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DOI 10.2466/10.03.IT.3.4
© Numan M. Al-Musawi 2014

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Strategic use of translation in
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Language (EFL) among
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INNOVATIVE
TEACHING
2014, Volume 3, Article 4
ISSN 2165-2236
DOI 10.2466/10.03.IT.3.4
© Numan M. Al-Musawi 2014
Attribution-NonCommercial-
NoDerivs CC-BY-NC-ND
Received December 14, 2013
Accepted March 3, 2014
Published March 15, 2014
CITATION
Al-Musawi, N. M. (2014) Stra-
tegic use of translation in
learning English as a Foreign
Language (EFL) among
Bahrain university students.
Innovative Teaching, 3, 4.
Ammons Scientific
www.AmmonsScientific.com
Strategic use of translation in learning English as a
Foreign Language (EFL) among Bahrain
university students1
Numan M. Al-Musawi
University of Bahrain
Abstract
The present study explores the strategic use of translation in learning English
by undergraduate students in Bahrain. The Arabic Version of the Inventory for
Translation as a Learning Strategy (AITLS) was prepared by the author and was
administered randomly to 360 undergraduate students who majored in English
at the College of Arts of the University of Bahrain. The student response to the
AITLS items revealed two contradictory tendencies toward using translation as
a learning strategy: the tendency to demonstrate medium support for the use of
translation to learn English vocabulary, to read, to write, and check comprehen-
sion; and the tendency not to use translation to learn English idioms, phrases,
expressions, proverbs, and grammatical rules. The pedagogical implications of
the results for English language teaching are discussed.
Translation is an activity that aims to facilitate the communication process by interpret-
ing the information received in one language (L1) into another language (L2), and vice
versa. The basic function of translation is to transmit appropriate meaning of a word or
a sentence linguistically, semantically, and pragmatically. If this complex process is car-
ried out on a professional level, then, it is possible to say that translation has reached
its ultimate goal.
Since translation studies basically rely on a concept of meaning, different approach-
es in these studies refer to different types of meaning: while some researchers study
lexical patterns in source texts and their translations (Malahat, 2010), other scholars put
emphasis on how the text utterances function within their immediate contexts (Nord,
1997). Some researchers, however, examine the effect of the text as a whole on its audi-
ence or society (Venuti, 1998), while other researchers consider philosophy of language
as a means to look at meaning in translation (Malmkjær, 1993).
Foreign language learners frequently use translation to facilitate language learning
and to acquire the new language. Despite the fact that translation has played different
roles in various methods of language teaching accommodated for students from different
social backgrounds, most educators agree that translation is a powerful tool to help the
student more confidently understand foreign words and expressions and express ideas
in the target language. Nevertheless, some educators argue against using the native lan-
guage in the class, considering it as a serious barrier to effective language learning.
As a form of literary experimentation, translation can be seen as a form of writing
under constraint. This implies that the translator has to rewrite the original text, e.g., the
text in one's native language, in the target language, which is different from the original
language. Within this context, translation is not just a mechanical reproduction of the
text but also a creative process, in which the text is “re-localized,” so to speak, within
the boundaries and specific features of the target culture.
As a strategy for language learning, translation can be used as an effective medium
for developing the learners' communicative competence and for teaching properties and
types of meaning underlying semantic relationships, communicative language func-
tions, sentential information structure, and discourse values. Seen from this perspective,
translation is a cognitive activity that assists students in learning new phrases and ex-
pressions in the target language, and using them to communicate meaning to others, on
1
Address correspondence to Numan M. Al-MusawiI, Associate Professor of Educational Measurement and
Evaluation, Department of Psychology, College of Arts, P. O. Box 33132, Bahrain or e-mail (nalmosawi@
hot-mail.com).
 Translation in EFL / N. M. Al-Musawi
the one hand, and a problem-solving exercise, in which
the students develop their capabilities in data analysis
and processing, on the other hand. Within this frame-
work, O'Malley, Chamot, Stewner-Manzanares, Kup-
per, and Russo (1985) identified 11 cognitive strategies
to learn English, and found that translation constituted
11.3% of all strategy uses by beginner and intermediate
ESL learners, preceded only by well-known strategies,
such as repetition (19.6%), note-taking (18.7%), and im-
agery (12.5%). Moreover, Horwitz (1988) investigated
the students' views about translation and concluded
that 70% of students learning German and 75% of stu-
dents learning Spanish largely perceived learning a for-
