Table 2.

The stages of the translation method in writing classes.

Stages	Time (min.)	What the students did	What the teacher did
1. Brainstorming	20	Discussed the given subject in L1 or L2; Jotted down key points in L1 or L2;	Made sure that students participated in the discussion actively; Helped students to remove barriers to the expression of ideas while they made the plan
2. Writing in Chinese	20	Wrote about the topic in Chinese Translated the Chinese draft into English	Showed the students that it was best to write clearly for easy translation
3. Writing in English	20 + 20	Step 1: Translated their Chinese draft into English Step 2: Completed the translation and submitted	For Step 1, prevented the students from using any dictionaries. For Step 2, allowed the students to use a dictionary. Helped the students with word choices and sentence structures, etc. in the process of translation. Provided feedback to the students on their translation.
4. Editing and rewriting	40	Undertook editing sessions Rewrote the essay using English	Helped students with their choices of words and expressions in English.
5. Submitting		Submitted the essays	Commented on and scored the students’ essays

Adapted from Lee (2018).