Cook suggests moving beyond rote grammar-translation drills and instead using "strategic" translation activities: Comparative Analysis
Cook is not an armchair theorist. He provides numerous examples of translation activities, categorized by level and objective. Below are some of his most influential activity types, with my own elaborations: Translation In Language Teaching Guy Cook Pdf
In the landscape of modern language pedagogy, few topics have been as contentious as the role of translation. For decades, the communicative approach and the "monolingual principle"—the idea that instruction should occur exclusively in the target language—dominated, relegating translation to the realm of outdated methods. However, seminal 2010 work, Translation in Language Teaching (often sought in PDF format), challenges this consensus, offering a compelling argument for the rehabilitation and integration of translation into contemporary language classrooms. For decades, the communicative approach and the "monolingual
Translation encourages learners to compare structures, idioms, and nuances between languages, fostering a more conscious understanding of both the L1 and the target language. seminal 2010 work