eign language as a matter of learning to translate from
English. Drawing upon the role of mental translation
in reading texts in second language (L2), Kern (1994)
emphasized that language instructors and learners con-
sider translation as an undesirable supporting pillar for
learning the target language.
As translation contributes to the formation of a glob-
al identity and shared understandings between people
worldwide, translation from English into another lan-
guage, say Arabic, and vice versa, of valuable sources
of modern knowledge in all fields of inquiry is consid-
ered as a pressing task that needs to be seriously ad-
dressed. Based on this understanding, some Arab bi-
lingual educators (e.g., Al-Jarf, 2008) argue that Arabic
is facing a serious threat by the dominance of English
at higher education institutions in Arab world. Hence,
they suggest that a consortium of translation centers in
Arab countries be established and made available on
the internet, and that university students' “ability to
translate Arabic technical terms need to be developed”
(p. 207). Translation from English into Arabic, howev-
er, is an exhausting enterprise due to the “right-to-left
orientation, multiplicity of scripts, frequent omission of
vowels, and complex morphological structure” of the
Arabic language, not to mention that “the number of
different characters in use is close to 100” (Abu-Salem
& Chan, 2006, 22).
Despite the advantages of translation as a means of
communication using the foreign language (Cook, 2010),
it is, however, considered as a poor learning strategy
when it comes to the communicative language teaching
(CLT) approach, where the best way for the learner to
gain aptitude in the target language is to think, particu-
larly, in that language, an act that can increase proficien-
cy in the target language (Husain, 1995). Many studies,
however, showed that the extent to which the students
are fluent in the target language (L2) and are able to pre-
vent possible interference from the native language (L1)
is largely influenced by the strategy use of translation to
learn the target foreign language (Chamot, 1987; Omu-
ra, 1996).
Analysis of the available literature on the strategic
use of translation in English learning (Husain, 1995; Liao,
Innovative Teaching
2006; Bagheri & Fazel, 2011; Karimian & Talebinejad,
2013) allows identifying the following strategies:
(1) Enhancing English skills, particularly reading,
writing, listening, and speaking: Bagheri and Fa-
zel (2011) found that translation assists students
in acquiring writing, facilitates their comprehen-
sion, helps them develop and express ideas in an-
other language, and increases their motivation to
learn English. Students also tend to make more
gains in learning vocabulary, phrases, idioms,
and grammar. With this understanding in mind,
Karimian and Talebinejad (2013) noted that im-
plementing retrieval strategy that requires using
the keyword mnemonic to recall the meaning of
an English idiom or word would help students
memorize that word in their native language
and, consequently, would assist them in remem-
bering its meaning easily and quickly.
(2) Referring to the native language (L1) while learn-
ing a new language (L2), some educators (e.g.,
Weschler, 1997) argue against the common belief
that thinking in the mother tongue might deter
thinking directly in the target language, that ex-
cessive use of the first language will lead to the
emergence of odd combinations of the native and
second languages that students could not use
in daily life, and that the class time spent on the
first language would have been spared for learn-
ing the new language. Furthermore, Naiman,
Frohlich, Stern, and Todesco (1978) found that
this strategy was successfully exercised by Good
Language Learners (GLS) who “make effec-
tive cross-lingual comparisons at different stag-
es of language learning” (p. 14). Hence, learning
by linking the new word to its mother-language
equivalent is more effective than learning vocab-
ulary in context (Prince, 1996).
(3) Avoiding using the native language (L1): In an at-
tempt to elaborate the differences between high
and low achievers in using translation as a learn-
ing strategy, Wen and Johnson (1997) found that,
contrary to the beliefs of low achievers, the use of
L1, as perceived by high achievers, would neg-
atively affect their progress in English learning.
Hence, they concluded that the use of translation
to L1 should be prohibited in English classes,
which corroborated Husain's (1995) finding that
higher-level students had least benefited from
using L1 in learning the second language.
(4) Using learning and technology aids: Students'
use of dictionaries, notes, electronic translation
machines, etc., obviously plays a facilitative role
in learning English as a second language. Wang
(2005) argues that the integration of internet tech-
2 2014, Volume 3, Article 4
 Translation in EFL / N. M. Al-Musawi
nology into language classrooms is inevitable as
it “demonstrates the shift in educational para-
digms from a behavioral to a constructivist learn-
ing approach,” which suggests that “the best way
to learn a language is in interactive, authentic en-
vironments” (p. 39). Also, the Internet provides a
stage for the real world where students observe,
think, and question while learning the new lan-
guage.
(5) Interaction with other students: Through collab-
