Tradução e Ensino de Línguas Estrangeiras: um estudo das percepções dos professores de LE acerca do uso da Tradução em sala de aula em um centro de línguas municipal

Abstract

The present study aims to investigate the perceptions of language teachers on the use of translation in a foreign language class / lecture in a municipal language school in João Pessoa, Brazil. Data was collected through the use of questionnaires, contributed by eight language teachers, consequently research findings can be defined as both qualitative and exploratory due to the purpose of this study. After analyzing the questionnaires, it was confirmed that the language teachers make use of translation during their classes based on Nord’s Functionalist Approach; additionally, this process is intuitive and spontaneous, once teachers do not recognize a translation as referred to by Jakobson’s translation categories and Hurtado Albir’s definitions of translation in teaching and learning process. However, studies have showed that the unconscious or barely planned use of translation exercises can prevent students rather than help them to acquire a foreign language. Therefore, this study proposes a more accurate and reflexive use of translation due to its range of possibilities, which it provides for foreign language teaching and the learning process, specifically the translation must attend a defined purpose previously planned by the teacher in order to achieve its goals.