Translation into the Mother Tongue and Written Communication in Education with an Intercultural Approach

Abstract

This article presents the results of a study on the influence that translating into one’s mother tongue has on the written communication of students in bilingual intercultural schools in the province of Andahuaylas (Apurímac, Peru). An experiment was designed with five teaching modules that used examples in the Quechua language and a methodology based on the translation of words, phrases, sentences, and text into the students’ native language. The sample comprised 97 students from two schools; the research employed a descriptive statistical analysis and a Pearson’s correlation test with a significance level of α = 0.05, performed with the statistical package SPSS 25. It was found that the only significant correlation was between the translation of words and phrases (p-value < 0.05), and this correlation was very strong and positive (R > 0.90). The study concludes that translation from a second language (Spanish) into a native language (Quechua) has a positive impact on the development of students’ written communication skills.