Integrating Translation Into Esp Instruction In Algerian Higher Education
Auteurs : Talha Boualem .
Résumé
Translation is steadily regaining recognition as a legitimate and pedagogically valuable tool in foreign language teaching, following decades of marginalisation within communicative language teaching frameworks. The present article examines the theoretical foundations and practical benefits of integrating translation-based tasks into English for Specific Purposes (ESP) instruction in the Algerian higher education context, where learners operate within a complex multilingual environment in which French (L2) and English as the target foreign language (FL) coexist alongside learners' native tongue. Drawing on recent scholarship in applied linguistics and ESP pedagogy, the article argues that translation, when purposefully designed and strategically implemented, constitutes a versatile instructional tool capable of simultaneously developing reading, writing, grammatical, and lexical competencies, whilst cultivating the cross-linguistic awareness that characterises effective professional communication. The empirical dimension of the study involved the administration of a structured questionnaire to 120 medical students at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Djillali Liabes, Sidi Bel Abbes, whose responses were analysed to examine their perceptions and attitudes toward translation-based tasks in their ESP courses. The findings indicate that translation activities are not only positively received by ESP learners but also serve as an effective bridge between learners' prior linguistic knowledge and newly acquired target language competencies, In response to these findings, the article proposes a set of translation-based classroom tasks specifically designed to support the practical implementation of translation within ESP course design, supporting the argument that the principled integration of translation into ESP syllabi represents a theoretically grounded and practically effective pedagogical choice.
Mots clés
English for specific purposes ; ESP pedagogy ; Syllabus design ; Translation-based pedagogy ; Translation tasks
