May 2009 Volume 5 Issue 1
Article 3.
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Article Title
Using Translation and Reading Comprehension of ESP Learners

Author
Abul-Qasim Avandz
Fasa University of Medical Sciences, Iran

Bio Data
Abul-Qasim Avand has been teaching English for one year at high schools and 14 years at Fasa Medical University, a city in Fars Province, I.R. of Iran. He has a Master's in Teaching English from Tarbiat Moddares University in Iran. His areas of research include vocabulary, translation and Grammar. He has translated many articles and published booklets and books, one of which is Frequently Asked Questions on Grammar and Vocabulary by Iranian Learners.

Abstract
Many attempts have been made to make a deliberate choice of a variety of language which is most relevant to particular group of learners. The so-called ESP (English for special/specific purposes) is in part an application of this language variety in language pedagogy.
   For the last decade or so ESP has been claimed to be a productive approach to language teaching and learning. However, some practitioners foster the idea that teaching ESP through the use of the mother tongue may greatly ease and facilitate language learning.
  Following this line of argument, the present study seeks to investigate the effect of using translation (the contribution of the mother tongue) on the reading comprehension of Iranian ESP learners. It is hypothesized that EFL learners, when proficient in the basics of English, may manipulate ESP texts with ease if the channel of instruction is through his or her mother tongue.
    To this end, two groups of medical and nursing students, each consisting of 25 people, took part in this study. They were divided into two groups: a control group and an experimental group. The experimental group received their instruction through a rough oral translation of the text as the instructor read it over noting any area of particular difficulty, while the control group were instructed through English. Having run eight three-hour timed sessions of instruction, the performance of the two groups was compared by administering the ESP reading comprehension test as the posttest.
       The results of the data analysis showed a significant relationship between using translation and reading comprehension. In short, the findings are indicative of the effective role of translation and, accordingly, the necessity of emphasizing the contribution of the mother tongue to teaching of ESP materials.

Key words: translation, ESP, reading comprehension