The Effect of Pedagogical Translation on Advancing EFL Students’ Creative Writing at the Tertiary Level

Abstract

This research investigated the impact of using translation as a pedagogical approach on advancing EFL students’ creative writing. Previous studies analysing the effectiveness of translation as a learning tool indicated that creative writing can be optimized amongst EFL students. However, studies of this nature are infrequent. The transfer of their findings is subject to dispute, which is the reason this study joins the ongoing debate on the role of pedagogical translation in fostering both students’ foreign language learning alongside the improvement of their creative writing skills. The study also explored EFL students’ perceptions regarding the viability of such method in the enhancement of their creative writing. The present research reports on a quasi-experimental intervention which was carried out at Ibn Zohr University. Semester one participants (N=210) were randomly allocated to two groups; one experimental and one control group. The experimental group was taught by exposing students to various nonfiction literary texts, followed by tasks requiring them to translate these texts from Arabic into English. Conversely, the control group was traditionally instructed in the same course without the use of literary translation. Instead, they were introduced to a variety of creative writing activities using English exclusively. Methodologically, both quantitative and qualitative data analyses were employed. Improvements pertaining to participants’ composition, demonstrated through personal narratives, were assessed employing two widely-adopted rubrics. The results indicated an improvement in both groups’ creative writing performance, but the experimental group showed comparatively more considerable progress. The difference between students’ scores -in both groups- was statistically significant.