Developing translation skills: English to French
Transcription
Developing translation skills: English to French
Developing translation skills: English to French Step 1: identify the main themes. Read the whole text below and write a title for it. Then identify the general content of each paragraph and write a subheading for each. Title: ....................................................................................................................................... Paragraph 1 subheading: ................................................................................................... Every summer, I go on holiday to Aquitaine with my family. It’s a good chance to rest! My parents and my sister sleep in the cottage, but my brother and I actually prefer to sleep in a tent in the garden. I love adventure! It’s really fun even if sometimes it's a bit cold. Paragraph 2 subheading: .................................................................................................. Generally, in the morning we go to the market with my parents who love buying fruit, vegetables – and rabbit (gross!). Then we go back home and we do the cooking together. Paragraph 3 subheading: ................................................................................................... Then we spend the afternoon with our friends Pierre and François. They stay at The Forest campsite. We go to the beach together. When we were little our parents were always with us, but now we are independent. We used to play football before but now we play volleyball. Next year I’ll have the chance to go horseriding with my friends, however it costs a lot of money. Paragraph 4 subheading: ................................................................................................... Finally, in the evening we go to the ice cream shop: the ice cream is delicious, especially the vanilla and chocolate. © www.teachitlanguages.co.uk 2014 23284 Page 1 of 4 Developing translation skills: English to French Teaching notes This resource is designed to highlight some effective strategies which KS3 students can use to improve their translation skills from English to French. The step-by-step approach will scaffold their eventual translation of a longer text on the theme of holidays. Step 1: Identify the main themes Project slide 2 and give each pair or group of students the English text on p.1 of this Word document to read. Ask them to agree on a good title and subheadings for each paragraph. The best or most popular suggestions can be added to slide 3. Step 2: Identify the cognates Slide 4 prompts students to define the term ‘cognate’ and give more examples (e.g. le foot, le tennis, le problème, la solution, la question etc.). Ask the students to read the English text again, highlighting or underlining any words which they think may be cognates. Answers are given on slide 5. If students have highlighted more than 19 words, move on to slide 6 to explain this pitfall. Step 3: Watch out for ‘false friends’ Slide 6 prompts students to explain the terms ‘false friends’ or ‘faux amis’ from the examples given. Elicit additional examples (e.g. des chips, l’addition, une cave, sympathique etc.). Use slide 7 to elicit the obvious translations of four words from the text. Divide the class into two equal groups. Half the class should work in pairs or groups using dictionaries to look up the English words and find the correct translations. The other half should look up the French words to find out what they actually mean. At the end of the activity, ask students to find a partner from the other group and share their findings. Answers on slide 8. Step 4: Consider word order In pairs, students discuss the options given for each sentence on slide 9 and vote for the correct version (A = 2, B = 1, C = 2) giving the grammar rule if they can. Answers will appear on clicking. © www.teachitlanguages.co.uk 2014 23284 Page 2 of 4 Developing translation skills: English to French Step 5: Genders, plurals and adjective endings In pairs, students discuss questions A and B on slide 10. Ask for feedback, encouraging them to explain how they know. Answers appear on clicking. Step 6: Verbs and tenses Slide 11 encourages students to think about the correct verb forms and tenses. 1. allons = aller, 1st person plural (nous), present tense, ‘go/are going’. 2. étaient= être, 3rd person plural (ils/elles), imperfect tense, ‘were/used to be’. 3. dorment = dormir, 3rd person plural (ils/elles), present tense, ‘sleep/are sleeping’. Step 7: Avoid Google translate Slides 12-13 recap the six steps covered so far and emphasise the dangers of using Google translate. Suggest www.wordreference.com as a useful online dictionary instead. The YouTube link on slide 13 is for a video based on the lyrics for the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, demonstrating what happens to the words of the rap when they are translated into Mandarin (and other languages) and then back into English using Google translate. The first 1m 44s make the point! Plenary discussion and translation time Slide 14 is a plenary discussion activity to review the translation techniques covered in the lesson. Slide 15 suggests that students work in groups to translate the text from p.1. Alternatively this could be set as a homework task. A possible model translation is provided on p.4. © www.teachitlanguages.co.uk 2014 23284 Page 3 of 4 Developing translation skills: English to French Suggested translation Chaque été je vais en vacances en Aquitaine avec ma famille. C’est une bonne occasion pour se reposer! Mes parents et ma sœur dorment dans le gîte, mais mon frère et moi, en fait, nous préférons dormir dans une tente dans le jardin. J’aime les aventures! C’est vraiment amusant même si quelquefois il fait un peu froid. Généralement, le matin, nous allons au marché avec mes parents qui adorent acheter des fruits, des légumes – et du lapin (dégoûtant!). Puis on rentre et nous faisons la cuisine ensemble. Puis nous passons l’après-midi avec nos amis Pierre et François. Ils logent au camping La Forêt. Nous allons à la plage ensemble. Quand nous étions petits, nos parents étaient toujours avec nous, mais maintenant nous sommes indépendants. Avant, on jouait au foot mais maintenant nous jouons au volley. L’année prochaine j’aurai l’occasion de faire de l’équitation, cependant ça coûte très cher. Finalement, le soir nous allons au magasin de glaces: les glaces sont délicieuses, surtout la vanille et le chocolat. © www.teachitlanguages.co.uk 2014 23284 Page 4 of 4