How Can I Avoid Literal/Verbal Translation from My Native Language When Writing an English Essay?

How can I avoid literal/verbal translation from my native language when writing an English essay?

Introduction
As a foreign English learner, , I constantly make grammatical and structural errors when writing in English even though I started learning English at a very early age and have a relatively better speaking and listening ability among my peers. In fact, many Asians, Mandarin users like me in particular, encounter such problem a lot when writing in the English language. As a consequence, I want to find out the main reason that causes me to write in English with the inverse (Chinese) structure all the time. In other words, I want to know why I constantly “think” in my own language and translate it into English instead of directly “think and write” in English simultaneously. That is, as stated in the title, to avoid literal/verbal translation from my native language when writing in English.

In the first part of this essay, discussion will to focus on illustrating the core concepts of how humans form and convert grammatical structures into English. In the second part, a brief research conducted by myself will be used in support of the main question of this essay, which is the methodology to resolve writing difficulties for foreigner English speakers. Last but not least, an overall analysis in regard of the topic can be found in the final paragraph. The objective of this essay is to observe the influence between a Mandarin user’s native language (mother tongue) and the English language in terms of logical thinking process and psycholinguistic perspectives as well as avoiding literal or verbal translation from my the language.

This is an interesting however less discussed topic in terms of English learning method. I sincerely hope English learners, particularly foreign learners, can more or less understand the existing problems that can likely bother us, also, “can generate some interesting data to show the need to explicitly stimulate bicognitive and bicultural development in Chinese EFL learners”(Gonzalez, Virginia, Chen Chia-Yin, and Claudia Sanchez 627-52).
The thinking process We can discover a nearly inevitable process, regardless of its use, before writing a formal essay. That is, in fact, the process of sketching a rough idea (abstract) of what specific concepts we are going to talk about or what type of audience we want to persuade. For instance, suppose our topic is “My Family”. Undoubtedly, the first thing that comes into our mind is a picture consists of mother, father, and children. This is inevitable as we tend to “picturize” abstract words into actual images that we have already acquired from our experience (database) in the past. Later on, after these approximate frames are set up, a complicated process will start interpreting the picture into the language we are familiar with. To simply put, the input (given topic) needs to be processed in order to obtain (write down) the output.

Understanding the process, we can further apply the idea to foreign languages. Take myself as an example. Chinese is my native language whereas English is my second (foreign) language. Based on the thinking process demonstrated earlier, the process for me to convert “English topic” into “English sentences” is to first convert “English topic” to “Chinese topic”(since there is no such database known as “English” in the past), and then picturize “Chinese topic” into “Chinese sentences”, and finally translate those sentences into English. What a tough work it is! Yes, indeed, as a foreign language learner, especially a beginner, this is actually the fastest way to deliver message. However, after such a long process, we experience another problem—the translation is still in “Chinese” linguistic structure! For this reason, our brain starts modifying the structure, again, based on our “database”. (I will further explain the importance of “database” in a while)
The modification process
So the modification process starts. Our brain starts searching for the most native way of expressing the idea in English. Yet, if no such word or structure was learned in the past, it is very likely that we would simply output the most similar or the most “literal” translation of the sentence. In this case, many common grammatical and improper structures can be easily observed, such as saying “What can I make?” instead of “What can I do?”(make and do both have the same meaning in Chinese) Of course, people can still understand what the writer tries to indicate, but on the other hand it can sometimes cause great misunderstanding between the author and the audience.
Research
This survey is conducted on the basis of 57 effective samples, representing participants from more than three different education levels and 3 Mandarin-speaking countries. Questions 1 through 5 are general information used to analyze the background of participants. Questions starting from question 6 are divided into two contrary tracks. Track A is designed to investigate those who had encountered literal/verbal translation difficulties whereas track B is for those who seldom have difficulties writing what they intend to illustrate.

In this research, a few phenomena can be discovered. According to the responses of question 6, apparently over 70% of the participants have had a hard time translating what they really wanted to express into English. As for question <A-1>, 62% think such writing difficulty is mainly due to the lack of vocabulary while in question <A-2>, interestingly, more and more people tend to utilize resources through internet. From here, we can see the importance of technology in terms of learning and gathering information. On the other hand, however, Track B shows that those who seldom or never have literal/verbal translation problems believe reading is also important and that looking up dictionary helps them avoid literal/verbal translation problems. Some suggestions are listed in question<B-1> and <B-3> which include extensive reading and writing, have peer editor to review his/her essay, and even “fall in love with the language.”