orative activities, students are able to learn the
new language easier and faster. In this sense, the
use of translation is considered as a social strat-
egy, where students are in direct contact with the
activities carried out in language classes, using
communication as a powerful tool to learn the
target language together in a friendly classroom
environment, in which they may collectively sup-
port each other in learning the target language
(Donato & McCormick, 1994).
Even though the strategic use of translation in Eng-
lish learning might shape the students' thinking and
thus affect the way learning occurs, as well as the qual-
ity of learning, only a few studies (Liao, 2006; Bagheri &
Fazel, 2011; Karimian & Talebinejad, 2013) have inves-
tigated the students' use of translation as a strategy in
learning English as a second language.
In his comprehensive study, Liao (2006) used a de-
veloped survey to explore the beliefs of 351 Taiwanese
junior college students about the role of translation in
English learning, to identify the strategies of translation
that students employ to learn English, to investigate the
relationships between students' beliefs and use of trans-
lation, and to assess the extent to which learners' back-
ground variables relate to their beliefs about translation
and its strategic use. To achieve these goals, survey ques-
tionnaires and qualitative interviews were used. The au-
thor found that students most frequently use transla-
tion to learn English vocabulary words, idioms, phrases,
and grammar, to read, write, and speak English, and to
check their reading and listening comprehension. The
findings suggested that “learners used a variety of strat-
egies involving translation, including cognitive, mem-
ory, compensation, social and affective strategies,” and
that “more proficient learners tended to report negative
beliefs about translation and less use of translation, com-
pared with their less-proficient peers” (p. 208).
Bagheri and Fazel (2011), in turn, explored the use
of translation by Iranian university students as a strat-
egy in writing. For this purpose, 40 randomly selected
students who were learning English as a foreign lan-
guage at Shiraz Azad University participated in the
study that employed two questionnaires and one inter-
view guide, originally developed by Liao (2006), hav-
ing adjusted them to the Iranian context. Results of the
Innovative Teaching
study showed that university students in Iran believed
that translation from Farsi “contributed substantially to
the acquisition of their writing skill,” and they demon-
strated medium to high use of translation as a learning
strategy to learn writing in English. Although these re-
sults are consistent with the findings of Liao (2006), the
authors identified some negative aspects of using trans-
lation to write in English. Among them is that “transla-
tion can be erroneous because of multiple meanings of
certain terms” and that “students are likely to produce
Persian-style English,” and may “depend heavily on
translation which may impede their progress in learn-
ing English writing” (p. 207).
Finally, in a related study, Karimian and Talebine-
jad (2013) recently investigated Iranian English learn-
ers' use of translation as a strategy to learn English so as
to explore how they make use of their mother tongue as
a learning strategy. Participants were 170 students tak-
ing English courses in language schools. Qualitative in-
terviews with students were used along with the (ITLS)
questionnaire, firstly developed by Liao (2006). The
findings of the study indicated that Iranian students use
translation for memorizing and retrieving English, lan-
guage comprehension, self-assessment, and as a social
strategy to interact with other people in English. In ad-
dition, these strategies are sometimes performed to “re-
move the learners' class anxieties and worries and make
them fell more self-confident and relaxed” (p. 609). As
to the use of the mother-tongue language to learn Eng-
lish, the authors found that referring to Persian-English
dictionary helped the students understand the teacher
and allowed them to ask questions in EFL classes and
increased their sense of security to learn what they did
not know in English.
Given that the results of previous studies do not
lend support to the findings of Kobayashi and Rinnert's
(1992) study that university students prefer direct com-
position in English to translation, and to the results of
Cohen and Brooks-Carson's (2001) study that direct
writing in the target language may be more effective in
language learning than writing in the first language and
then translating into the target language, and also do
not conform with the communicative method of learn-
ing English that rejects the use of the learners' first lan-
guage in English classes (Kavaliauskienë & Kamin-
skienë, 2007), the present study seeks to explore the
strategic use of translation to learn English as a Foreign
Language (EFL) as perceived by University students in
Bahrain.
Research Question 1. What strategies involving trans-
lation do University students in Bahrain use to
learn English in an EFL classroom?
Research Question 2. To what extent do learners'
background variables relate to their strategic use
of translation to learn English in an EFL context?
3 2014, Volume 3, Article 4
 Translation in EFL / N. M. Al-Musawi

