TASK 2. ESSAY

By Magda Hernández Celis

POSTULATE A

Atkinson (1987) suggests that activities that involve some translation promote guessing strategies amongst students and helps reduce the word-for- word translation that often occurs and which results in inappropriate L2 use.

Many researchers have tried to establish the importance of using the mother tongue in teaching a language but unfortunately don't exist a formal investigation to support this thesis, which is why many English teachers do not use the translation in the communication with their students, and there are others who feel guilty of acting against the principles of good teaching when they use the mother tongue with their students in order to facilitate the learning.

One of the proponents of this postulate is Atkinson, who warns that the use of the mother tongue in the classroom can be an important tool in acquiring a second language. The translation activities can be incorporated into a lesson if it adapts to the different goals and objectives of the students, in this way the translation accelerates up the process of learning.

The Atkinson's postulate suggest that activities involving some translation promote guessing strategies among students and help reduce word-for-word translation that results in inappropriate L2 use because the translation allows students to acquire vocabulary, important in the goal of learn a new language.

      The translation has been important for me because I learn more vocabulary, I believe that it is necessary to implement in the classroom translation exercises for specific purposes because in this way the students increase reading comprehension, develop the necessary skills and accelerate the learning of a second language.