A survey in students' reading habits and problems in translation. Some suggestions for the improvement :Graduation Thesis - Faculty of Foreign Languages

MINISTRY OF INDUSTRY AND TRADE

INDUSTRIAL UNIVERSITY OF HO CHI MINH CITY

FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

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GRADUATION THESIS

TITLE:

A SURVEY IN STUDENTS’ READING HABITS

AND PROBLEMS IN TRANSLATION.

SOME SUGGESTIONS FOR THE

IMPROVEMENT

STUDENT’S NAME: HUYNH THI NGOC HANH

STUDENT ID NUMBER: 13015981

CLASS: DHAV9

COURSE: 2013 – 2017

SUPERVISOR: Senior Lecturer NGUYEN KHANH DU,DBA

HCMC, May 2017

Date of submission: 25/05/2017

Student Name: HUYNH THI NGOC HANH

Supervisor’s Name: Senior Lecturer NGUYEN KHANH DU, DBA

“I certify that this work is entirely my own and has not been accepted as part of submission to

another purpose elsewhere”

Signed: …………………………………………………………

Word length: 14860 words

DECLARATION

My full name is Huynh Thi Ngoc Hanh. I declare that this graduation thesis entitled “A

Survey in Students‟ Reading Habits and Problems in Translation. Some suggestions for the

improvement” is my original work. I also certify that the content of the thesis is the result of

my creation and effort, and does not include any plagiarism.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION................................................................................................. 1

1.1 Rationale ............................................................................................................................... 1

1.2 Statement of the Problem.................................................................................................... 2

1.3 Purpose of the Study............................................................................................................ 2

1.4 Research Questions.............................................................................................................. 3

1.5 Significance of the Study ..................................................................................................... 3

1.6 Scope of the Study................................................................................................................ 3

CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................................................... 5

2.1 An Overview of Translation................................................................................................ 5

2.1.1 Definitions of Translation............................................................................................. 5

2.1.2 The Importance of Translation.................................................................................... 6

2.1.3 Translation Process....................................................................................................... 8

2.1.3.1 Pre-translation ........................................................................................................ 9

2.1.3.2 While-translation.................................................................................................. 10

2.1.3.3 Post-translation..................................................................................................... 12

2.1.4 Some Difficulties in Translating ................................................................................ 13

2.2 An Overview of Reading Habits....................................................................................... 15

2.2.1 Reading and Reading Comprehension...................................................................... 15

2.2.1.1 Definitions of Reading.......................................................................................... 15

2.2.1.2 Definitions of Reading Comprehension.............................................................. 16

2.2.1.3 The Importance of Reading Comprehension..................................................... 18

2.2.2 Definitions of Reading Habits.................................................................................... 18

2.2.3 The Correlation between Reading Habits and Reading Comprehension.............. 20

2.3 The Benefits of Reading Habits........................................................................................ 20

CHAPTER 3. METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................. 24

3.1 Research Procedure........................................................................................................... 24

3.2 Participants......................................................................................................................... 24

3.3.1 The Researcher............................................................................................................ 24

3.3.2 The Subjects................................................................................................................. 24

3.3 Data Collection Instrument............................................................................................... 25

3.4 Data Collection Procedure ................................................................................................ 27

3.5 Data Analysis Procedure ................................................................................................... 27

3.6 Summary............................................................................................................................. 28

CHAPTER 4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION ......................................................................... 29

4.1 Results from the Questionnaire ........................................................................................ 29

4.1.1 The Reality of English-majored Juniors’ Translation Learning............................ 29

4.1.2 The Reality of English-majored Juniors’ Reading Habits...................................... 33

4.1.3 Students’ Opinions on the Relationship between Reading Habits and

Translation............................................................................................................................ 39

4.2 Results from Translating Exercises.................................................................................. 44

4.2.1 Translating from English into Vietnamese ............................................................... 44

4.2.2 Translating from Vietnamese into English ............................................................... 45

4.3 Discussion ........................................................................................................................... 45

CHAPTER 5. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS.............................................. 47

5.1 Overview and Summary of the Thesis............................................................................. 47

5.2 Recommendations.............................................................................................................. 47

5.2.1 For Students................................................................................................................. 47

5.2.2 For Teachers................................................................................................................ 48

5.3 Limitations of the Study .................................................................................................... 49

REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................ 50

APPENDICES.............................................................................................................................. 54

APPENDIX 1: QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS........................................................ 54

APPENDIX 2: TRANSLATING EXERCISES .................................................................... 60

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

1. IUH: Industrial University of Ho Chi Minh City

2. FFL: Faculty of Foreign Languages

3. SL: Source Language

4. TL: Target Language

5. ST: Source Text

6. TT: Target Text

TABLE OF FIGURES

Figure 2.1: A simplified Translation Process

Figure 2.2: Translation process by Nida (1969)

Figure 2.3: Comprehension‟s elements

Table 3.1: Questionnaires for part 1

Table 4.1: The level of satisfaction of English-majored juniors from translation marks

Table 4.2: Materials/sources used for learning and practicing translating skills

Table 4.3: Students‟ perspective on the relationship between reading habits and translation

Chart 4.1: The level of satisfaction of English-majored juniors from translation marks

Chart 4.2: Students‟ translation process

Chart 4.3: Students‟ difficulties in learning translation

Chart 4.4: Students‟ methods for improving translating skills

Chart 4.5: Materials/sources used for learning and practicing translating skills

Chart 4.6: Favorite topics of students

Chart 4.7: Students‟ difficulties in reading the above materials/sources

Chart 4.8: The benefits of reading mentioned materials/sources

Chart 4.9: The frequency of reading

Chart 4.10: Factors affecting students‟ reading habits

Chart 4.11: Students‟ opinions on the relationship between reading habits and translation

Chart 4.12: Students‟ attention to factors in reading materials/sources

Chart 4.13: Methods of improving students‟ reading habits

Chart 4.14: Methods of improving translating skills through reading habits