The Role of Mental Translation in Second Language Reading

Reading in a second language (L2) can produce inefficient processing in otherwise proficient readers. This paper argues that mental translation during L2 reading may facilitate the generation and conservation of meaning by allowing the reader to represent portions of L2 text that exceed cognitive limits in a familiar, memory-efficient form. Fifty-one intermediate-level French students, in high, middle, and low reading ability groups, participated in think-aloud interviews while reading French texts. The relative frequency of translation use among these groups is compared at the beginning and end of a semester and is found to decrease with level of reading ability. The specific contexts in which students relied on translation are identified, and functional benefits and strategic uses of translation are discussed. Finally, hypotheses and questions are developed for future research.