Acquisition of Japanese through translation

Rethinking directions in language learning and teaching at university level Pub Date : 2019-04-08 DOI:10.14705/rpnet.2019.31.891

Kinji Ito, Shannon M. Hilliker

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引用次数: 1

Abstract

Acquiring and retaining vocabulary knowledge are two of the most important aspects of second language (L2) learning. Some scholars (e.g. Hedrick, Harmom, & Linerode, 2004; Nation, 1999; Stone & Urquhart, 2008) advocate that we should re-think and explore in depth the importance of vocabulary. According to Wilkins (1972), “while without grammar very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed” (p. 111). In other words, vocabulary is the foundation of language because without sufficient vocabulary knowledge L2 learners will not be able to express themselves satisfactorily or comprehend incoming information. Vocabulary items are thus the basic building blocks of language (Read, 2001) and their acquisition naturally leads to more efficient communication. Since, in today’s academic settings, language courses are designed to develop learners’ communicative competencies, translation has been overlooked. Accordingly, the study that will be presented had a total of 21 participants who took the course Japanese Through Translation designed for intermediate Japanese language learners during the 2016-2017 academic year at a public university in the United States. Participants took two different types of vocabulary quizzes which had a variety of lexical items they learned throughout the semester. This study examined two different ways of learning vocabulary – deliberate and incidental – one through communication and the other through translation, respectively. The results indicated that most of the words learners retained were those 1. University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States; kinji110@gmail.com 2. Binghamton University, Binghamton, New York, United States; hilliker@binghamton.edu How to cite this chapter: Ito, K., & Hilliker, S. M. (2019). Acquisition of Japanese through translation. In B. Loranc-Paszylk (Ed.), Rethinking directions in language learning and teaching at university level (pp. 53-74). Research-publishing.net. https://doi.org/10.14705/rpnet.2019.31.891

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通过翻译学习日语

获取和保留词汇知识是第二语言(L2)学习中最重要的两个方面。一些学者(如Hedrick, Harmom， & linrode, 2004;国家,1999;Stone & Urquhart, 2008)主张我们应该重新思考和深入探讨词汇的重要性。威尔金斯(Wilkins, 1972)认为，“如果没有语法，几乎无法表达，而如果没有词汇，什么也无法表达”(第111页)。换句话说，词汇是语言的基础，因为没有足够的词汇知识，第二语言学习者将无法令人满意地表达自己或理解传入的信息。因此，词汇是语言的基本组成部分(Read, 2001)，词汇的习得自然会导致更有效的交流。由于在当今的学术环境中，语言课程旨在培养学习者的交际能力，翻译被忽视了。因此，本次研究共有21名参与者参加了2016-2017学年在美国一所公立大学为中级日语学习者设计的日语翻译课程。参与者参加了两种不同类型的词汇测试，其中包含了他们在整个学期学过的各种词汇。本研究考察了两种不同的词汇学习方式——刻意和偶然——一种是通过交际，另一种是通过翻译。结果表明，学习者保留的大部分单词是1。宾夕法尼亚大学，美国宾夕法尼亚州费城;kinji110@gmail.com 2。宾汉姆顿大学，宾汉姆顿，纽约，美国;hilliker@binghamton.edu如何引用本章:Ito, K.， & Hilliker, s.m.(2019)。通过翻译学习日语。见《大学语言学习与教学方向的再思考》(主编)，页53-74。Research-publishing.net。https://doi.org/10.14705/rpnet.2019.31.891

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Rethinking directions in language learning and teaching at university level

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