The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Hong Kong
Despite the growing popularity of machine translation (MT), limited studies have been conducted to explore the relationship between MT and learning English as a second language (ESL). This paper reports preliminary results of a pilot study which aimed to investigate Chinese ESL undergraduates’ perceptions, experience, and use of MT tools.
The data for this exploratory study were collected from an online survey designed to investigate students’ use of and beliefs about MT, and the relationship between MT and ESL learning. For this purpose, 64 university students in Hong Kong were asked to complete a questionnaire about their views on, preferences for, and experience with MT, and its impact on their learning.
It was found that free online machine translation (FOMT) tools were the most accessible form. In line with prior studies, the majority of students used both text and voice MT tools on a regular basis for specific purposes. The findings generally showed that there were mixed views about its capabilities, potential, quality, and viability. While some learners were sceptical about the reliability, MT systems’ lack of accuracy in certain fields was not seen as a reason for not adopting them. The respondents tended to rely more on electronic and mobile resources mainly because of their convenience, not quality. The results also revealed that more than half of the respondents held positive attitudes towards the use of MT for language learning and university study, such as that it improved error correction skills, promoted language awareness, and facilitated writing. The research also indicated that genre, translation segment length, and types of MT affected the participants’ judgement of its accuracy. They evaluated the overall quality of MT to be higher than its capacity to handle grammatical structures, and thus the students relied on MT mainly for gisting purposes. While the majority believed that MT could bring benefits to language learning, they were aware that it produced errors, especially when handling complex structures, long segments and cross-cultural references.
This paper illustrated both the benefits and limitations of MT, in particular free online MT, as a language tool. The survey-based study provided a snapshot of Chinese ESL students’ perceptions and use of MT. It also indicated the need for appropriate training and had pedagogical implications for developing strategies for effective use of MT tools in order to enhance students’ electronic literacy.