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Abstract

This study was concerned with the use of Google Translate when teaching and assessing writing skills in the foreign language classes of a boarding school in Connecticut (United States).

It sought to analyse the perception of both teachers and students towards Google Translate, review syllabi and policies and examine appropriate and inappropriate uses and how they affect the language learning process. 

The phases of this study consisted of the analysis of the foreign language classes’ syllabi and the school policies and a focus group with the teachers of the World Languages Department about their perception and use of Google Translate (GT).

Moreover, the study included an anonymous questionnaire for students about their perception and use of online translators. Finally, this research comprised a small test to analyse the teachers’ ability to detect the inappropriate use of Google Translate and it also involved the design of an activity to use GT as a learning tool for the foreign language (FL) class.

The study showed that FL teachers saw benefits in the use of GT in their personal lives (outside the school) but they rejected its application in the foreign language class. In fact, they all banned the use of GT except when it was used as a dictionary (to translate isolated words).

This prohibition was explained to the students when the academic year started. However, it was only stated in 57% of the syllabi and these documents were not accessible online for the students to read during the year. The student handbook considered the incorrect use of GT as academic dishonesty, but the teachers chose not to report the cases that occurred. Moreover, three fourths of the students used GT and, despite the academic policies, 47.63% of them did so inappropriately (for more than one word).

It is important that FL teachers agree on the penalties and the steps to follow when a case of incorrect use of GT arises. Furthermore, the student handbook and syllabi should reflect the latter and these documents should be digitally accessible to the students during the year. Teachers should either apply new ways to avoid or detect the use of GT (since students keep breaking the rules) or include GT in their classes since it is a real-life resource from which the students admitted they were learning despite its flaws.

Course: Translation Studies - MA/PGD - C0680

Date Deposited: 2020-01-15

URI/permalink: https://library.port.ac.uk/dissert/dis13520.html