TABLE 1
Sample Frequencies and Percentages According to Independent Variables
Variable Group n %
Gender Male 112 31.11
Female 248 68.89
Year of Study Second Year 56 15.56
Third Year 78 21.67
Fourth Year 137 38.06
Fifth Year 89 24.71
Age Range Less than 19 Years 39 10.83
19–22 Years 254 70.56
More than 22 Years 67 18.61
English Proficiency Lower Intermediate 77 21.39
Intermediate 96 26.67
Upper Intermediate 187 51.94
Average GPA in English Courses Less than 2.67 93 25.83
2.67–3.67 179 49.72
More than 3.67 88 24.45

Method Inventory for Translation as a Learning Strategy

Participants
A total sample of 360 (112 men, 248 women) undergrad-
uate students of Bahraini ethnicity enrolled at the Col-
lege of Arts of the Bahrain University took part in this
study. Participants were randomly selected from the
English-major students who took literature and transla-
tion as a minor specialization. The English proficiency
among participants was estimated to be upper interme-
diate, based on their scores in essay writing, the accu-
mulated mean GPA in the English courses, and teachers'
opinions of students. Although the student can indi-
vidually choose the subject of essay, a good essay paper
should contain a thesis statement that encapsulates the
main argument and the supporting evidence of the
ideas that support the statement. Also, the basic rules of
format and grammar ought to be observed, because sen-
tence fragments, misspellings, and improper punctua-
tion denote a carelessly written paper. The background
characteristics of the sample are summarized in Table 1.
Measures
The Inventory for Translation as a Learning Strategy (ITLS).—
The Inventory for Translation as a Learning Strategy
(ITLS) consists of 28 items measuring how frequently
students use different translation strategies to learn Eng-
lish. On a 5-point Likert scale, the participant rates each
statement as follows: 1: Never, 2: Seldom, 3: Sometimes,
4: Often, and 5: Always. Two items, 27 and 28, were word-
ed in a reverse manner to control for the possible bias in
the participant's response. The higher the total score on
the measure, the more frequently participant uses trans-
lation as a strategy to learn English (Liao, 2002).
The Arabic Version of the Inventory for Translation as
a Learning Strategy (AITLS).—The Arabic version of the
(AITLS) was developed and used in this study. The
original 28-item Inventory for Translation as a Learn-
ing Strategy (ITLS), which had been developed by Liao
(2002) for the Chinese students, was translated into Ar-
abic by the author with written permission from Dr. Po-
sen Liao.2 A back-translation from Arabic into English
was performed by a bilingual professor from the De-
partment of Foreign Studies at Bahrain University who
was blind to the purpose of the study. As meaningful
differences were not found between the original Eng-
lish version and the back-translated English version, ac-
ceptable equivalence between them was achieved using
the methodology of translation of research instruments
suggested by Brislin (1986). The ITLS original state-
ments were rephrased in a way that kept their meaning
intact in the Arabic version and maintained the clarity
of each item for the reader. Since an EFL student might
use an English-Arabic electronic device for translation
and might stop using translation in English classroom,
two items assessing these aspects were included to the
original ITLS; thus making the aggregate number of
AITLS items equal to 30.
Content validity was used to assess the extent to
which items represent the construct being measured
(Raykov & Marcoulides, 2011). Accordingly, the valid-
ity of the AITLS was assessed by four university teach-
ers who responded to the scale in terms of appropri-
ateness of items and wording of statements. Items that
received less than 80% consensus were eliminated. A
correlation was run between all individual items and
the total score, all of which were significant at .05 levels.
To estimate test reliability, the AITLS was piloted on 50
2
To view Dr. Liao's permission for translation, please refer to: https://
dub106.mail.live.com/mail/#n=239190746&fid=1&mid=8c60febf-
2529-11e3-85c1-002264c1c9fa&fv=1.

