Do you think it's a good idea to let English learners translate things from Russian into English?
Hello!
Do you think it's a good idea to let English learners translate things from Russian into English?
If I speak Russian as well as my students, who want to improve their English, I could provide them with a lot of sentences that they could try and translate into English. Then the mistakes are analysed and necessary grammar and vocabulary is taught.
Do you think it will be beneficial for the students?
Thank you!

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Translation is always a useful exercise in language learning but never enough on its own.

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As a self-educated translator - I think it's an excellent idea. I have improved my English by translating English texts into Russian. It's definitely beneficial.

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Maybe useful. But I think just useful to grammar. I think communication is important too.

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I think it can be a good component of an educational program, but not the solo means of teaching. It can be a good diagnostic tool to see where your students are having problems. Especially coming from an uninflected language like English to an inflected language like Russian, it is difficult for native English speakers to wrap our heads around at times. I studied Russian (which I have now completely forgotten after 12 years of not using it) for a year in a post-Soviet country while I lived there. I could see this being a valuable tool to use. Just make sure your students are OK with it and don't use it exclusively.

Answers · 4

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