I have read, understood, and printed a copy of, the above consent form and desire of my own free will to participate in this study. # | Answer | | | | Response | % | 1 | Yes | | | | 57 | 100% | 2 | No | | | | 0 | 0% | | Total | | 57 | 100% |

1.What is your gender? # | Answer | | | | Response | % | 1 | Male | | | | 27 | 47% | 2 | Female | | | | 30 | 53% | | Total | | 57 | 100% |

2.Please indicate your student status. # | Answer | | | | Response | % | 1 | Middle school or below | | | | 3 | 5% | 2 | High School | | | | 22 | 39% | 3 | College/University or above | | | | 32 | 56% | | Total | | 57 | 100% |

3.Please indicate your nationality. # | Answer | | | | Response | % | 1 | Taiwan | | | | 54 | 95% | 2 | China | | | | 1 | 2% | 3 | Singapore | | | | 0 | 0% | 4 | Malaysia | | | | 0 | 0% | 5 | Macao | | | | 1 | 2% | 6 | Other, please specify | | | | 1 | 2% | | Total | | 57 | 100% |

Other, please specify | Korean |

4.What is your first language? # | Answer | | | | Response | % | 1 | Mandarin Chinese | | | | 52 | 91% | 2 | English | | | | 3 | 5% | 3 | Other, please specify | | | | 2 | 4% | | Total | | 57 | 100% |

Other, please specify | Cantonese Chinese | Korean |

5.Please evaluate your overall English ability using the scale given below. # | Answer | Min Value | Max Value | Average Value | Standard Deviation | Responses | 1 | overall English ability | 0.00 | 100.00 | 63.14 | 23.50 | 57 |

6.Have you ever had a hard time translating words or sentences directly(verbal/literal) from your native language to English when writing an English essay?

# | Answer | | | | Response | % | 1 | Yes | | | | 47 | 82% | 2 | No | | | | 10 | 18% | | Total | | 57 | 100% |

TRACK A (if answer to question 7 is yes)

<A-1>What do you think is the main cause of such writing difficulty? # | Answer | | | | Response | % | 1 | Lack of abundant vocabulary | | | | 29 | 62% | 2 | The logical thinking process of my native language | | | | 14 | 30% | 3 | Lack of enough time to look up the proper usage/words due to time limits in exams | | | | 4 | 9% | 4 | Other, please specify | | | | 0 | 0% | | Total | | 47 | 100% |

<A-2>How would you approach this type of problem? # | Answer | | | | Response | % | 1 | Proceed to my English instructor/teacher | | | | 20 | 43% | 2 | Skip it or leave it | | | | 7 | 15% | 3 | Other, please specify | | | | 20 | 43% | | Total | | 47 | 100% |

Other, please specify | 多看英文文章(read more English articles) | 自行查閱解決方法 | 自己多多進修英文能力 | Reading more English article | 努力思考 | 進行多方英文加強(translation: practice more) | Google一下..( translation: search on google) | 多閱讀熟悉語法、增加單字量 | 多背單字 | 自己查！(translation: look it up on my own) | 查電子辭典(translation: look up electronic dictionary) | 就背單字啊(just memorize!) | google it | 上網找單字(translation: look up words on the internet) | 多背一點啊！不然咧！(translation: memorize more!) | 上網查詢或查字典 (translation: search online or look up dictionary) | 盡可能地多背單字和閱讀各式各樣的文章(translation: try to memorize vocabulary words and all types of articles as much as possible) | 多背單字 聽英文歌(translation: memorize vocabular words and listen to English songs) | 上網查詢(translation: search online) | 試著以英語的思考邏輯找出對應的意思(translation: try to think in the English logical process in order to figure out the corresponding meaning) |

<A-3>If professional training for English writing is provided for you without any additional requirements and charges, would you like to participate? # | Answer | | | | Response | % | 1 | Yes | | | | 37 | 79% | 2 | No, because | | | | 10 | 21% | | Total | | 47 | 100% |

No, because | Too Busy | 沒空(translation: too busy) | 無法實際應用生活及工作(translation: cannot be further applied to my work and life) | I feel like I learn enough in college | im lazy | 有其他功課 想休息(translation: still got other work to do, need to take a break.) |