Innovative Teaching 4 2014, Volume 3, Article 4

 Translation in EFL / N. M. Al-Musawi
(22 men, 28 women) university students. Cronbach's α
was .90, which demonstrates the high internal consis-
tency of the measure.
To evaluate the construct validity of the AITLS, prin-
cipal component analysis (PCA) with oblimin rotation
was conducted using the 30 items in the whole sample.
The results showed that KMO for the sample was 0.71,
an adequate value for good factor analysis indicating
that the sample is acceptable and that items were suitable
for each component. Bartlett's test of sphericity was sig-
nificant (p < .001), which means that the items within the
components of the scale are sufficiently correlated. Both
indexes suggested the suitability of the data in perform-
ing PCA (Tabachnick & Fidel, 2007). The results of factor
analysis showed that the same learning strategies were
extracted from the analysis, confirming the five com-
ponents reported by Liao (2006). The extracted sums of
squared loadings for the 30 items explained 39.4% of the
total variance. Also, the correlations of all items were sig-
nificantly and positively correlated with the total score
of their own subscales, with a range between .42 and .71.
Cronbach's α for the 30 items of the AITLS was .92 for the
whole sample, ranging from .71 to .89 for the subscales.
In addition to the questionnaires, background infor-
mation about the participants, namely their gender, age,
year of study, Grade Point Average (GPA) in English
courses, and English proficiency, was gathered (Table 2).
Procedure
Participants individually completed the 30-item AITLS
during a typical classroom lecture at the university. Each
student was asked to read each statement first, and then
express their opinion about it by indicating the extent
to which they agreed or disagreed with that statement.
Each item was answered on a 5-point Likert-type scale
that ranged from 1: Never to 5: Always. A mean higher
than 3 (a total score > 90) indicated a high level while a
mean less than 2.5 (a total score < 75) showed a low level
for the use of translation as a learning strategy.
All respondents were reassured that the informa-
tion derived from the current study would be kept con-
fidential. Participation was voluntary and the question-
naires were filled out anonymously in the classroom.
The questionnaires were designed to take approximate-
ly 15 min. to complete. Respondents were asked to hand
the filled questionnaires to the instructor.
Analysis
In order to describe the results of the study, descriptive
statistics were calculated. In addition, correlation coef-
ficients were used to assess the validity of the AITLS,
while Cronbach's α was used to determine the mea-
sure's reliability. In addition, the following criteria were
used to describe use of translation as a strategy: total
mean score M > 3, High level; 2.5 < M < 3, Medium level;
and M < 2.5, Low level of use.
Innovative Teaching
Results
Strategies Involving Translation Used by University
Students to Learn English
To answer Research Question 1, means, standard devia-
tions, and item-total correlation coefficients for items of
the AITLS, i.e., for the translated items into Arabic, were
calculated and displayed in Table 1, given that the AITLS
is scored additively to generate a total composite score.
A mean score of the 30-item AITLS for the sample
(n = 360) was 85.50 (SD = 16.27) and indicated that par-
ticipants showed a medium level for the use of transla-
tion as a learning strategy (M = 2.85). The 15 most fre-
quently used strategies (Items 30, 27, 28, 17, 19, 29, 9, 26,
21, 13, 1, 20, 18, 23, and 4) out of the 30 items received
high means (M > 3), while eight items (14, 15, 22, 8, 24,
6, 12, and 16) were the least used strategies (M < 2.5). All
item-total correlation coefficients values are significant
(p < .05) and demonstrated content homogeneity of the
AITLS and high reliability (Table 1).
The most frequent strategies that Arab students use
in learning English are:
(1) Enhancing English skills (Items 1, 4, 9, 13, 23, 26,
and 30): students use translation to learn English
vocabulary words, phrases, idioms, and grammar,
to read, and to write. They also use translation to
clarify differences and similarities between Eng-
lish and their mother-tongue language. Also, stu-
dents tend to use mental translation to recall the
meaning of English words, to understand Eng-
lish texts, and to verify whether they correctly
comprehend the articles and reading materials in
English in an EFL context.
(2) Using learning and technology aids (Items 17-19,
29): In order to help themselves learn English as
a foreign language and to grasp the meaning of
English words, Arab learners resort to electron-
ic machines, English-Arabic and Arabic-English
dictionaries.
(3) Avoiding using Arabic in an English classroom
(Items 27, 28): When speaking English, Arab stu-
dents try not to think first in Arabic as their na-
tive language. Similarly, when reading English,
they do not think first of Arabic equivalents of
English words.
The least frequent strategies that Arab students use
in learning English are:
(1) Referring to Arabic language (Items 6, 8, 12, 14-
16, 24): In order to master reading, listening, writ-
ing, and speaking English, Arab students some-
times refer to their mother-tongue language, and
try to link the English words to their equivalents
in Arabic.
5 2014, Volume 3, Article 4
 Translation in EFL / N. M. Al-Musawi

TABLE 2
Means, Standard Deviations, and Item-total Correlations For the Arabic Version of the Inventory
For Translation as a Learning Strategy (AITLS)
Item Statement M SD r
1.
(When I read a text in English language, I first mentally translate it into Arabic language to grasp its
meaning.) 3.31 1.41 .69
2.
(I read the available translations in Arabic to understand the textbook articles written in English.) 2.81 1.20 .56
3.

