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ABSTRACT

Today, in the context of globalization and integration around the world, the role
of translators is increasingly enhanced, especially in economic texts. Ony knowing a
English does not mean you can become a good translator. We must be fluent to use
vocabulary and grammar in both mother language and foreign languages, the
knowledge of diplomacy and the difference between the two cultures. So, we are able
to convey content from the source language to the target language completely.
Realizing the importance of translators, TMU has officially introduced
Translation to the final-year English major students. However, the students all
encounter certain problems related to the English-Vietnamese language and culture.
Seeing their negative impact on these students' academic performance, this small study
was conducted to identify some common diffculties in the process of translating from
English to Vietnamese in the field of economic. The purpose of the research is to find
reasons of these common difficulties and provide a number of methods to help
students learn well in translation, having their own experiences in the future.
Therefore, in the hope of improving students’ ability to translate with the
enthusiastic help of participants, I hope this research will be a neccessary tool for
everyone.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

During the time of my graduation paper, I really appreciate the great support and
guidance from teachers, parents and friends.
First and foremost, I would like to send my sincere thanks to all the teachers
teachers of the Thuongmai University, especially the teachers in the English faculty
who created the conditions for me to study and develop many skills in a very dynamic
environment.
Next, with the deepest and most sincere affection, allowing me to express my
gratitude to my direct instructor, Mrs. Phan Tu Lan who spend much time on guiding,
editing, and giving necessary advice so that I can complete this graduation paper.
Besides, I would like to thank all final-year students of English faculty at
Thuongmai University. They enthusiastically shared useful documents to each other.
Last but not least, I want to express my gratitude to my family.They took care of
me and motivated me to complete my graduation report more easily.
Finally, during the process of writing graduation paper, I can not avoid mistakes
because I am lacking in knowledge and skill. I am looking forward to receiving your
valuable comments and suggestions for graduation paper.
I wish you good health, happiness, and success in your life.
Ha Noi, Friday, March 6th, 2021

Sincerely thanks!
Student
Tran Thi Mai Lan

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT..................................................................................................................i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS........................................................................................ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS...........................................................................................iii
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS.....................................................................................v
LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES..........................................................................vi
CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY..........................................................1
1.1 Rationale................................................................................................................. 1
1.2 Previous studies......................................................................................................1
1.2.1 In the world.........................................................................................................2
1.2.2 In Vietnam...........................................................................................................2
1.3 Aims of the study...................................................................................................3
1.4 Research subjects...................................................................................................4
1.5 Scope of the study..................................................................................................4
1.6 Research methodology...........................................................................................4
1.7 Organization of the study......................................................................................4
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW...................................................................6
2.1 Translation theory.................................................................................................6
2.1.1 Definition of translation.....................................................................................6
2.1.2 Significance of translation..................................................................................7
2.1.3 Types of translation............................................................................................8
2.1.4 Criteria for a good translation version............................................................11
2.1.5 Translation strategies and methods.................................................................12
2.1.6. Translation strategies......................................................................................14
2.2 Common difficulties in translation from English to Vietnamese.....................15
2.2.1 Difficulty in translating the major word.........................................................15
2.2.2 Difficulty in translating the abbreviation........................................................15
2.2.3 Differences in language structure....................................................................15
2.2.4 Misunderstanding about culture......................................................................16
2.2.5 Words and choices of word meaning...............................................................16

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CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY AND RESEARCH FINDINDS.......................17
3.1. Methodology........................................................................................................17
3.1.1 Research questions............................................................................................17
3.1.2 Participants.......................................................................................................17
3.1.3 Data collection method.....................................................................................17
3.1.4 Methods of data analysis..................................................................................19
3.2. The results of the study.......................................................................................19
3.2.1 The survey questionnaire’s results:.................................................................19
3.2.2 Discussion of the findings.................................................................................28
CHAPTER 4: RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS...........................31
4.1 Limitations of the study.......................................................................................31
4.2 Suggestions...........................................................................................................31
4.2.1 Suggestions for students...................................................................................31
4.2.2 Suggestions for teachers and teaching methods of Thuongmai University.. 33
4.2.3 Suggestions for further studies........................................................................34
CONCLUSION..........................................................................................................35
REFFERENCES........................................................................................................36

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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

NO Abbreviation Meaning
i TMU Thuongmai University
ii SL Source Language
iii TL Target Language

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LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES

Chart 3.1: The students’ opinions about learning translation.......................................19


Chart 3.2. The reasons why students learn translation.................................................20
Chart 3.3 The amount of time students spend on studying translation (as self-study). 21
Chart 3.4 Difficulties students have to face when translating from English to
Vietnamese..................................................................................................................21
Chart 3.5 Reasons that make you have difficulties in translation from English to
Vietnamese..................................................................................................................22
Chart 3.6 Solutions to improve translation from English to Vietnamese of students...23
Chart 3.7 Solutions for students to improve their vocabulary, grammar and their
knowledge about economy..........................................................................................24
Chart 3.8 Solutions students often do after they finish their translation.......................25
Chart 3.9 The factor students was influenced during their translation between their
sense of learning and teaching methods of their teachers.............................................26
Chart 3.10 Expection of students about what the teachers need improve during their
translation lesson.........................................................................................................27

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CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY

1.1 Rationale
English is said to be the first global language and it is the most widely used
language in the world in international trade, diplomacy, mass entertainment,
international telecommunications,.. Nearly 60 countries use English as their primary
language, besides their mother tongue and nearly 100 countries use English as their
second language. There are also over 1,130 million native speakers. However, every
country has its own language and has some differences in habits, cultures, traditions, ..
These countries that do not use English, must know two languages at the same time to
communicate with international friends. English translation is born to help people who
have difficulty learning or acquiring a second language.
Nowaday, business, trade and commerce have become international. It is an
undeniable fact that English is the only common language to communicate with the
present growing commerce and trade between companies from all over the world as
well as Vietnam. Therefore, the translation of economic and commercial documents
from English to Vietnamese plays an important role.
Recognizing the importance of translation, TMU has introduced Translation into
the subject. The teachers teach the students how to translate English into Vietnamese
and how to translate Vietnamese into English. However, most students often find that
they have a lot of difficulties during learning process. In my research, I will investigate
the common difficulties in learing translation encountered by the final-year English
major students at TMU and suggest some solutions to this problem. Therefore, I would
like to conduct the study entitled “Common difficulties in translation from English to
Vietnamese encountered by the fourth-year students of English faculty in
Thuongmai University”. I hope this study will help them find out their difficulties and
provide them some solutions to learn translation more easily.
1.2 Previous studies
Research topics on issues “the difficulties of learners in English translation” have
been studied by many different researchers around the world in general and in
Vietnam in particular.

