ENGLISH-MAJORED STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF USING GOOGLE TRANSLATE IN WRITING ASSIGNMENTS AT DONG NAI TECHNOLOGY UNIVERSITY

Abstract

The education system has witnessed continuous developments in recent decades, driven by the Internet and computers. These advancements have greatly benefited learners, particularly in the realm of English language acquisition. Google Translate has emerged as an essential tool for English learners in today's education. Google Translate (GT) is revolutionizing the way students do their English writing practice. More precisely, they are exploiting the enhanced precision provided by GT to economize on time and effort when finishing written tasks. Nevertheless, students' ever-increasing reliance on these technologies might yield unfavorable consequences on their writing proficiency. This study examined the use of GT by students at Dong Nai Technology University (DNTU) and students ‘perspectives regarding the employment of GT in their writing tasks. The objective was to determine the influence of GT on students' writing abilities and understand students’ perceptions toward the GT employment. This study utilized a mixed methodology, with participants are sophomores and juniors from the Faculty of Foreign Languages. Data was collected by sending out online questionnaire to 120 students and interviewing 40 students. The findings suggested that students extensively used GT, despite expressing worries about the accuracy of the tool.