Translation as a Mediation Activity for Vocabulary Retention: An Empirical Study

Abstract

This study investigates whether translation as a mediation activity in the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) fosters better vocabulary retention than English-only vocabulary exercises for students of English as a foreign language. Translation as a language instruction and acquisition method has been the topic of much debate between proponents of English-only methodologies and advocates of bi/multilingual philosophies. This study intends to spotlight the pedagogical value of translation in the EFL classroom. To that end, quantitative data were collected from 82 students at the Classes Préparatoires aux Grandes Écoles (Preparatory Classes for Engineering and Management Schools) (henceforth, CPGE) in Marrakesh, Morocco. The Statistical Package for Social Science (henceforth, SPSS) was used to analyze the data collected from two posttests. The results prove that translation as a mediation activity leads to better vocabulary retention than English-only vocabulary exercises. This study suggests that translation as mediation is a valid language learning activity to implement in English classrooms.