task. The results of the study indicated that time pressure had significant influences on both the quality and quantity of the translation task performed by the participants. A trade-off was observed as the participants in the experimental group produced more translated materials than the participants in the control group...
International Journal of Applied Linguistics and English Literature, 2016
The present empirical study was conducted to compare instructed vocabulary teaching and incidenta... more The present empirical study was conducted to compare instructed vocabulary teaching and incidental vocabulary acquisition that are two common approaches to teaching second language (L2) vocabulary in the literature. For this purpose, 53 Iran learners of English as a Foreign Language were selected from a larger sample and were then randomly assigned into a control group and two experimental groups as the participants of the study. The participants in the groups received placebo instruction while those in the experimental groups were either explicitly instructed or incidentally exposed to a number of targeted words (TWs) selected for the purposes of the study. The results of an immediate posttest of the TWs demonstrated that the participants in both experimental groups benefited from instruction on/exposure to the TWs compared to the participants in the control group who were neither instructed on nor exposed to the TWs. The results of a delayed posttest indicated that, though there was a difference between the two experimental groups in the immediate posttest with respect to the acquisition of the TWs, the difference faded away in five-week interval as the experimental groups performed rather similarly on the delayed posttest. At the end, the implication of these findings for L2 vocabulary research and pedagogy would be discussed, along with some suggestions for researchers who wish to follow this trend of research.
The condition under which translation is undertaken has been the subject of little empirical rese... more The condition under which translation is undertaken has been the subject of little empirical research. The present study aimed to determine whether time pressure would have influential effects on the quality and quantity of a translation task performed by Iranian students of Translation Studies. For this purpose, the students in two intact MA translation classrooms were selected as the participants of the study; i.e., one control group and one experimental group. The participants in the control group were allowed as much as time they needed to perform the translation task whereas the participants in the experimental group were allowed only 30 minutes to perform the task. The results of the study indicated that time pressure had significant influences on both the quality and quantity of the translation task performed by the participants. A trade-off was observed as the participants in the experimental group produced more translated materials than the participants in the control group when compared on a time-constant scale. The quality of their performance, however, lagged behind the quality of performance by the participants in the control group. These results can be explained by the competition model of cognition which hypothesizes that different dimensions of a cognitive task are in constant competition to win over attentional resources and that the competition is highly influenced by the condition in which the task is performed. The implications of the study for both translation theory and practice are also discussed.
The present empirical study was conducted to compare instructed vocabulary teaching and incidenta... more The present empirical study was conducted to compare instructed vocabulary teaching and incidental vocabulary acquisition that are two common approaches to teaching second language (L2) vocabulary in the literature. For this purpose, 53 Iran learners of English as a Foreign Language were selected from a larger sample and were then randomly assigned into a control group and two experimental groups as the participants of the study. The participants in the groups received placebo instruction while those in the experimental groups were either explicitly instructed or incidentally exposed to a number of targeted words (TWs) selected for the purposes of the study. The results of an immediate posttest of the TWs demonstrated that the participants in both experimental groups benefited from instruction on/exposure to the TWs compared to the participants in the control group who were neither instructed on nor exposed to the TWs. The results of a delayed posttest indicated that, though there was a difference between the two experimental groups in the immediate posttest with respect to the acquisition of the TWs, the difference faded away in five-week interval as the experimental groups performed rather similarly on the delayed posttest. At the end, the implication of these findings for L2 vocabulary research and pedagogy would be discussed, along with some suggestions for researchers who wish to follow this trend of research.
Translation and language teaching techniques which take language learners' first language (L1) as... more Translation and language teaching techniques which take language learners' first language (L1) as point of reference for teaching the second language (L2) have been long discouraged on the ground that these teaching techniques would end in the fossilization of L2 structure forms in the learner's Interlanguage system. However, in recent years, the status of L1 use in L2 teaching and learning has revived as a result of the recognition that L1 can serve purposes in L2 teaching and learning (Hunt, 2012). In the last two decades, strong theoretical arguments have been posed for L1 use in language classrooms. Most of these arguments are based on the ground that L1 use can facilitate the processes of both L2 teaching and acquisition. Abundant research has been done in recent years to validate these theoretical arguments. The current paper would give a review of this research, with reference to three L1-based techniques for language teaching and learning that have appealed most to L2 researchers (i.e., translation, code switching, and L1 glossing). The conclusion drawn from this research is that language learners can benefit L1 use and L1-based techniques in their L2 acquisition. Further, along with the theoretical arguments and empirical evidence in defense of L1 use in language classrooms, L2 learners and teachers have begun to express more positive attitudes towards L1 use, and related techniques, in their own classrooms. Yet, there remain some challenges and obstacles for L1 use in language use. Suggestions are made as to how to address these challenges so that L2 pedagogy and use would benefit most from L1 use in language classrooms.
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