(When I finish reading articles in English, I use their available translation into Arabic to make sure that I
understood them correctly.) 2.81 1.27 .54
4.
(To write in English, I first try to fully understand the topic in Arabic as my native language.) 3.12 1.51 .65
5.
(Writing in English begins by thinking first in Arabic followed by translating my ideas into English.) 2.58 1.27 .50
6.
(I prepare Arabic outlines to write my compositions in English.) 2.12 0.99 .37
7.
(I listen to English words and phrases by translating them into Arabic, which helps myself understand their
meanings.) 2.81 1.36 .60
8.
(I read the texts translated into Arabic before I start listening to instructional tapes or compact disks in English.) 2.04 0.92 0.55
9.

(When watching movies or television programs in English, I read the Arabic subtitles to make sure that I
correctly understand them.) 3.54 1.24 0.49
10.

(I listen to or read news in the first place in Arabic because it improves my understanding of radio or TV news
in English.) 2.62 1.13 0.56
11.
(When I speak English, I first mentally construct what I want to say in Arabic and then translate it into
English.) 2.54 1.14 0.67
12.
(When I have a conversation in English, I translate the words which I forget into Arabic to keep the conversation
going.) 2.46 1.07 0.38
13.
(I store the meaning of new English vocabulary words in my memory by recalling their translations in Arabic.) 3.42 1.24 0.51
14.
(I learn English grammar by explaining the English grammar rules from English into Arabic.) 1.46 0.58 0.41
15.

(I translate grammatical terms (tenses, etc.) from English into Arabic to help myself define the functions of
grammatical parts of English phrases.) 1.81 0.94 0.46
16.
(I read the translations of idioms and phrases in Arabic to help myself learn them in English.) 2.46 1.36 0.68
17.
(When I learn English, I refer to English-Arabic dictionaries.) 3.69 1.32 0.63
18.
(When I learn English, I use Arabic-English dictionaries.) 3.15 1.41 0.48
19.
(I use an online translation of English words and phrases to help myself learn them.) 3.62 1.30 0.47
(continued on next page)
Note *The scores of the items 27 and 28 were reversed.

Innovative Teaching 6 2014, Volume 3, Article 4

 Translation in EFL / N. M. Al-Musawi

TABLE 2 (CONT’D)
Means, Standard Deviations, and Item-total Correlations For the Arabic Version of the Inventory
For Translation as a Learning Strategy (AITLS)
Item Statement M SD r
20.
(I ask other people to translate into Arabic something I fail to grasp in English to help myself understand it
correctly.) 3.15 1.19 0.56
21.
(I ask questions to find out how an Arabic expression, proverb or idiom can be correctly translated into English.) 2.46 1.17 0.60
22.
(When the English teacher chooses articles for reading, I work with my colleagues in the class to translate them
into Arabic.) 2.00 0.69 0.52
23.

(I keep translating my thoughts in mind from Arabic to English in different life situations to help improve my
English.) 3.12 1.24 0.60
24.
(I take notes in Arabic in my English class.) 2.04 0.96 0.35
25.
(I write Arabic translations of words in my English textbooks.) 2.50 1.21 0.32
26.
(I use translation to figure out the similarities and differences between Arabic as native language and English as
a foreign language.) 3.46 1.24 0.69
27.
(When I read English, I try to understand the meaning of what I read without translating it into Arabic.) 3.88 1.07 0.39
28.
(When I speak English, I think of I want to say in English without thinking first in Arabic.) 3.77 1.21 0.36
29.
(If I fail to understand an English text or topic, I use an online translation into Arabic to help myself understand
its meaning.) 3.58 1.14 0.65
30.

(My English improves as my learning goes on at the university, but I still use translation in my English class.) 3.96 1.43 0.61
Total Score 85.50 16.27 -
Note *The scores of the items 27 and 28 were reversed.

(2) Interaction with other students (Items 21, 22): Arab TABLE 3
students work together collaboratively with the aim Gender Differences on Strategic Use of Translation
of learning English as a foreign language. They ask Strategies to Learn English
questions to each other and seek to find the meaning Source Group N M SD df t p
of idioms and expressions in a collective way. Gender Males 112 94.63 0.45 359 − 3.24 .001
Females 248 94.76 0.38
Effect of Background Variables on the Use of
Translation Strategies
To address Research Question 2, t test and one-way achievement in English courses, using fewer strategies
analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to calculate (Table 4).
the differences in average total mean that are attribut-
ed to the background variables as sources of variance. Discussion
Results are presented in Tables 3 and 4. Arab students most frequently used translation to learn
As Table 3 shows, statistically significant differenc- English vocabulary words, to read, and to write. More-
es were found in students' use of strategies involving over, they used several resources, such as dictionaries,
translation that are attributed to gender. Also, signifi- electronic and online devices, to check reading and lis-
cant differences were found in students' use of strate- tening comprehension. In various situations, they prac-
gies in learning English as a foreign language, that are ticed mental translation for their thoughts and to ask
attributed to other variables, with older students, stu- questions that helped them better understand English
dents less proficient in English, and students with lower words and phrases in their mother language. Through

