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The free online translation tool DeepL is currently among the top globally visited websites, and everyday millions of users translate billions of characters with its help, or the help of the similarly successful Google Translate. Research shows that 99% of language students at the OU – and indeed 100% of language teachers! – are familiar with online machine translation tools. Many students like these tools for enabling them to quickly look up words and phrases. But language teachers often worry about their potential hindrance for students’ learning, and particularly about issues of academic conduct.
As language teachers, we are faced with two challenges in particular: if
everyone knows about it, and everyone uses it at least occasionally, how can we
make translation tools benefit our students, and how can we deal
with interrelated questions of plagiarism in academic writing?
Incorporating machine translation tools into language teaching can have similarities to using other self-directed strategies, for example flipped classrooms. In both cases, students are given the choice to determine and pursue their own learning objectives. In many instances the teacher can act as a guide and stimulator rather than explaining to and directing the student.
‘these tools can be used for much more than actual translation…’
To help students improve their learning with the help of online machine translation tools, it is important to show them that, depending on the combination of languages explored, these tools can be used for much more than actual translation.-
They can be used to explore grammatical rules and linguistic features: teachers can provide examples of a specific grammatical feature in the target language and ask students to use a translation tool to translate into their native language and deduce and formulate the grammatical rule. Learners can then employ machine translation tools such as Google Translate or DeepL to confirm the rule. This helps the teacher to cater for different learning types and encourages students to find explanations and patterns that accommodate their individual learning patterns.
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Different versions of translations, for example written by students and translation tools, can be compared in class and used to analyse mistakes and other linguistic features.
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They can help students to understanding complex texts and original sources. Learners can employ translation tools to further their understanding of the target language as well as cultural aspects.
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Teachers can show learners how to employ machine translation tools to ‘play’ with their target language. Learners try to simplify and re-write texts in the target language to suit their own level, or to help fellow students in their comprehension. They can also be encouraged to identify and reflect on the strategies they employed for simplifying the text.
These and similar activities can be adjusted to serve several purposes, depending on the language level of students: beyond the actual language practice, they encourage learners to reflect on their learning process and strategies and can be used as a stimulant for debates regarding academic practices. And, last but not least, in a world of ever-increasing importance of digital literacy and artificial intelligence, they also equip language learners with an additional employability skill.
Are you trying to learn a language in the age of readily available free online translation tools such as Google Translate or DeepL? Find out more about how these tools can improve your language learning.
Level: 1 Introductory
Online machine translation tools offer many advantages in everyday communication but what concerns do they raise among language teachers when they’re used in assessments? This article examines the issues involved.
Level: 1 Introductory
More in this series
Machine translation – using online tools to improve your language learning
Machine translation – how teachers can deal with online translation tools in language studies assessments
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