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1.2.1 In the world
Through surveying the research on translation issues, I see that there have been
many documents on this issue.
A article named ‘Students’ difficulties in translating english text by
JOALL( Journal of Applied Linguistics and Literature). The objectives of this research
were to identify types of error in translation, students’ difficulties in translating text,
and factors which influence students’ error in translating in English department of
State Institute for Islamic Studies Bengkulu. This research used descriptive
quantitative method. The results of this research showed that students’ difficulties in
translating English text, were elliptical errors (67.29%), idioms (87.5%), and textual
meaning (73.54). The difficulties of students in translating were lack of vocabulary
(87,50%), difficult translating Islamic texts (75,00%), literary works (66,66%), and
grammatical issues (62,50%). Then, the factors affected students’ error in translation
were ignorance of ellipsis; unable to identify ellipsis, idiom, and lexical meaning; lack
of strategy in translating ellipsis, idiom, and lexical meaning; translating words per
word; most students lack a strong background on the content of the text. It was
concluded that the students got three types of error in transalation, four points
difficulties in translation, and six factors which influence the students’ error in
translation.
Ibrahim (2017) has conducted research about an investigation of difficulties
of translation which faced by Sudanese students in Dongola University. His research
aims were to find out kind of difficulties in translation, introducing pupils‟
difficulties in detail, and how to overcome the problems. The data were taken
from Dongola University consisted of 30 students. Questionnaire was used to
take the data of the study. He reported that Sudanese University students in
College of Education in the second semester find students‟ difficulties in
translating because of grammatical categories, linguistic level, lexical items, and
some differences between source language with the target language.
1.2.2 In Vietnam
A study named “Problems in Translation Facing Vietnamese EFL College
Learners” written by Do Na Chi. The paper investigates how Vietnamese EFL

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college learners undertake translation tasks and the effectiveness of those translated
versions in comparison with the Vietnamese documents. Examining 10 translated texts
of 10 participants, the findings reveal a high volume of inaccurate translated items
caused by word-by-word translation technique and the influence of Vietnamese
language. Advices are provided to help educators and learners modify the program and
teaching methods.
A study named “Difficulties and expectations in learning written translation at
Dong Thap University” by Nguyen Thi Hong Tham and Bui Thi Huyen Tram. This
study was conducted to find out the students‟ difficulties as well as their expectations
when they begin to learn written translation in order to make suggestions that can
partly help them overcome these obstacles in studying this course. Besides that, the
study also aims at making some suggestions as a useful reference helping adjust
learning and teaching method to get a better result in learning and teaching process.
The research methods used in this study are the questionnaire- a list of questions to
find out the difficulties that students usually face and the interview questions which
used to meeting students‟ expectations in learning the subject.
A study named “ “Difficulties in Learning the Translation of Students majoring
in International Relations” by Hien Le. In the process of conducting the research, the
writer has used both qualitative and quantitative methods.The purpose of the research
is to find out and explain these difficulties, and at the same time offer a number of
methods to help. students can study Translation well, have their own experience in the
future. The researcher has limited his research subjects to the 2-class students TA39A
and TA39B, Department of English, Diplomatic Academy.
Above are some studies in the world and in Vietnam. All studies find out what
common problems students face and how to overcome it. The studies will help readers
have a more specific view of difficulties about learning translation from English to
Vietnamese and gain experience for themselves.
1.3 Aims of the study
This study has three main purposes as follows:
- To overview of the basics of translation

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- To point out the common difficulties faced by English faculty students, and
explain the reasons for these difficulties.
- To propose a number of options to help students overcome the above problems.
1.4 Research subjects
The subjects of this study are the fouth-year students of English Faculty at TMU.
The study is concentrated on their common difficulties in translation from English to
Vietnamese with the participation of 50 seniors who are learning Business English.
1.5 Scope of the study
The idea of this study comes from the writer’s observations and experiences after
2 semesters of learning translation in the English Faculty. Because of limiting about
time, the study only focuses on exploiting the most basic issues in translation from
English to Vietnamese of the final-year English major students at TMU.
1.6 Research methodology
In the process of conducting research, the writer used both qualitative and
quantitative methods. Methods of data collection including collecting information
about research history Qualitative methods are used to analyze, synthesize and explain
the difficulties faced by English language learners. The quantitative method helps to
convert data into percentages. Database of research was collected from books and
trusted websites.
1.7 Organization of the study
This study includes four main chapters, organized as follows:
Chapter 1: Overview of the study.
This chapter includes the rationale, previous studies, aims of the study, research
subjects, scope of the study, research methodology and organization of the study. It
points the reason why the author chose to research this study and the methods for the
fulfillment of the study.
Chapter 2: Literature review
The relevant theoretical backgrounds are revised in this chapter as the base for
the research being carried out. It focuses on the concepts of translation in general and
the common difficulties and the reasons of them.
Chapter 3: Methodology and research findings

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This chapter includes the selection of participants, data collection and data
analysis from survey questionnaire and interview, the result of the findings, as well.
Then, the research findings and discussion of the findings will be presented.
Chapter 4: Recommendations and Suggestions.
The writer summarizes the issues of the study and also offers some suggestions
to help students learn translation skills effectively and give the recommendation for
further researches.

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CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Translation theory


2.1.1 Definition of translation
Translation is a phenomenon that has a huge effect on every life. It has been
approached from a scientific and technical point of view and considered as an
indispensable part in the field of not only literature, culture and religion but also
commercial advertisement, popular entertainment, public administration, immigration
and education, especially in this current renovation economy. Thus, there are many
various definition of transalation defined by a lot of famous translators and began to
appeared in books, dictionaries or websites. The followings are some typical
definitions which are basic and easy to approach for the reader:
According to Wikipedia , translation is claims: “Translation is the interpreting of
the meaning of a text and the subsequent production of an equivalent text, likewise
called a translation that communicates the same message in another language. The text
to be translated is called the source text, and the language that it is to be translated into
is called the target language; the final product is sometimes called the target text.”
Advanced Oxford Dictionary ( page 1632) defines: “Translation is the process of
changing something that is written or spoken into another language”.
Ghazala (1995) shares: "Translation is generally used to refer to all the process
and methods used to convey the meaning of the source language in to the target
language". Ghazala's definition focuses on the notion of meaning as an essential
element in translation. That is, when translating, understanding the meaning of source
text is vital to have the appropriate equivalent in the target text thus, it is meaning that
is translated in relation to grammar, style and sounds.
Catford (1995) believes that: “Translation is the replacement of textual material
in one language (SL) by equivalent textual material in another language (TL)”.
Yowell and Mutfah (1999), views differently (1999): “ Translation is a product
since it provides us with other different cultures, to ancient societies and civilization
life when the translated texts reaches us “.

