Exploring when, why and how EFL learners use translation when learning English by using Think Aloud protocol

The use of translation in language teaching has had many ups and down during the history of EFL. Opponents believed that translation should not be used in language classrooms, as they believed that translation can have debilitative effects on the process of language learning. On the other hand, supporters maintained that translation is an effective tool that can facilitate EFL learning. For example, Cook [1] and Laviosa [2] believed that the ‘judicious use’ of translation can have pedagogical benefits for the learners. Considering the paucity of empirical studies on the use of translation in language classrooms, this study explores when, why and how EFL learners use translation. In other words, the study tries to explore EFL learners’ use of translation while learning EFL, despite the monolingual teaching approach of many private language institutes. The data were collected through think aloud protocol during 15 sessions of instruction with 11 EFL students who were at the same level of language proficiency. The findings showed that in spite of the fact that translation is forbidden in many language classes, it is widely used as a technique by the students for checking the meaning of the new words, reducing ambiguity, saving time, etc

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translation ، think aloud protocol ، when ، why ، how