Innovative Teaching 7 2014, Volume 3, Article 4

 Translation in EFL / N. M. Al-Musawi

TABLE 4
Results of One-way ANOVA For the Effect of Background Variables on Strategic Use of
Translation Strategies to Learn English in an EFL Context
Variable Source SS df MS F p
Year Between Groups 70.04 55 1.27 1.42 .04*
Within Groups 292.62 304 0.96
Total 362.66 359
Age Between Groups 24.09 55 0.44 1.48 .04*
Within Groups 79.73 304 0.26
Total 103.82 359
English Proficiency Between Groups 39.33 55 0.72 1.52 .01*
Within Groups 191.06 304 0.63
Total 230.39 359
Average GPA in English Between Groups 27.75 55 0.51 1.67 .004†
Within Groups 153.18 304 0.50
Total 180.93 359 1.27
*p < .05. † p < .01.

translation, they attempted to clarify any differences and
similarities between Arabic and English. Also, when read-
ing and speaking English, they attempted grasp the
meaning of what they read without first thinking of the
Arabic equivalent. These findings partially confirmed
the results of Liao (2006), Bagheri and Fazel (2011), and
Karimian and Talebinejad (2013) studies that considered
translation as an effective strategy to improve reading
skills in English.
The strategies that Arab students used least were
not using translation as a strategy to learn English idi-
oms and phrases or to learn grammar through Arabic
explanations of English grammar rules. These findings
are somewhat inconsistent with Liao (2006), in which
these strategies were found to be frequently used by
Taiwanese college students to learn English.
Using translation in EFL classes at Bahrain Univer-
sity depends on the year of study of the student. There
is no harm in using translation as a teaching strategy
for learning English in an EFL context. Students in ear-
ly stages of learning the language are certainly exposed
to some explanation in their mother tongue especially
when explaining difficult grammar rules that the stu-
dents cannot grasp in English. Thus bilingual method
or approach to teaching English has always been wel-
comed only when a need arises. In upper levels, how-
ever, students are expected to understand explanations
in English. They should not be encouraged to rely on
translation as this will eventually become a habit and
they will have less interest in learning the language in
its natural native context. At the University level, the
whole strategy becomes rather subtle. If a tutor has a
rather weak class whose overall level in English lan-
guage is very poor, he or she may find himself shift-
ing to the translation approach when a need comes up.
English major students, and students who are learning
all their courses through the medium of English, are
exposed in their courses only to English. They are not
encouraged by teachers to use Arabic as this certainly
conflicts with the college's objectives of learning their
degree program.
To sum up, the responses of Bahrain University stu-
dents to the AITLS items clearly reveal two contradicto-
ry tendencies toward the use of translation as a learning
strategy: the tendency to demonstrate medium sup-
port for the use of translation to learn English vocabu-
lary words, to read, to write, and to check reading and
listening comprehension; and the tendency not to use
translation into Arabic as mother-tongue language to
learn English idioms, phrases, expressions, proverbs,
and grammar, to listen to instructional tapes or CDs,
and to thus keep the conversation in English going. This
is clearly evident among students of higher language
proficiency in English.
A possible explanation for the observed discrepan-
cy of thoughts and ideas between undergraduate Arab
students is the continuously widening gap between the
needs of the students to demonstrate to others the mas-
tery of English on the one hand, and the underdevel-
oped “linguistic infrastructure” that can assist them in
performing these tasks, i.e., without frequently resort-
ing to their native language as the basic tool of commu-
nication, on the other hand.
Given that fourth- and fifth-year students consti-
tute the vast majority of the study sample, the findings
imply a limited ability to read, write, and speak Eng-
lish without translation, although many English teach-
ers believe that it is necessary for students to use trans-
lation only at the initial stages of learning. A possible
explanation for this phenomenon is the limited scope
of authentic situations in which the student is involved
during University study and thus is able to enhance his