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Theory of interpreting and translation (Thuongmai University.) defines:
“Translation is rendering a written text into another language in the way that the author
intended the text”.
From the above definitions, it can be seen that translation is the act of
transferring the linguistic entities from one language in to their equivalents in to
another language. We all do realize that translation is not just a way of converting
words into other words but it’s a complicated and a very crucial way of explaining
things in a way that its actual meaning is delivered without harming its origin.
2.1.2 Significance of translation
In this era of globalization where mostly everyone wants to explore something
new each moment, it becomes impossible to actually deny how important translation
is. Translation is a real-life, natural activity and increasing necessary in a global
environment.
a. Translation enables a global economy
Communication is the key of any successful relation, business or in fact anything,
you are nothing if you cannot communicate well and so here the role of a translation
becomes more crucial and very important. Global businesses cannot sell their products
and services without translation. Besides, companies benefit from working overseas.
They can take advantage of the lower cost of products and services in some countries,
the professional and industrial expertise of others, and additional markets to trade
in.Therefore, it is necessary to put some certain data in another language, and negotiate
terms with international governments or other local companies where a proper
translation of relevant proposals and agreements is required.
b. Translation is necessary for the spread of information, knowledge, and ideas
It is absolutely necessary for effective and empathetic communication between
different cultures. Translation, therefore, is critical for social harmony and peace.
Translation is also the only medium through which people come to know different
works that expand their knowledge. For example: The Bible has been translated into at
least 531 languages.

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TED Talks runs open translation projects that allow people around the world to
understand their talks, offering non-English speakers to learn from some of the best
educators in the world.
Especially in the journalism industry, with the current socio-political context,
there are many news stories of international significance. Journalists from around the
world need to stay up-to-date on current events outside of their home countries to
gauge their impact on local activity. To do this, translation is the best support tool.
c. Translation promotes tourism development
Translation is very important in every aspect of the tourism industry. Travel-
related content comes in a variety of formats, from categories, brochures and websites,
to menus, flyers and signs. Visitors feel more comfortable when they can research and
gather information about their destination and plan their stay in their own language.
Studies show that not only do customers browse websites with content in their native
language, but about half of them will pay more if given their information in their
native language. As a consequence, businesses that are looking to expand in this
industry - and indeed, survive! - are now understanding the importance of being able
to reach out to more and more customers by providing them with as much information
as possible. And the only way for businesses to reach an international customer base is
through translation.
d. Translation is a means of cultural exchange between countries
Culture appears and becomes an indispensable part of people's intellectual-social
life. Culture includes films, music, literature and many other formats of art global
borders. And translation is the leading factor contributing to spreading the world's
classics to people.Translated and subtitled movies today earn the large turnover for the
international film industry. Song translations also allow the artists to earn royalties and
international fame as an added bonus, while also reaching a large number of
international customers. In short, it is translation that helps to close linguistic gaps
between countries and enrich a country's culture.
2.1.3 Types of translation
The world of translation is a vast and varied one. Here are eight types of
translation that I chose for my study

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a. Business translation
Effective communication is the key to any successful business. Business
documents are required to communicate clearly between organizations, and when
multiple languages come into play, it calls for translation. Business translation or
sometimes known as commercial translation is the process used to translate
commercial documents. Some of the documents that require business translation are
invoices, business reports, contracts, company accounts or tender documents,..
b. Administrative translation
A good administration requires transparency and clarity. It is important to convey
information within an organization without any confusion. Administrative translation
involves the conversion of managerial or administrative texts and documents used in
daily operations when an MNC has multilingual employees. Administrative translation
includes employee contracts, sales pitch, presentations, annual reports, general
briefs,..etc
c. Technical translation
Technology is an essential factor in today’s world. And it is necessary to make
sure it is not limited to a certain region but is spread to every little part of the world.
To assure that this happens, technical documents need to be translated into different
languages without losing their significance and content. Documents that require
technical translation include user guides, manuals, instruction leaflets,training
material, minutes of meetings,.. etc
d. Legal translation
Law is a very delicate aspect of the world. One wrong move and it could cause
destruction, and one right move can lead to happiness. And legal documents are used
to incorporate the law. The term legal translation refers to the conversion of legal
documents and it is one of the most complex types of translation which requires high
skill. Legal documents that undergo translation include statutes, legal contracts,
treaties and deals, court summons, warrants, etc
e. Medical translation
Health and well being is necessary for the survival of a human being irrespective
of the country, culture or language. In order to maintain this, it is essential to expand

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medical knowledge to every corner of the world. Medical translation is the process in
which medical documents are converted from a source language to the target language
without changing its intended purpose and meaning. The documents that undergo
medical translation include medical research papers and thesis, patient reports,
information posters, medical equipment manuals, drug labeling, clinical trial reports
etc
f. Financial translation
Money makes the world go around. A simple, yet powerful statement which
conveys the importance of money in life. Financial documents are used to transmit
monetary information, and therefore need to be translated in order to be accepted and
understood across the world. Financial translation involves the conversion of
documents of financial nature related to stocks, commodities, investment funds,
banking, etc. Some of the documents include financial contracts, packages, bank
records and statements, balance sheets, equity and bond research notes, cryptocurrency
etc
g. Literary translation
Literature is a comprehensive essence of the intellectual life of a nation. This
shows the importance of spreading the beauty of literature to all around the world.
Literary translations are nothing but the conversion of literary works from one
language to the other. They are done on novels, poems, plays, essays, comics etc
h. Script translation
Ever tried watching an Oscar movie, only to realize that it is in a foreign
language? Well, script translation makes sure this does not happen, and that everyone
gets to enjoy the gift of films. It is a subset of the literary translation. This is not
limited to just films. Scripts can be translated on movie scripts, TV series scripts,
interview scripts, cartoon/animated series scripts,..
i. Website translation
More than a quarter of internet users around the world do not have English as a
native language. As a company, it is necessary to translate the websites to all these
languages to expand the clientele, and this process is known as website translation.
Usually, website translations are done on website textual content, symbols and logos,

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quote and slogans, pictures, address formats, currency, and other page content,
subtitles for videos, page layouts,..
j. Localization
Language and culture are intertwined. Every country and region has different
culture and linguistic differences. In these scenarios, a simple translation alone is not
sufficient when converting content. This is where localization comes into play.
Localization is simply put, a comprehensive process of conversion of text and other
content into a different language by giving a major emphasis on the culture, location as
well as tiny linguistic differences.
2.1.4 Criteria for a good translation version
Translators often worry about their skills as professional translators and ask
themselves “what is a good translation?” Here are some citeriaa of what could be
termed a good translation.
- It must be accurate
This might seem obvious, but the number of poor translations and mistranslations
demonstrate that accuracy isn’t always a priority when it comes to translation. Just try
and use Google Translate or any one of a number of automatic translation tools to see
what happens when translation is done poorly. Words are used incorrectly. Sentences
are botched. At the worst, the meanings of whole chunks of text are distorted.
You would expect this lower standard from automatic translation tools, but the
number of times it is used is astounding. When commercial or government
organizations skimp on the cost of professional translation, they are not going to get
accuracy.
- It must be clear
Another obvious criterion, but often disregarded. Good translations are generally
compiled by good translators. Unfortunately, good translators do not always have
well-written text to translate. A good translator usually clarifies a poor original project.
One of the reasons for this is that many writers do not understand how to write clearly
themselves. Their sentences are too long. Their paragraphs are too long. Words may
not fit the people who are going to read what is written. One of the skills of a good
translator is to retain the meaning of the original text yet make it easier to read.

