University Students’ Perceptions on the Use of Google Translate: Problems and Solutions

Abstract

Machine learning has globally become a trend in most educational settings. This study aims to explore students’ perceptions when using Google Translate (GT) to support their learning as well as their problems and solutions from GT. With the participation of 250 university students at a private educational institution, a 5-point Likert-scale questionnaire and a semi-structured interview were employed to examine how students perceived the use of GT in their learning process. The findings revealed that practically students had positive perceptions on GT’s use in learning. Several major problems were recorded when they used GT, and some recommended solutions were also considered for improvement. Specifically, students utilized GT as a learning tool, particularly for language study, because of its useful features such as multi-language translation, time saving, ease of use, and improving pronunciation. Although Google Translate has a number of advantages for students, several problems such as erroneous grammar and semantics on a frequent basis have led to misunderstanding of original words. As a result, students discovered that they needed to deal with these problems by double checking the results in a dictionary or other translation programs, as well as the help from a peer or supervisor. It is suggested that GT is a helpful machine translator, but students are encouraged to know how to make some judgement on its results for a better translation version.