Innovative Teaching 8 2014, Volume 3, Article 4

 Translation in EFL / N. M. Al-Musawi
basic skills in English as a foreign language (Al-Musawi
& Al-Ansari, 1999).
The absence of a real English environment in which
the Arab student can and should actively communicate
with others at a college level without the use of trans-
lation is likely to hinder their ability to freely and fre-
quently use English expressions and proverbs without
looking up their meanings in dictionaries as well as to
learn the different forms and dialects used by English-
speaking people from different parts of the world.
When it comes to the use of translation as a strategy
to learn a foreign language, the University students em-
ployed a wide variety of learning strategies that involved
translation to help them strengthen their English skills
and ability to solve language problems. As a result, trans-
lation can help students verify whether their compre-
hension of the foreign language proverbs, expressions,
and idioms is correct, develop ideas in their mother lan-
guage, and foster their progress in learning English.
Since students have some conflicting beliefs about
the use of translation, teachers may want to “help stu-
dents raise their level of conscious awareness about the
advantages and disadvantages of translating” (Liao,
2006, 210). With this idea in mind, teachers should mo-
tivate students to implement translation as an effective
strategy for language learning, but to use it with cau-
tion, as a heavy dependence on translation may serious-
ly impede the student's progress in learning English.
Given the importance of students' beliefs and opin-
ions about vital aspects of teaching and learning strat-
egies (Al-Musawi, 2003), university teachers should
be more attentive to student learning strategies for the
use of translation in language learning, because the use
of translation prevailed among student English learn-
ing in Bahrain, especially in the early years of language
teaching. Teachers may not need to prohibit student use
of translation altogether and should be more aware of
the instances when translation can be beneficial for stu-
dents as they develop their English language skills and
competencies.
With respect to the effect of background variables on
the strategic use of translation in learning English in an
EFL context, this study found statistically significant re-
lationships between gender, year of study, age, level of
English proficiency, and average GPA in English cours-
es, on the one hand, and the frequency of use of trans-
lation strategies to learn English, on the other hand.
These findings confirm the results of Husain (1995) and
Chia and Chia (2001) studies that less proficient English
learners more frequently employed or benefited from
translation strategies than their counterparts who were
more proficient learners of English, but do not corrobo-
rate the results of Liao (2006) study that found no sig-
nificant relationship between these variables.
It appears that girls use more strategies involv-
ing translation to learn English in an EFL environment
Innovative Teaching
than boys. This can be partially explained by the fact that
compared to boys, girls are more dedicated to learning
at school and university alike. They are more persistent,
more serious, and have more time to spend in learning a
foreign language than boys do, given the social and cul-
tural considerations that prevail in an Arab society (Fox,
Mourtada-Sabbah, & Al-Mutawa, 2006). While older and
more proficient students tend to avoid using mental trans-
lation from Arabic and think directly in English as a tar-
get language, younger and less proficient learners are
keen to translate word-for-word or to write Arabic phras-
es between the lines of English texts to learn English more
quickly, and to reduce their feelings of anxiety stemmed
from learning a foreign language.
As the mother tongue acts as the necessary scaffold-
ing to be gradually removed over time, and as long as
it does not interfere with conveying the intended mean-
ing, referring to Arabic while learning English in an EFL
context should be considered acceptable by teachers
and foreign language educators. This is especially true
for low-achieving students, who need be constantly
and constructively motivated to learn a new language
in a climate void of worry and expectation of failure.
Given the structural and cultural hindrances of trans-
lation form English into Arabic, teachers are encouraged
to use the autonomous learning approach (Darwish,
2011) that helps the low-achieving student master Eng-
lish language skills through independent learning and
self-monitoring, while referring to peers and classroom
teachers only for error elimination.
Conclusion and Limitations
Arab students most frequently use strategies involving
translation to learn English vocabulary words, to read,
and to write. Moreover, they used several resources, such
as online devices, to check reading and listening com-
prehension. In various situations, they practice mental
translation for their thoughts and to ask questions that
helped them better understand English words in their
mother language. It appears that girls use more strate-
gies to learn English in an EFL environment than boys.
While older and more proficient students tend to avoid
using mental translation from Arabic and think directly
in English as a target language, younger and less profi-
cient learners are keen to translate word for word or to
write Arabic phrases between the lines of English texts to
learn English more quickly, and to reduce their feelings
of anxiety stemmed from learning a foreign language.
There are some limitations of using questionnaire
as a tool for collecting students' opinions on issues of
teaching and learning as respondents tend to change or
hide their real attitudes to be sociably acceptable. An-
other limitation derived from finding the relationships
between different variables. These relationships, al-
though statistically significant, are not casual, because
some interfering factors that were not studied or taken
9 2014, Volume 3, Article 4
 Translation in EFL / N. M. Al-Musawi
into consideration are likely to be the real reason behind
them. Finally, limitation is related to the possibility of
generalization of the findings of study, as this can be
limited only to populations with similar culture.
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