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- The translated material must seem natural
One of the qualities of a good translator is to make sure that he or she reads
through what has been translated several times afterwards. This is not just to proofread
what has been written and make sure there are no spelling mistakes, typos and the like,
but to ensure it sounds as natural as possible. It is easy for translations to appear stilted
until they are redone so that it seems smooth and easy to read.
When finding out some other documents, the reader can see that EI Shafey
(1985) suggest other criteria for a good translation, these includes three main
principles:
- “The knowledge of the grammar of source language plus the knowledge of
vocabulary, as well as good understanding of the text to be translated.
- The ability of the translator to be reconstitute the given text (source language
text) into the target language.
- The translation should capture the style or atmosphere of the original text, it
should have all the ease of an original composition.”
In a word, a good translation contains unbiased, unchanged versions of the said
words in another language. It has to be accurate otherwise it may lead to
mistranslations, missing sentences and bad grammar.
2.1.5 Translation strategies and methods
2.1.5.1 Translation methods
a. Word-for-word translation
Here the source language (SL) word is translated into another language by their
most common meanings, which can also be out of context at times, especially in
idioms and proverbs.
The following are the characteristics of this approach:
+ SL word order is preserved.
+ Words are translated by their most common meanings, and out of contex
b. Literal translation
Here the SL grammatical constructions are translated to their nearest language
(TL). A literal translation sounds like nonsense and has little communicative values.

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The following are the characteristics of this approach: Lexical words are
translated singly, and out of context.
c. Faithful translation
Here the translation interprets the exact contextual meaning of the original within
the constraints of the grammatical structures of the TL.
The following are characteristics of this approach:
+ Words are translated in context but uncompromising to TL
+ Transfer cultural words
+ Does not naturalize
+ Often read like a translation
d. Semantic translation
It refers to that type of translation, which takes into account the aesthetic value of
the SL text.
The following are the characteristics of this approach:
+ More flexible than faithful translation
+ Naturalize a bit while faithful translation is uncompromising (but in order to
achieve aesthetic effect), for instance, it may translate cultural words with neutral or
functional items.
+ Great focus on aesthetic features of source text (at expense of meaning if
necessary).
+ Close rendering of metaphors, collocations, technical terms, slang,
colloquialisms, unusual syntactic structures and collocations, peculiarly used words,
neologism, badly written or inaccurate passages.
e. Adaptation
The text is rewritten considering the SL culture which is converted to the TL
culture where the characters, themes, and plots are usually preserved.
f. Free translation
Free translation reproduces the matter without the manner, or the content without
the form of the original. It is a kind of meaning-based translation and usually a
paraphrase much longer than the original. Free translation focuses on the content of the

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target text rather than the form, which means that the same content is expressed in the
target text but with very different grammatical structures if need be.
g. Idiomatic translation
It translates the message of the original text but tends to disort the original
meaning at times by referring colloquialisms and idioms. (Su, 2003) “16 Idiomatic
translation makes use of idioms and colloquialisms that are not present in the source
text”. It is asserted that the original meaning of a fixed combination is not equal to the
sum of the meaning of separate words.
h. Communicative translation
This method displays the exact contextual meaning of the original text in a
manner where both content and language are easily acceptable and comprehensible to
the readers.
The following are the characteristics of this approach:
+ Bee freer than semantic translation
+ Give priority to the effectiveness of the message to be communicated
+ Focus on factors such as readability and naturalness
+ Both the content and the language are readily acceptable and comprehensible to
the reader.
2.1.6. Translation strategies
Different scholars suggest various types, categorizations and classifications for
the strategies according to their particular perspectives. Here, some of these typologies
are mentioned:
Chesterman (1997), as Bergen (n. d.) stated, believes that in translation strategies'
field there is "considerable terminological confusion".
Krings (1986:18) defines translation strategy as "translator's potentially
conscious plans for solving concrete translation problems in the framework of a
concrete translation task,".
Seguinot (1989) believes that there are at least three global strategies employed
by the translators: (i) translating without interruption for as long as possible; (ii)
correcting surface errors immediately; (iii) leaving the monitoring for qualitative or
stylistic errors in the text to the revision stage.

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Loescher (1991:8) defines translation strategy as "a potentially conscious
procedure for solving a problem faced in translating a text, or any segment of it."
Cohen (1998:4) asserts that "the element of consciousness is what distinguishes
strategies from these processes that are not strategic."
Jaaskelainen (1999:71) considers strategy as, "a series of competencies, a set of
steps or processes that favor the acquisition, storage, and/or utilization of information."
He maintains that strategies are "heuristic and flexible in nature, and their adoption
implies a decision influenced by amendments in the translator's objectives."
2.2 Common difficulties in translation from English to Vietnamese
2.2.1 Difficulty in translating the major word
Major words (terminology) are words / phrases special word used in a subject or
specific subject matter (Richards & Schmidt, 1992). Understanding the economic
terminology is quite difficult, but translating the terminology hardly used is even
harder. With student, when encountering specialized words which often acts as a key
word in a sentence, without enough knowledge, they often get confused and take a lot
of time. They may not can guess then translate incorrectly. For examples:
Shares (‘ Cổ phiếu’ in Vietnamese)
Note (‘ Kỳ phiếu’ in Vietnamese)
Venture capital- (‘Vốn mạo hiểm’ in Vietnamese)
2.2.2 Difficulty in translating the abbreviation
In economic texts, abbreviation is the most difficult thing for translators to
remember and understand. For example:
GDP (Gross domestic product)- GDP is often used as a measure of a nation’s
economic performance and activity. It is usually calculated on a quarterly or annual
basis.
NAFTA (The North American Free Trade Agreement)- NAFTA was an
agreement signed by Canada, Mexico, and the United States that created a trilateral
trade bloc in North America.
2.2.3 Differences in language structure
Be rigid in switching from English to Vietnamese. This comes from students who
do not understand and understand the structures in English as well as in their native

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language. Along with that, during the translation process, you too closely follow each
translation word without paying attention to the context will make your sentence
structure become dry and lack the smoothness. Sometimes it confuses the reader.
For example: A new car is bought. If the students translate follow the English
structure, it becomes “ Một chiếc ô tô mới được mua” in Vietnamese. This translation
is said to be very rigid and not suitable for Vietnamese style.
2.2.4 Misunderstanding about culture
Culture play an important role in the translation process. Misunderstanding of
culture can lead to bad translation products and sometimes makes it funny and even
insulting to readers of the target language.This requires you to understand the two
languages as well as the customs between the two countries to use words
appropriately. In other words, many words, phrases or sentences in one language seem
very easy to understand in another language, but not at all easy to translate into the ear,
easy to hear. Just like in Vietnamese, one of the top notes that is always mentioned
when translating English documents into Vietnamese is "pure Vietnamese" translation,
which means how to translate without the listener's thinking. is a Westerner who
translates in the manner of maize, westernization, not in accordance with Vietnamese
fine traditions .
2.2.5 Words and choices of word meaning
Words play a crucial role for any language learners to build their own vocabulary
system to get advantages in their language learning. Vocabulary is the fundamental
component of communication. The more vocabulary one has, the more advantages for
him to obtain effective communication. Developing this basic tool with create many
opportunities in learning translation subject well within a translation text. If learners
have no difficulty in new words, it will be easy for them to translate into the target
language text. In contrast, they seem to fail translating. Most of English words have
many meanings, so choosing a suitable and appropriate word, which has the exact
meaning to apply into the target language text sometimes, create many confusing for
translators.

