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Learning strategies are immensely ambiguous phenomena and nothing is clear-cut about them. Zoltan Dőrnyei The object of education is to prepare the young to educate themselves throughout their lives. Robert M. Hutchins

This paper addresses, first, students‘ attitudes to reading, writing and translating in English as a foreign language for specific purposes and, second, to self-evaluation of proficiency in these skills. The problem of translation is closely confined to the two skills of reading and writing. The investigation has aimed at gathering verbal and written data from the students at university for making informed decisions to ensure effective language learning. Translation trains the reader to search (flexibility) for the most appropriate words (accuracy) to convey what is meant (clarity). A. Duff

Susidomėjimą vertimu kaip metodu anglų kalbos mokyme ir mokymesi specialiesiems tikslams (ESP) skatina jo privalumai – aiškumas bei tikslumas. Šiame straipsnyje analizuojami studentų vertinimai, kokias užduotis atliekant jiems prisireikia gimtosios kalbos anglų kalbos užsiėmimuose. Tyrimas rodo, kad visiems besimokantiems gimtoji kalba (L1) yra paranki, tačiau tai, kiek ja remiamasi, priklauso nuo antrosios kalbos (L2) žinių. Gautų duomenų analizė atskleidžia, jog tariamai subjektyvus studentų gimtosios kalbos poreikis užsienio kalbos mokymesi yra pastovus kokybinis ir vertybinis faktorius ir gali būti tiksliai matuojamas Socialinių mokslų statistinio paketo (SPSS) pagalba.

The state-of-the-art teaching of languages is based on the communicative method which emphasizes teaching English through English (Willis 1981). However, the idea of abandoning the native tongue is too stressful to many learners, who need a sense of security in the experience of learning a foreign language. In the past, the prevalence of grammar-translation method led to an extraordinary phenomenon: students were unable to speak fluently after having studied the language for a long time. For this reason, translation has been defined as “uncommunicative, boring, pointless, difficult, and irrelevant” (Duff, 1994). Recently there has been a revival of interest to translation due to the shift of its emphasis – to using a mother tongue as a resource for the promotion of language learning. Translation method develops three qualities essential to any language learning: accuracy, clarity, and flexibility (Duff 1994). Therefore, translation can serve as a tool for improving language skills. The goals of the paper are, firstly, to examine students’ perceptions of mother tongue application and mental translation in learning English for Specific Purposes (ESP), and secondly, to describe the activities which raise learners’ awareness of language use. Comparison between the L1 and L2 through translation can help learners to activate language usage and serve as a tool to polish up learners’ English.