Bridging Vocabulary and Emotion: Controlled Translation for Enhanced Retention in EFL Learners

This study explores a classroom-based strategy designed to enhance vocabulary retention and sentence construction in EFL learners through controlled translation and emotional engagement. Initially, students avoided translating new vocabulary, which led to low retention and difficulty using words in context. After introducing a strategy of translating new words into the learners' mother tongue and providing cultural, emotional, and contextual explanations, vocabulary retention and classroom participation improved significantly. The study also emphasizes the role of emotional resonance in activating learners' vocabulary and language fluency. Emotional and cultural factors play a critical role in anchoring vocabulary into long-term memory, especially when learners experience a sense of personal connection to the language they are acquiring. These insights support a balanced approach to translation in EFL pedagogy, highlighting the need to connect words not only to meaning but also to learners’ feelings, beliefs, and lived experiences for holistic language acquisition.