Abstract
Why is translation good for language learning? This article searches for scientific evidences to support TILT (Translation in Language Teaching). Translation is theorized to involve deverbalization, through which the translator works beyond finding word-for-word or ‘literal’ equivalencies to grasp the meaning of a source text in context. This activity is also referred to as “deep processing” and allows translators to convey the underlying messages, often embedded in the form of metaphor or irony in source texts, which provides language learners with opportunities to brush on total communicative skills in L2.This research attempts to visualize “deep processing” during translation in classroom settings by drawing on the neuroimaging technology fNIRS (functional near-infrared spectroscopy) to capture translators’ brain activity. Based on previous studies Eviatara & Just (2006) showing that higher levels of discourse processing evoke patterns of cognition and brain activation that extend beyond the literal comprehension of sentences, our tentative research has confirmed that, in addition to activation in the left inferior frontal gyrus including Broca’s area such as BA44/55 (Sakai, 2005) and the left Wernicke’s such as BA22 (Ohishi, 2006) that requires to process ‘literal’ expressions in the source text, metaphoric and ironic utterances resulted in significantly higher levels of activation in the right superior and middle temporal gyri (Eviatara & Just, 2006).
https://ror.org/03xg1f311 
