An Investigation of Saudi EFL University Students’ Attitudes towards the Use of Google Translate

Abstract

It is argued that the popularity of Google Translate is increasing and users are implementing this giant search engine for different purposes. Hence, this paper reports the results of a study on attitudes toward the use of Google Translate (GT). The participants were 92 Saudi EFL university English major students. A questionnaire was used as an instrument in this study. The results revealed that almost all of the subjects reported using GT. Vocabulary, writing and reading were the three most frequent purposes for which they use GT, whereas translation was the least frequently used. The results also showed that GT is frequently used to get the meaning of unknown words, writing assignments and reading an English textbook. The findings of the study have implications for students, instructors and researchers.

I Can’t Live Without Google Translate: A Close Look at the Use of Google Translate App by Second Language Learners in Saudi Arabia

“…This evidence indicates that GTA enables learners to participate in class and increase their interaction with their peers and the instructor by enhancing their pronunciation, reading and vocabulary. These results are consistent with the results presented by Alhaisoni and Alhaysony (2017), who reported that Google Translate was used by English language learners to assist them when understanding the meaning of unfamiliar vocabulary as a way to improve their reading skills. This evidence also shows that Google Translate increased learner's comprehension when translating keywords in class.…”

“…Views pertaining to using Google Translate, as expressed by students majoring in English in Saudi Arabia, were reported by Alhaisoni and Alhaysony (2017). They explored the attitudes of ninety-two EFL students majoring in English.…”

“…She revealed that Google translation website in particular affected the translation skills of second language learners. The studies mentioned above by Alhaisoni and Alhaysony (2017), Tsai (2019) and Bin Dahmash (2019) did not ask participants to disclose the specific features they used on Google Translate. Participants in Alhaisoni and Alhaysony (2017) and Tsai (2019) were asked to fill in a questionnaire, but the version of Google Translate, i.e.…”

“…app or webpage, was not specified. Alhaisoni and Alhaysony (2017) explored the attitudes of students towards the use of Google Translate, while Tsai (2019) required that participants use Google Translate to complete languagebased activities and subsequently collected their views. Bin Dahmash (2019) focused on the use of English on social media and did not ask about the use of English with Google Translate in particular.…”

“…English is referred to as a second language in Saudi Arabia, based on the assumption that any language additional to the first language is a second language (Dewaele, 2018). The majority of students at the university level who are majoring in English in Saudi Arabia refer to Google Translate to assist them in their assignments (Alhaisoni & Alhaysony, 2017;Alsalem, 2019). This is supported by the fact that translations between Arabic and English were reported to be among the most popular on Google Translate (Turovsky, 2016).…”