Teachers’ and Students’ Perception of Using Translation (L1) for Developing Reading Skill

The role of using translation in teaching and learning English as a second language has always been a much-debated issue. Practitioners who opt for bilingual approach suggest that the use of L1 in learning English as L2 benefits students to learn more efficiently since it’s directly associated with their ambiance and circumstances, the learning ensues quickly and effortlessly, wherever the supporters of monolingual approach propose that the single use of L2 in classroom assists and motivates students thinking competencies and increases their proficiency level. The use of L1 has also played a significant role in developing the reading skill for EFL/ESL learners. This quantitative study discusses the extent to which the faculty members of the University of Asia Pacific (UAP) use translation in teaching language courses for 1st-year students of 6 different departments at the tertiary level of education, mainly in clarifying new vocabulary, discussing grammatical rules and explaining reading and listening passages to develop reading skill in L2. The study also assesses students’ viewpoints of using translation in developing reading skills in English. The study concludes that most instructors and students consider using translation as it is very operative in developing the reading skill of English as L2 and suggests a guideline for teachers and learners as well.