16
CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY AND RESEARCH FINDINDS

The purpose of this chapter is to present the methodology used in this thesis. It
includes research questions, research participants, data collection instruments and
research procedure.
3.1. Methodology
3.1.1 Research questions
To obtain the above stated purposes, the study has to answer the following
questions:
What are common difficulties in translation from English to Vietnamese
encoutered by the fourth-year students of English faculty in TMU?
What are the reasons that make the fourth-year students of English faculty find it
difficult in translation from English to Vietnamese?
What should be done to limit their difficulties in translation from English to
Vietnamese by the fourth-year students of English faculty in TMU?
3.1.2 Participants
The objects of study are the fourth-year students of English faculty in TMU. The
number of objects is 50 students. At the time of the study, these students had
completed advanced translation subject, so they were able to give the most
comprehensive view of the most common difficulties faced by the subject.
3.1.3 Data collection method
a. Data collection instruments: The questionnaire
50 the fourth-year students of English faculty in TMU were asked to complete a
questionnaire with 10 questions related to the difficulties they are most likely to face
and solutions that can help improve their learning outcomes. To ensure objectivity and
fairness, each student will complete the questionnaire on their own without being
allowed to see the answers chosen by others. Only the researcher can view the full
results of the investigation. The survey results are only publicized after all 50 subjects
have completed the questionnaire completion. The aims of those questions can be
described as follows:

17
The first three questions: questions (1), (2) and (3) were used to find out the
students’ attitude towards translation subject in general. Question (1) was for finding
students’ feelings in studying translation. Question (2) was used to find out the reason
why students study translation. And question (3) was used to survey the amount of
time that the students spend on studying the translation.
Question (4) was aimed to find out the difficulties that students have to face
when translating from English to Vietnamese.
Question (5) was used to find out the reasons that make students have difficulties
in translating from English to Vietnamese.
Question (6) was used to find out the solutions that students choose to improve
their translation from English to Vietnamese.
Question (7) was aimed to find out what the students often do to improve their
vocabulary, grammar and their knowledge about economy.
Question (8) was used to explore what they often do when they finish their
translation
Question (9) was a choice question to determine a factor that most affected
students' translation, between their sense of learning and teaching methods of their
teachers.
The last question was to seek for the methods that the students want their
teachers to improve during your translation class.
b. Data collection procedures
The survey questionnaire was designed as Google form and sent the link for 50
students to fill out. These students are encouraged to present additional difficulties
encountered by themselves in the process of learning Translation as well as their own
solutions (questions related to this problem have an option of “other ideas ”, where
students can give different answers from the available ones). As mentioned above,
each student must complete the questionnaire by themselves without seeing the
answers of others, ensuring their own ideas, avoiding the situation of students being
influenced by each other's opinions.

18
3.1.4 Methods of data analysis
After collecting data, the writer will conduct analysis of those data. The results of
the questionnaire are reviewed and the choices made by students are listed. Qualitative
methods are used by the writer to analyze and evaluate data. Quantitative methods are
used to convert data into percentages. These data are presented on tables, bar charts,
pie charts for better illustration and explanation.
3.2. The results of the study
3.2.1 The survey questionnaire’s results:
The statistical analysis and the results of data analysis are displayed in the
following tables and charts
a. Students’ opinion about learning translation

Chart 3.1: The students’ opinions about learning translation


It can be seen from the char, the number of students who found translation
difficult but interesting account for approximately two-thirds (64%) of the total
number of students participating in the questionnaires. This shows that the students
were still interested in learning even though translation is a difficult subject.Besides,
24% of the students shared that translation was an interesting and useful subject,
proving that the students had positive attitude with this subject. On the contrary, there
was still 8% of students found learning translation helpless, although they also
considered it easy. The writer believes that these students did not fully understand the

19
importance and objectives of this subjiect. In addition, only a small minority, 4%, is
left for its difficult and boring. It is not completely significant.
b. The reasons why students learn translation

Chart 3.2. The reasons why students learn translation

The chart shows the proportion of students who studied translation because it is a
compulsory subject accounts for the highest proportion (62%). It was easy to
understand because this is a major of Thuongmai University. Interestingly, two
reasons "Because I find it interesting" and "Because I want to have more knowledge
and improve my English skills" both account for 52%. This ratio shows that students
had a passion for learning translation. They not only wanted to expand their
knowledge but also learn more skills such as reading and writing. Besides, the number
of students learning translation because they want to become a translator after
graduation is only 20%. In fact, translating was not an easy job, it required highly
about knowledge and skills. As a result, many students were reluctant to choose this
job because they could not meet the standards of a translator.

20
c. The amount of time students spend on studying translation (as self-study)

Chart 3.3 The amount of time students spend on studying translation (as self-study)
Looking at the chart, the amount of student spending 1 or 2 hours per week on
studying translation make up more than a half of total (60.7%). Next, there are 5% of
students spending 5 hours per week and 8.2% of students spending about 10 hours per
week on learning translation. hour a learning to translate. In contrast, only a very
small proportion of students (1.6%) spend more than 10 hours per week on studying
translation. In short, most students did not spend a lot of time learning translation
outside of class. According to the writer's objective opinion, because there were so
many subjects at the same time and other activities, students just tried to complete
their homework without much practice.
d. Difficulties students have to face when translating from English to
Vietnamese

Chart 3.4 Difficulties students have to face when translating from English to
Vietnamese

21
From the chart, the number of students sharin “ Misunderstanding about culture”
make up for the highest percentage (72%). It occured due to a lack of knowledge and
culture of the target language. If the translators did not understand the differences
between the cultures of the countries, their text would not convey the intended content.
Next, 65% of total students also had difficulty translating abbreviation. This difficulty
was very common because nowadays, many terms and names of organizations that are
abbreviated to ensure brevity and concise. “Difficulty in translating major words” also
was a challenge encountered by 58% of total students. If they did not take the time to
learn and memorize, students would easily ignore these abbreviation and keywords in
the text. Next, 30% of students found “words and choices of word meaning” difficult.
A word in English or Vietnamese can have many different meanings. Therefore, it was
essential to study the meaning of words and use them in many contexts. According to
the data, a small percentage of total students provided other opinions such as difficulty
in translating grammar and titles. This was also a fairly common difficulty and
measures of improvement would be discussed in the next part.
e. Reasons that make you have difficulties in translation from English to
Vietnamese

