Abstract
In this article we outline our practices for the inclusion of electronic translation devices in specialized French language courses and reflect upon the changing landscape of language teaching. We describe how the use of Google Translate can increase students' awareness of linguistic, stylistic, and cultural differences in our culturally and linguistically diverse clasrooms. Although we characterize our didactic approach as action based, we differenciate our use of this approach from its common use in general language courses and point out the usefulness of intellectualizing it based on our use of Google Translate in work-place-oriented courses. Furthermore, we use our experience with action based approaches and translation devices to answer the following questions: why are students still learning languages; what are the language skills that they are interested in; and what is the role of a teacher in this new world of quasi-magic linguistic tools.
Highlights
A few months ago, the French professors in our department received an e-mail entitled “Google Translate” from a colleague in panic
While it is obvious that the use of a translation device for essays would not reflect students‟ knowledge of French, the idea of banning Google Translate from our teaching practices did not sit well with us
Since we teach Business French and French Translation, both courses preparing students for using French in their future careers, we agreed that we could not ignore the existence of free translation devices in our changing world
Summary
Since we teach Business French and French Translation, both courses preparing students for using French in their future careers, we agreed that we could not ignore the existence of free translation devices in our changing world. These rapidly improving devices can, we believe, be helpful in professional and everyday life; instead of banning their use in our courses and carrying on as if it were still the twentieth century, we would rather consider how to include them, and more important, how to teach students to use them effectively. In this article we will share our observations about students‟ goals for learning French, our best practices for the inclusion of language practice and translation devices in our specialized courses, and our reflections about the changing landscape of language teaching
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