Abstract Book of the 10th International Conference on Research in Teaching and Education
Year: 2025
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Attitudes Towards Translation in Foreign Language Teaching in Slovak High Schools with Hungarian as the Language of Instruction
Zsuzsa Hajabács
ABSTRACT:
While classical languages used to be taught using the grammar-translation method, during the past century the mother tongue has slowly disappeared from foreign language teaching. The methodology of FLT taught in Slovak universities says that translation has no place in FLT, but reality looks different. Teachers use their mother tongue when they are giving instructions and explaining grammar or new words’ meanings, the students are often given word or sentence translation tasks for homework or in exams, and there is nothing easier than writing an essay in your mother tongue and then putting it into a machine translator to finish your FL homework. The main aim of this study is to find out what English teachers think about the use of translation and the mother tongue in English teaching. The research was realized during the 2024/25 schoolyear in ten Slovak high schools with Hungarian as the language of instruction. The results of these interviews show that there are teachers who are completely against the use of mother tongue in FLT, but there are also many who think that translation does have a place in FLT if it’s used strategically. The paper’s second aim is to determine what types of translation aids do students use while preparing for English lessons. The results of the survey filled out by students show that Google Translate and ChatGPT are the most used translation aids amongst students, but many also ask their friends or family members for help.
Keywords: mother tongue in foreign language teaching; english language teaching; interview; survey; translation aids; machine translation