Chart 3.5 Reasons that make you have difficulties in translation from English to
Vietnamese

22
The chart shows reasons that make you have difficulties in translation from
English to Vietnamese. “The skill of using Vietnamese and basic English is not good”
is the reason that the highest percentage of students encountered (72%). This shows
that students' skills in using English and Vietnamese were still limited. Similarly, 70%
of the total student also had difficulty in cultural impediment. As said, culture was the
important factor in determining whether a translation was good or not. Each country
had a different culture, so cultural impediment between countries taking a lot of
solutions and time, it would be discussed in the next part. Besides, the number of
students having difficulty in lack of economic background knowledge also accounts
for 62% of the total students participating in the questionnaire. This was an obvious
difficulty because before entering university, the student had not exposed much to this
topic in the curriculum. Finally, 26% of the total students felt that their attitudes and
psychology were factors that caused difficulty in their translation. Many students were
bored when encountering long and hard exercises. At the same time, they were also
pressured by scores and time while taking the tests.
f. What students can do to improve your translation from English to
Vietnamese

Chart 3.6 Solutions to improve translation from English to Vietnamese of students


Looking at the chart, the number of students who choosing " Finding out
business culture" accounts for the highest percentage (80%). Most students lacked

23
cultural knowledge, although the English Faculty had included specialized subjects
such as American culture, English culture, .. into its curriculum. Next, 68% of the total
students mentione " Getting economic background knowledge". Economy was a hot
topic of any country. However, not all students were interested in this topic, many
students felt ambiguous about new concepts related to economics, or other related
terminology. In addition, 54% and 32% respectively are the percentage of the number
of students interested in '' Accumulating vocabulary "and " Improving your English
grammar ". These were 2 contents that students must use and practice every day in
order to have enough vocabularies and skills to do a translation.
g. Solutions for students to improve their vocabulary, grammar and their
knowledge about economy

Chart 3.7 Solutions for students to improve their vocabulary, grammar and their
knowledge about economy
Looking at the chart, the number of students mentioning solutions” Reading
economic books, newspapers and other resources on the Internet” and “Watching the
economic news and reality shows on Tv “accounted for the highest percentages: 78%
and 70%, respectively. It could be said, these 2 solutions were simple but extremely
effective. It was a daily activity that all students could do to improve all of the above
knowledge. In addition, 36% of the total students chose “Learning and practicing with
native speakers”. If the students had the opportunity to interact with foreign people,the
students would have many benefits in terms of vocabulary as well as basic skills.

24
Making up the least percentage, 28% of the total students suggested “Practicing to
write business English essays or business correspondence” solution. This solution was
for students who were really hard-working and loved writing skills. In short, the four
skills above were very important and necessary to help them learn translation subject
well.
h. Solutions students often do after they finish their translation.

Chart 3.8 Solutions students often do after they finish their translation
It can be seen from the chart, nearly half a percent of students (46%) choose
"Read it again to correct some mistakes if there are" solution after finishing their
translation. This shows the self-discipline and careful attitude of students when
studying this subject. In contrast, 26% of the total students waited for teacher's
feedback. Approximately the above percentage, the number of students reading it
again and try to translate it in another way into other meanings is 20%. This
encouraged students to get more opportunities to practice translating, and to learn
more skills and increase creativity. Besides, 8% of the total students choosed to
discuss with friends after their translation. Students should be encouraged to work in
group during translation lessons so they can learn more experiences from friends.

25
i. The factor students was influenced during their translation most between
their sense of learning and teaching methods of their teachers.

Chart 3.9 The factor students was influenced during their translation between their
sense of learning and teaching methods of their teachers.
It easily can be seen from the chart, the students influenced by their sence of
learning English speaking only students account for the highest proportion (90%). 10%
for the remaining factor: teaching methods of the teachers. Translation was a difficult
subject, teaching methods of teachers were very important. However, doing well or not
was still a subjective factor of each student. Students must have an interest in the
subject and had a sense of self-discipline. Under the guidance of teachers in class,
students needed to spend time at home to complete homework as well as practicing
many other skills to get the better results.

26
j. Expection of students about what the teachers need improve during your
translation lesson

Chart 3.10 Expection of students about what the teachers need improve during their
translation lesson
As can be seen from the chart, the number of students meeting the expectation
that the teacher should not put too much emphasis on time and score account for the
highest percentage (74%) .This showed the general pressure of the students when
doing exercises if the teacher asked to get points. Next, 65% of total students hope that
teachers should make an interesting atmosphere in class. The more comfortable and
friendly the classroom was, the more interested students will be in learning.
Encouraging teamwork and spending much time on discussing and correcting their
mistakes accounts for 42% and 40% of the total students, respectively. Each
assignment when tasked to a group will help students be more responsible for it. After
that, teachers should spend a lot of time on discussing and correcting their students'
mistakes. This helped students quickly realize their strengths and weaknesses and got
more experiences. At the same time, it also created a close relationship between
teachers and students. In addition, 6% of the number of students desired to reduce the
amount of homework. This idea was rarely mentioned by students because they were

27
afraid of their teachers. The sufficient amount of homework would limit the pressure
on students.
3.2.2 Discussion of the findings
After collecting opinions and analyzing data, the researcher had the following
research results:
Firstly, most of the students had a positive attitude toward translation.The
number of students who found translation difficult but interesting account for
approximately two-thirds (64%) of the total number of students participating in the
questionnaires.However, most students only spent 1or 2 hours per week learning
translation.
Secondly, researcher summarized the rates and saw the causes of 4 difficulties:
Of the 4 difficulties surveyed, the number of “Misunderstanding about culture”
made up for the highest percentage (72%). Linguist Nida Eugene said: "The meaning
of a word is determined by the syntactic content and cultural content". Therefore, only
when students have understood the difference in cultural meaning between two
languages, at the same time overcoming the cultural impediment to understand and
explain the language created by the cultural difference between the two languages.
Therefore, from that to understand the cultural implications of the article or words, go
one step further to grasp the exact meaning that the text language needs to convey. For
translators, if there is no comparative knowledge of culture, it is difficult to express or
explain exactly the original. Today, the students were very lazy to learn culture. They
had considered culture to be complementary knowledge until they learned translation.
In the English faculty of the business university, students said there were a cultural
subject such as American culture, English culture, .. in the curriculum but it often had
too much knowledge and focused on theory. Most of the students felt bored and
learned translation only because they wanted to pass the subject.
Next, 65% of total students also had difficulty translating abbreviation. This
difficulty was very common because nowadays, many terms and names of
organizations that are abbreviated to ensure brevity and concise. Abbreviation is the
most difficult thing for translators to remember and understand. Therefore, if students

