To Google Translate or Not Google Translate?
By Amanda Guarino and Angello Villarreal
Amanda Guarino and Angello Villarreal are Monmouth University Doctoral Candidates.
English language learners are faced with three daunting challenges: acquiring a new language, building academic knowledge in various subject areas, and bridging social connections with peers and school faculty. While Google Translate could be useful in some scenarios, educators should be aware that some translations could not have the meaning intended (Ex. Paper Jam – Mermelada de Papel (a Spanish-speaker would understand: Paper’s Marmalade). In general, this can be extremely difficult, especially for language learners of lower proficiency levels; regardless, it is evident that discovering similarities between the native language and the target language often brings comfort and boosts confidence when tackling these tasks. Furthermore, incorporating the native language creates a culturally inclusive classroom in which different languages are celebrated and preserved, as opposed to being replaced with English.
Using a student’s native language in an English as a New Language class setting can be very controversial, depending on the students’ academic proficiency in the native language. Some may argue that using cognates and translations in the classroom is ineffective, as students who have experienced interruptions in formal education (SIFE/SLIFE) may not have the background knowledge needed in the native language to decode the cognates presented in the target language. However, using cognates and translations for students who have a solid academic foundation in their native language can be extremely beneficial, as it allows students to bridge connections between their native language and the target language; this academic bridge enables classroom instruction in various subject areas to become more accessible to language learners, which will lead to an increase in academic success.
Educational researchers have determined that prior knowledge in one’s home language plays an influential role in acquiring a second language, as building connections between the native language and the target language fosters a deeper understanding (Collier and Thomas, 2017). Language acquisition stretches far beyond the simple memorization of the language; when students are able to truly understand the patterns and grammatical structures of the target language, they are able to use it to its fullest potential and naturally memorize it (Collier and Thomas, 2017). Teaching students to identify similarities between word sound and letter structures within cognates allows students to decode the meaning behind the word in the target language.
Utilizing cognates allows students to gather a general sense of the instruction at hand, increasing the likelihood of engagement and participation. As engagement and class participation increases, so does academic performance. For example, if a high school English Language Arts teacher were to teach the theme of reminiscence throughout The Great Gatsby, most language learners might encounter confusion. Students may be stumped right from the start, which may result in a need to redirect the lesson from literary analysis to breaking down academic vocabulary. This sets the class back and often discourages students. On the other hand, if the teacher chose to use the synonym “nostalgia” instead, Spanish speaking English Language Learners would most likely recognize the written form of the word, as it is spelled the same exact way in English and Spanish. Though these words are pronounced differently in both languages, /nɒˈstældʒə/ in English and /nohs-tahl-hyah/ in Spanish, language learners understand the meaning of the word and have a base to build upon. They are now able to continue to progress throughout the lesson contributing to class discussions and other activities. The teacher can also introduce the word “reminiscence” as a synonym to “nostalgia” later on in the lesson, building on students’ academic vocabulary at a more effective rate. Various studies have indicated that teaching cognate strategies to English Language Learners makes reading comprehension and inferencing definitions of unknown vocabulary much more accessible, increasing student progress and improvement in these areas (Dressler, 2008; Ramirez et. al. 2013; Sunderman and Schwarts, 2008). Just as cognates make reading comprehension and decoding vocabulary more accessible for language learners, the same appears to be true with speech and pronunciation, based on multiple research studies (Amengual 2012; Tessel et. al 2018). The visual similarities of cognates indicate to language learners that the pronunciation of the words are similar as well (Amengual 2012; Tessel et. al 2018).
Though utilizing cognates in content instruction has many advantages, this strategy can only work if students have a strong literacy foundation in their native language. Due to many extenuating circumstances beyond the control of students, families, and educators, many students around the world are facing interruptions to their formal education. Some of these factors include war, poverty, and displacement; though these factors are completely out of their hands, students are directly impacted and face many educational setbacks. Due to the education gaps, some students with interrupted formal education (SIFE/SLIFE) may not be able to read or write in their native language (Roberston and Lafond, 2008). Furthermore, they may lack an understanding of basic knowledge and skills that their peers have already acquired (Roberston and Lafond, 2008). Therefore, utilizing cognate strategies will not work by themselves with this particular group of students; if a student does not have the knowledge in their native language, they cannot bridge connections to the target language. However, educators can use visuals to introduce the concept of cognates to students in both the native language and the target language. For example, the term “biography” in English translates to “biografía” in Spanish; a student with interrupted schooling may not know what this term means in the target language or the native language. Nonetheless, if the educator provides a visual representation of an autobiography along with the terms in both English and Spanish, at the very least, students will be able to come to the realization that an autobiography is a type of book. After exploring the visual and discussing it further in class, students will eventually come to the conclusion that an autobiography is a story of a person’s life written by that person. Another example includes the terms “constellation” and “constelación;” once again, a student with interrupted schooling may not recognize this word in either language. Yet, providing the student with a visual representation of a constellation and pairing it with cognates will allow the student to infer that a constellation refers to stars. The teacher can take this understanding one step further, by showing comparative visuals of a single star versus a constellation of stars; this will lead the student to conclude that a constellation refers to a group of stars. Though implementing cognates by themselves may not work for students with interrupted education, providing visual images to complement these terms serves as a breakthrough to that barrier.
Activating a student’s prior knowledge by incorporating the native language into daily instruction holds a multitude of benefits which include a more comprehensive understanding of the learning goals, an increase in student confidence, and a preservation of the native language and culture. Utilizing cognates, and pairing them with visuals when necessary, serve as a stepping stone for language learners, unlocking the main idea of concepts throughout various content areas and providing an opportunity for a more thorough understanding through discussion, direct instruction, and independent practice.
References
Amengual, M. (2011). Interlingual influence in bilingual speech: Cognate status effect in a continuum of bilingualism. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 15(3), 517–530. doi:
10.1017/s1366728911000460
Collier, V.P., & Thomas, W.P. (2017). Validating the power of bilingual schooling: Thirty-two years of large-scale, longitudinal research. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 37,
1-15. PDF
Dressler, C. (2000). The word-inferencing strategies of bilingual and monolingual fifth graders: A case study approach. Unpublished qualifying paper, Harvard Graduate School of Education, Cambridge, MA.
Ramírez, G., Chen, X., & Pasquarella, A. (2013). Cross-Linguistic Transfer of Morphological Awareness in Spanish-Speaking English Language Learners. Topics in Language Disorders, 33(1), 73–92. doi: 10.1097/tld.0b013e318280f55a
Sunderman, G., & Schwartz, A. I. (2008). Using Cognates to Investigate Cross-Language Competition in Second Language Processing. TESOL Quarterly, 42(3), 527–536. doi: 10.1002/j.1545-7249.2008.tb00145.x
Supporting ELL Students with Interrupted Formal Education (SIFEs). (2018). The ELL Teachers Toolbox, 345-349. doi:10.1002/9781119428701.ch35