Technical English through translations

The present paper focuses on the use of translation in helping learners to acquire, develop and strengthen their knowledge and competence in the English language. Teaching English is a challenge for any teacher, professor or academic staff, no matter where, in which environment, or to whom it is taught; teaching Technical English is no exception. It has always been a question whether teaching through translations is effective and applicable or is ineffective and unsuccessful. In specialized literature there were many opinions against or for teaching English using translations. While translating, students are incited to notice differences in structure and vocabulary, to strengthen grammatical competence, to shape their own way of thinking and to correct common mistakes that could otherwise remain unnoticed. Students can make the best out of their learning, if they are encouraged to use translation skills properly. In this paper we wanted to find out the students' opinion regarding the advantages and disadvantages of teaching through translations so we carried out a questionnaire asking students from the Faculty of Electrical Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and Faculty of Civil Engineering, Cadastral Survey and Architecture, registered in the academic year 2017-2018, at the University of Oradea.