28
did not spend time in finding out them on the Internet or reading some other
documents, they would not know any abbreviation.
Difficulty in translating major words also was a challenge encountered by 58% of
total students. In economic literature, there were often specific terms that could not be
replaced with proximate words. Accrording to students, economic terms were difficult
to memorize because they were very complex. Students would often choose to ignore
these abbreviation and keywords in the text if they did not know.They all got the low
mark after that. Students realized that the key point in specialized translation is that
they must have a rich vocabulary and knowledge of the specific field being translated.
Next, 30% of students found “words and choices of word meaning” difficult. A
word in English or Vietnamese can have many different meanings. Therefore, it was
essential to study the meaning of words and use them in many contexts. Studnets were
ambiguous about the meaning of the word, leading to the use of meaning that was not
appropriate with the context. This could lose the accuracy of the original text.
Continuing to investigate, the researcher found out the main causes for these
difficulties were the skill of using Vietnamese and basic English is not good. The skill
of using Vietnamese and basic English is not good. In order to do well in Translating,
students must use fluent words and grammar in both their native language and foreign
language. There were many students, especially those who did not come from Hanoi,
were used to using the local language, so sometimes they were not familiar with
Vietnamese, leading to not fluent in using Vietnamese. And the reason why students
were fluent in basic English is that they started to learn English late (many places due
to lack of facilities, so students up to secondary school can start learning English). Not
being able to teach and learn English well when they were in high school and did not
do well in 3 basic English subjects when they were a first and second year student in
the English department. Therefore, not to mention economic English, being able to
fluently translate text in basic English into Vietnamese and vice versa had been a big
challenge for many final year students.Some students shared that the reason was their
attitudes towards subjects and psychological subjects. The attitudes of learners had a
great influence on the learning outcomes of the Translation subject. From
observations, the researcher found that up to 95% of the students studied felt that

29
translation was a boring subject and showed an uncooperative attitude with lecturers
during and outside of class time. This was shown by not paying attention to listening
to lectures, not actively building lessons, not doing homework ... Because Translation
was a highly academic and specialized subject, so it was difficult for teachers to find to
create an attractive learning method for students. In addition, because the psychology
wanted the translation results to be "euphonised",during the translation process, many
students had caused big changes and sometimes changed the semantics of the original
sentence to match the writing style target language (this phenomenon was especially
common when students were doing English-Vietnamese translations). This made the
translation smoother but violated the rules of translation, not loyal to the original.
Next, of the 4 solutions considered to improve the translation of students,
Finding out business culture accounts for the highest percentage (80%). Besides, to
improve their vocabulary, grammar and their knowledge about economy, the number
of students mentioning solutions” Reading economic books, newspapers and other
resources on the Internet” and “Watching the economic news and reality shows on Tv
“accounted for the highest percentages: 78% and 70%, respectively. About solutions
that students often did after finishing their translation, nearly half a percent of students
(46%) chose "Read it again to correct some mistakes if there are". This was a highly
appreciated opinion to make students learn better.
Morever, the researcher questioned what students needed their teachers to
improve. Most students wanted to meet the expectation that the teacher should not put
too much emphasis on time and score. In addition, they also desired to reduce the
amount of their homework. This was an unreasonable opinion, the researcher believed.
The more practice opportunities students had, the more students developed their
translation skills.
Last but not least, the above research result was an important basis to help the
researcher give solutions in the following chapter. Thank you for the contribution of
all participants for a more accurate and complete graduation report.

CHAPTER 4: RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS

30
4.1 Limitations of the study
Although the thesis has specifically identified the subject, research and analysis
purpose with documents collected from many different sources, the thesis is still not
perfect and still has certain limitations. The first is the limitation on the number of
participants. Only 50 the fourth-year students of English faculty in TMU. Therefore,
the results are not comprehensive for all students of this subject. Last but not leaste,
the thesis is done during the covid pandemic, students do not go to school. Therefore,
the researcher cannot organize direct interviews to find out the learners' attitudes and
psychology in the most objective way.
4.2 Suggestions
4.2.1 Suggestions for students
a. The students have to understand about business culture
Each nation has its own culture, and each culture is clearly expressed through the
language of the nation. Accordingly, if translation cannot convey the culture of one
language through the cultural beauty of another language, it will not fulfill the function
of translation. The best way to improve this skill is to learn and practice with native
speakers. Nowadays, learning about culture through information channels such as
books, newspapers or the internet is very easy. Here are some websites that give you a
lot of knowledge about cultures around the world that you may not have known.
Internations Magazine, Information is beautiful, The World Fact Book, Commisceo
Global, .. The website will take you around the world to learn about the cultural
features of the countries. Website will be a companion for you to expand your
understanding, a tool to help you gradually become a global citizen. For anyone from a
different culture is also an interesting way. You can make foreign friends and learn
about their culture through work exchanges and daily communication. You will learn
more about the culture and improve your skills more than you think.
b. Students need get economic background knowledge
Among partners not from the same country, the economic field translation will be
an indispensable part of any cooperation agreement. Therefore, having basic economic
knowledge is essential. The more books and newspapers you read, the more you will

31
know. Every day, instead of chatting with friends or playing games, you should spend
more time looking at economic news and taking note new vocabularies and
terminology. Besides, try to use it as much as possible in many different contexts.
Here are some economic websites you can check out: The Economist
(www.economist.com), Slate (www.slate .com), Bloomberg (www.bloomberg.com).
In Vietnam, Startup is a reality TV program that connects startups (startups) with
venture capital investors (shark). If you think that economic knowledge is dry, the
writer believe that when you watch this show, you will completely change your
previous view and find it interesting because economic knowledge is conveyed under a
negotiation.
c. Students should accumulate vocabulary
Here are some ways to help you accumulate a lot of vocabulary for an accurate
translation:
- Learning vocabulary by topic: instead of learning words separately in terms of
meaning, the topic-based vocabulary learning method will stimulate brain and
memorize vocabulary longer. For example, the topic of the bank: bank; bank teller ;
transfer; cash; bill of exchange...
- Every day learn 5 -10 words: This number of words is enough for you to
memorize proficiently, write down the words in the morning and repeat them over and
over in 1 day.
- Learning vocabulary with pictures helps to memorize words for the longest
time, and very easy to learn, just by looking at the pictures, you can immediately guess
that word without looking at the words.
- Use flashcard to increase effectiveness of learning vocabulary and review them
at any time. The flashcard set you can buy this card set at the bookstore or you can
make your own.
- Practice writing business English essays or writing business correspondence. -
Select suitable learning method: self-study at home; learn in class; study at an English
center; or exchange, communicate with friends on the internet; ...

