Utilization of technologies in French language translation (FLT) education in Saudi Arabia: A quantitative survey study

Abstract

The utilization of educational technologies has become a mainstream issue in recent years, particularly in the post-pandemic era. The need for technologies and the procedures for implementing them is, therefore, increasingly becoming a core subject and an interesting area of research in foreign language instruction. The present research aimed to explore the utilization of technology in teaching and learning FLT at Princess Nourah University in Saudi Arabia. The research adopted a quantitative survey study based on the data collected from 169 students using a 48-item questionnaire. The results showed that the most used technologies by students are FLT learning videos on YouTube, browsing electronic sites, and searching educational sites. The findings also revealed that the most common technologies used by teachers include e-mail, learning management systems, and gamification. The least used technologies were artificial intelligence, Boostlingo, and Kahoot, which are considered more relevant to FLT instruction [30]. For FLT students, the most challenging obstacles in utilizing technologies were a lack of training on using relevant technologies and limited electronic sites supporting FLT learning. Amongst the recommendations that the researcher highlighted based on these study findings include the fact that students must still utilize more innovative technology relevant to FLT learning, as most of this technology is considered common. All recommendations highlighted aim to develop technology-based FLT teaching and learning in the College of Languages at PNU. For research ethics purposes, the researcher achieved Approval Exempt (IRB Log # 22–0348), date: 29/May 2023.