What role do translation equivalents play in expanding B1 learners' vocabulary

Translation equivalents play an important role in expanding B1 learners’ vocabulary by providing a bridge between the learners’ native language (L1) and the new language (L2). They help learners understand, access, and retain new words more effectively by linking meaning across languages. Using translation equivalents as a vocabulary learning strategy has been shown to positively impact vocabulary acquisition, often facilitating better comprehension and faster lexical access for learners at this intermediate proficiency level.

Key points about the role of translation equivalents for B1 learners include:

• Translation equivalents support learners in mapping new L2 words to familiar L1 concepts, which can enhance word recognition and recall.
• B1 learners often benefit from translation strategies more than purely monolingual approaches because they still build strong lexical connections through their L1.
• Translation tasks, especially L1 to L2 translation, can lead to higher productive vocabulary knowledge and improve learners’ overall lexical competence.
• Using translation can reduce learners’ speaking anxiety by reinforcing vocabulary understanding, making it a supportive tool in learning.
• The conceptual overlap of translation equivalents bridges vocabulary learning, enabling learners to access core meanings and peripheral meanings of polysemous words faster.

In summary, translation equivalents function as cognitive anchors that facilitate vocabulary learning at the B1 level by linking new language input with existing knowledge in the learner’s native language. This method has empirical support in language learning research, highlighting translation equivalence as an effective strategy to expand vocabulary for B1 learners.

References

• The Impact of Translation Equivalence on Tunisian EFL Learners’ Vocabulary Knowledge and Word-Learnability

• Translation Equivalents Facilitate Lexical Access in Very Young Bilinguals.

• Word reading and translation in bilinguals: the impact of formal and informal translation expertise

• The consequences of language proficiency and difficulty of lexical access for translation performance and priming

• Students’ Translation Use in English Foreign Language (EFL) Learning

• Translation Teaching: The Importance of the Translator’s Native Language

• The Simpsons: Translation and language teaching in an EFL class

• Cross-language activation and semantic judgements of translation ambiguous words among Chinese–English bilinguals

• Second Language Pedagogy and Translation: The Role Of Learners’ Own-Language and Explicit Instruction Revisited

• The Correlation between Translation Equivalence, as a Vocabulary Learning Strategy, and Tunisian EFL Learners’ Speaking Anxiety

• A study of L2 incidental vocabulary acquisition through different translation tasks

• Language Labs and Translation Booths: Simultaneous Interpretation as a Learner Task

• Translation as a Part of School Curriculum in Learning English Language

• The correlated influence of semantic types, L1 translation equivalents and language proficiency on EFL learners’ production of polysemous words

• Are Translation Equivalents Always Activated When Bilinguals Perform a Task in One of Their Languages? Behavioral and ERP Evidence of the Role of the Task

• Translation norms for English and Spanish: The role of lexical variables, word class, and L2 proficiency in negotiating translation ambiguity

• Cognates Facilitate Word Recognition in Young Spanish-English Bilinguals’ Test Performance.

• Repetition priming within and between languages in verb generation: Evidence for shared verb concepts

• An Investigation of the Relationship between L1 Lexical Translation Equivalence and L2 Vocabulary Acquisition

• A1–B2 vocabulary: insights and issues arising from the English Profile Wordlists project