THE STRATEGIES USED BY LECTURERS IN TEACHING TRANSLATION OF IDIOMATIC EXPRESSIONS

Abstract

It is known that the lexicon of a particular language is much more than a list of individual words. The English language is full of somewhat formulaic language, especially established idiomatic expressions. Considering everyday situations in which such expressions are used and the significant role that they play in communication, there has been increasing awareness of these expressions in second language teaching and learning. It is therefore very important for lecturers to create strategies to make these expressions more understandable and memorable to their students as possible. This study investigates teaching strategies used by lecturers in teaching translation of idiomatic expressions to translation students and to what extent are these strategies effective. The researchers conducted informal open-ended interviews with experts in the field of translation that analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings of the study revealed that lecturers employ several different strategies in teaching translation of idiomatic expressions to improve students’ comprehension, which are authentic materials from real life, teaching within context, using L1 to comprehend L2 expressions, pictures, exercises, and activities, and dialogues and role play. In addition, the lecturers consider these strategies effective and useful in teaching figurative expressions. In light of these findings, the researcher recommends that idiomatic language should be taught inside classrooms before encountering the real English world, and it is the lecturers’ role to raise students’ awareness of these expressions and explore strategies that can improve students’ comprehension and production of these expressions. The study offers pedagogical suggestions on using multimodal strategies to teaching translation of English idiomatic expressions.