Abstract:

The present study which is both qualitative and quantitative in nature focused on the attitudes of Turkish undergraduate students of translation-interpretation towards the use of translation in foreign language classes. Relevant literature was reviewed and student attitudes towards the use of translation in foreign language classes were analysed. The participants of the study were 102 volunteer students studying translation and interpretation in Trakya University, Turkey. 56.9% of the participants were female (n=58) and 43.1% were male (n=44). The percentages of the participants according to their classes were 34.3% (n=35) for freshman students, 21.6% (n=22) for sophomore students’ and 44.1% (n=45) for junior students. No senior students participated in the research. The majors of the participants varied. A survey questionnaire was used as the data collection instrument. An attitude scale (see APPENDIX), which is a modified combination of the biology attitude scale by Russell and Hollander (1975) and the IBT (Inventory for Beliefs about Translation) by Liao (2006), were the main data collection instrument. Structural validity of the scale was sought using varimax rotated factor analysis, and it was found to consist of 9 subscales. The first 3 subscales were discovered to be sufficient in terms of the items they consisted of; however, the rest of the subscales were left outside the scope of this analysis due to the fact that they involved very few items. Besides, every subscale was analyzed and it was found out that all subscales had significant internal consistency. The Cronbach (0, 75- 0,76) and Rulon (0,72- 0,74) coefficients suggest that the scale has high internal consistencyThe results of the survey questionnaire were discussed in the study in depth and detailed statistical analysis results were also presented in order to reveal any statistically significant difference between different genders and classes. A significance level of 0.05 was chosen for all the statistical analyses. To test the validity and reliability, varimax rotated subscale analysis, croanbach alpha, item-total corelation and identification coefficients were calculated. Structural validity of the scale was sought using varimax rotated factor analysis, and it was found to consist of 9 subscales. The first 3 subscales were discovered to be sufficient in terms of the items they consisted of; however, the rest of the subscales were left outside the scope of this analysis due to the fact that they involved very few items. Every subscale was analyzed with the same technique and it was found out that all subscales had significant internal consistency. To test the identification strength of the items, the researchers administered a t-test among the top and bottom quarters, and no item was taken out of the scale, based on the results of the analyses. In addition, all the subscales were analyzed in that way and it was observed that the identification strengths of the subscales were significant. T-test, ANOVA and LSD were administered to test the interaction of dependent variables with independent variables. The study revealed a positive attitude towards the use of translation in foreign language classes. Male students were discovered to have a higher level of positive attitude than female students. The highest and lowest levels of attitude among the students were observed in the “Usefulness of Translation” and “Affective Barriers to Translation” subscales. respectively. The attitudes were the most homogenous in “Usefulness of Translation” subscale and the most in the “Affective Barriers to Translation” subscale. Student attitudes bear no significant difference according to genders in the subscales. Within the subscale of “Usefulness of Translation”, junior students were noted to have a lower level of positive attitude than freshman and sophomore students. “Affective Barriers to Translation” subscale disclosed that junior students had a higher level of positive attitude than freshman students. In the “Affective Barriers to Translation” subscale, students of the English Translation-Interpretation Department showed a higher level of positive attitude than German Translation-Interpretation department students. No significant difference was found in the other two subscales and in total values, based on students’ majors. The relatively high level of positive attitude towards translation revealed in this study supports the studies of Marti Viano and Orquin (1982), O’Malley et al. (1985), and Chamot et al. (1987) who stated that although translation was neglected by many foreign language teachers, it was used extensively by many learners while learning a foreign language. The present study on the attitudes of students towards translation confirms the results of the previously mentioned studies, and thus, it can be said that the use of translation can foster language learning since students already have a tendency to use it.

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