Machine translation use in the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classroom

Abstract

Machine Translation (MT) increasingly has the potential to facilitate or impede second language learning in the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classroom. To understand teacher and EFL learner perspectives about its use, two surveys of 20 university professors (10 non-native English teachers and 10 native English teachers) and 139 EFL students were carried out. To measure MT’s capacity to promote language awareness, a comparative study with an online dictionary was done, using two translation tasks, a posttest, and a post-questionnaire. The preliminary survey results revealed variations in how learners and teachers perceive text-based machine translation as a valuable tool for language learning and how much they felt its use by students in educational settings should be accepted. Analysis of the posttest also found significant differences in the capacity of DeepL (MT network) to promote language awareness compared to the online dictionary, which aligned with the students’ post-questionnaire feedback. These results emphasise the need for additional research and workplace dialogues going forward, regarding the incorporation and supervision of MT in L2 instruction.