TRACK B (if answer to question 7 is no)
<B-1>How do you avoid or what helps you avoid this type or problem? Text Response | 查字典、請教能力好的人。(translation: look up dictionary or ask whoever is better in English for help) | i will get peer editor to help me check my essay | 增加單字量、寫作練習，加上閱讀文章以能使這種能力內化。( translation:extensive vocabulary and practice in reading and writing) | 盡量找接近的字去代替(translation: substitute with the nearest word that I already know) | Extensive reading, supposedly. Novels, magazines even movies do help to enhance one 's vocab. | I will try to ask my teacher how I should it | 查字典(look up dictionary) | check the grammar books or ask others. | 查字典或尋求他人協助(look up dictionary or seek for help from others) | Read |

Statistic | Value | Total Responses | 10 |

<B-2>Do you think it is possible for Mandarin (Chinese) users to overcome such problem? # | Answer | | | | Response | % | 1 | Yes | | | | 9 | 90% | 2 | No | | | | 1 | 10% | | Total | | 10 | 100% |

<B-3>Would you like to give any suggestions to English learners who are currently having this problem? # | Answer | | | | Response | % | 1 | Yes | | | | 4 | 40% | 2 | No | | | | 6 | 60% | | Total | | 10 | 100% |

Yes | 多閱讀英文文章、書籍等(translation: through extensive reading) | Try to fall in love with this language. Enjoy and make it fun. Don 't make it look miserable when you try to remember everything from the textbooks. | 多接觸英文 (translation:one can exposed himself/herself to English in his/her everyday life) | do more English reading and practicing more witing |

Conclusion
Recognizing the core process of thinking(input) and writing(output) in English, I realized it all narrows down to a critical essence of language-the ”database”. Database is like the source of a language, it consists of letters, words, sentences, memorized articles, and so on and so forth. With the combination of these elements, we can not only write without lack of enough materials but also can accelerate the process of searching the proper element. As the database gradually becomes larger and larger, it is even possible for English-as-a-second-language learners to directly “think” in English! In light of a study conducted in Taiwan, “Data were selected from students in 10 university academic English writing classes in Taiwan (n=116 in total). English expository writings produced by 40 high- and low- achieving students indicate that they were mainly in contemporary Anglo-American direct rhetorical style rather than in traditional Chinese indirect style.)“ (Chien, Shih-Chieh 132) All in all, despite the fact that literal/verbal translation can hardly be prevented by English learners, it is very possible to improve and continually add more materials to the database by abundant reading and practicing.

Personal Experience and Reflection
As a foreign student from Taiwan, English is indeed a very challenging language for me to conquer not only due to the fact that English isn’t my first language but also the education I received in my country. I studied in public schools (regular national education system) before I came to the US. Since the education doesn’t emphasize the importance of English writing, students in Taiwan like me aren’t given a lot of opportunities to compose our own writing. It turns out to be that the fastest way but sadly the only way is to memorize vocabulary words and then translate, which is one of the main reason why I’m interested in this topic. In fact, we are taught to do so even though we all know this is not helpful at all! After this research, I realized the essential idea to avoid literal/verbal translation and improve my overall English ability is as simple as extensive reading and continuous practices. Hopefully, I will share this research with other students from my high school when I’m back in Taiwan!

References:

<1>Gonzalez, Virginia, Chen Chia-Yin, and Claudia Sanchez. "Cultural Thinking and Discourse Organizational Patterns Influencing Writing Skills in a Chinese English-as-a-Foreign Language (EFL) Learner." Bilingual Research Journal 25.4 (2001): 627-52. ProQuest Research Library. Web. 13 Nov. 2012.

<2> Chien, Shih-Chieh. "The Role of Chinese EFL Learners ' Rhetorical Strategy use in Relation to their Achievement in English Writing." English Teaching 6.1 (2007): 132. ProQuest Research Library. Web. 13 Nov. 2012.

References: &lt;1&gt;Gonzalez, Virginia, Chen Chia-Yin, and Claudia Sanchez. "Cultural Thinking and Discourse Organizational Patterns Influencing Writing Skills in a Chinese English-as-a-Foreign Language (EFL) Learner." Bilingual Research Journal 25.4 (2001): 627-52. ProQuest Research Library. Web. 13 Nov. 2012. &lt;2&gt; Chien, Shih-Chieh. "The Role of Chinese EFL Learners ' Rhetorical Strategy use in Relation to their Achievement in English Writing." English Teaching 6.1 (2007): 132. ProQuest Research Library. Web. 13 Nov. 2012.