d. Students have to improve English grammar

32
There are many high-quality grammar and writing guidebooks on the market, and
it's helpful to have a thorough reference book nearby that you can refer to while
writing or translating. Besides, a quick search on the Internet will find a multitude of
websites offering grammar games and exercises. If you know that grammar is a field
you have to struggle with when translating, take a few minutes a day to complete
grammar exercises, even a few English practice tests of any level. When you are
proficient, you should try to translate texts with complex grammar structures to
improve your skills. You should practice a lot, the more wrong you get, the more you
can gain experience for yourself.
e. Students should diverse various topics to translate
Although the object of the thesis is the fourth-year students of English faculty in
Thuongmai University, the students should not always focuse on economics. They will
find it very boring. Morever, their knowledge and skills will be limited without
expanding other topics. Teachers can spend a number of lessons so that students can
choose their favorite topics for translation. It can be literature, music, science, theory,
cuisine, .. Through various fields, students will accumulate a lot of vocabulary and
consolidate their grammar knowledge. Students feel even more comfortable and
confident by their favorite topics.
4.2.2 Suggestions for teachers and teaching methods of Thuongmai
University.
a. Making a friendly atmosphere in the classroom
Psychological factor is one of the reasons affecting students' translation.
Therefore, creating a friendly atmosphere in the classroom is essential. Since
translation is a difficult and new subject, the teachers should share the initial
difficulties with her students. During the teaching process, teachers should provide
exercises suitable to the student's level. Be the friends you are willing to discuss and
correct the mistakes that students make. At the same time, teachers should not put too
much emphasis on time and scores when giving translation exercises for students.
Otherwise, they will be under pressure and the translation will not be good.

33
b. Providing students chances to practice in the class
Practice makes perfect. Students should be divided into groups of four or five
students, and two different translations of a particular text will be given to them. All
groups will be asked to compare these two target documents. They must discover the
strategies and methods used and make an assessment of the quality of both
translations. As Kussmaul, 1995) shared : "The ability to discuss translations in an
objective way is central to a translator's competence". The teacher makes a final
revision gives formative evaluation and makes comments, emphasizes findings,
"happy" solutions and creative acts, on the one hand, and analyzes failures and
weaknesses in the process,on the other.
4.2.3 Suggestions for further studies
If there is more time and opportunity, the researcher can increase the number of
participants to get the most comprehensive results. In addition, interviews that
exchange both students and teachers will give you more specific and accurate
information about the difficulties in learning translation. Previous research papers on
this topic, researchers can go to the library to borrow and refer. The researcher will
have a broader view and make a comparison between the difficulties faced by previous
students.

34
CONCLUSION
Accrodingh the fourth-year students of English faculty in Thuongmai University,
the system of Translation subjects with 3 levels is a very important subject. It both
provides students with a large amount of knowledge about economics, while equipping
students with the ability to think flexibly and convey the meaning of proficiency
between the two languages English and Vietnamese. However, there is a fact that
many students have difficulty with this subject. Recognizing that, the writer has
conducted research with the desire to clarify what difficulties are affecting the
students' learning of translation, what are the causes and solutions to help students
learn better. After conducting the research process, the researcher found four main
types of difficulties: difficulties in translating specialized words and abbreviations;
differences in language structure and culture. There were many different reasons
leading to these difficulties, and the writer has also summarized them into four main
reasons: poor of basic English and Vietnamese skills, lack of economic background
knowledge, cultural impediment and students' attitudes towards subjects and
psychological subjects. The researcher made a survey to collect information from the
fourth-year students of English faculty in Thuongmai University. Then the researcher
started to analyze and did statistics on the responses to questionnaire to get the final
results and discussion. At the end of this thesis, the researcher also suggested some
useful solutions to help students deal with difficulties in studying as well as make
some suggestions for teachers on meeting the students' expectations in learning
translation subject which is believed to be hard to master. Last but not least, because
this is the first time the writer has conducted the research, there are still many
limitations on time, qualifications as well as research tools and documents. Therefore,
the writer cannot avoid many errors and hope to receive comments and suggestions
from teachers and friends for the study to be more completed. Being a final-year
student of the English faculty, so the researcher hopes that the thesis named “Common
difficulties in translation from English to Vietnamese encountered by the fourth-year
students of English faculty in Thuongmai University” will be able to contribute its
reality and helpfulness to both the students and teachers in adjusting the learning and
teaching method.

35
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translation strategies. Tuebingen: Guten Narr.

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12. Seguinot, C. (1989). The translation process. Toronto: H.G. Publications.
13. Yowell, A. Muftan, S. L (1999) principles of Translation. Dar Annahda
Alarabiya.
14. https://translationjournal.net/October-2017/definition-of-translation.html
15.http://luanvan.net.vn/luan-van/de-tai-a-study-on-translation-of-economic-and-
trade-terminology-from-english-into-vietnamese-71632/

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APPENDIX
SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRES
Topic: Common difficulties in translation from English to Vietnamese
encountered by the fourth-year students of English faculty in Thuongmai University
This survey questionnaire is designed for my graduation paper.This survey aims
to find out difficulties in translation from English to Vietnamese encountered by the
fourth-year students of English faculty in Thuongmai University.
I would really appreciate it if you could take some time to fill out this
questionnaire.
Many thanks!
Choose the answers which are suitable for you
Question 1. From your point of view, learning translation is......
 Interesting and helpful
 Easy and helpless
 Difficult but interesting
 Difficult and boring
Question 2. The reason why students study translation is …......(You can choose
more than one answer)
 Because it is a compulsory subject
 Because I find it interesting
 Because I want to have more knowledge and improve my English skills
 Because I want to become a translator after graduation
 Others:...........................................................................
Question 3. The amount of time you usually spend on studying translation (as
self-study)
 1 or 2 hours per week
 About 5 hours per week
 About 10 hours per week
 More than 10 hours per week

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Question 4. Difficulties you have to face when translating from English to
Vietnamese (You can choose more than one answer)
 Difficulty in translating the major word
 Difficulty in translating the abbreviation
 Misunderstanding about culture
 Words and choices of word meaning
 Others:...........................................................................

Question 5. Reasons that make you have difficulties in translation from English
to Vietnamese (You can choose more than one answer)
 The skill of using Vietnamese and basic English is not good.
 Lack of economic background knowledge
 Cultural impediment
 Your attitudes towards subjects and psychological subjects
 Others:...........................................................................
Question 6. What do you often do to improve your translation from English to
Vietnamese? (You can choose more than one answer)
 Finding out business culture
 Getting economic background knowledge
 Accumulating vocabulary
 Improving your English grammar
 Others:...........................................................................
Question 7. What do you often do to improve your vocabulary, grammar and
your knowledge about economy ? (You can choose more than one answer)
 Watching the economic news and reality shows on Tv
 Learning and practicing with native speakers
 Reading economic books, newspapers and other resources on the Internet
 Practicing to write business English essays or business correspondence
 Others:...........................................................................

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Question 8. What do you often do after you finish your translation ?
 Read it again to correct some mistakes if there are
 Read it again and try to translate it in another way
 Discuss with friends
 Wait for teacher’s feedback
Question 9. Between your sense of learning and teaching methods of your
teachers, which factors influence your translation most?
 Your sense of learning
 Teaching methods of your teachers
Question 10. What do you want the teachers to improve during your translation
lesson? ( You can choose more than one answer)
 Making an interesting atmosphere in class
 Don't put too much emphasis on time and
 Encourage teamwork
 Spending much time on discussing and correcting your mistakes
 Others:...........................................................................

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