Untitled

Abstract

Writing skill is considered a difficult skill for some of the students because of limited vocabulary as well as grammatical weaknesses. Therefore, this study aims to investigate further the practice of GT in EFL essay writing as wells as its role in language learning. The study was conducted in Universitas Kristen Krida Wacana, involving eight respondents from Ukrida Department of English. Two methods were used, such as mediated-observation and interview. A writing task was given to each respondent and her/his writing process was recorded using screen-recording application. The data collected from the writing tasks were analyzed by classifying it into appropriate writing aspects while the interview data were transcribed. The result showed that students used GT in three different aspects: vocabulary, grammar, and spelling. Vocabulary became the highest used, with word-level became the first one, followed by phrase as a second highest, and sentence as the third. Spelling became the fourth highest used, while grammar was the least used among students. It is also found that GT is perceived as a dictionary as students used GT mostly in understanding vocabulary items.

The Use and Abuse of Machine Translation in Vocabulary Acquisition among L2 Arabic-Speaking Learners

“…Electronic translation may occur with the intervention of human beings or without it (Akbari, 2014). By and large, the majority of EFL students use "MT as a dictionary (specifically MT is easier than a dictionary)" (Clifford et al, 2013, p. 112) to translate lexical items or check up their meaning in vocabulary learning activities (Chandra & Yuyun, 2018;Clifford et al, 2013). Using MT as a translation tool applies to diverse language combinations, including English/Arabic.…”

“…AlQahtani (2015) pointed out that L2 readers face formidable challenges unless they have rich knowledge about vocabulary and their use in context. Empirically, learning vocabulary plays a vital role in the reading skill and all other language skills because it is sentential to the successful uses of language (Chandra & Yuyun, 2018). Research has revealed that L2 learners achieve more when they have rich knowledge about vocabulary in quantity and quality (AlQahtani, 2015).…”

“…According to Nomass (2013), integrating the role of technology with that of the instructor is an optimal way to achieve "advanced learning results" (p. 111). Some EFL instructors are not speakers of the target language, so they cannot rely on MT to verify their students' correct (Chandra & Yuyun, 2018), but still, there are several strategies that EFL instructors can adopt in order to complement the role of the translation software in the learners' acquisition of new vocabulary. If used in a pedagogicallysound manner, these strategies can develop students' skills to use MT effectively and independently in advanced phases without the guidance of their teachers.…”

“…Medvedev (2016) stated that "Google Translate is likely to be most frequently referred to by the English language learners to look for the translation of individual words" (p. 186). Accordingly, GT is used as a dictionary to find words or translate them into the target language (Chandra & Yuyun, 2018) when students are involved in a particular activity or assignment. Clifford et al (2013) pointed out that the pervasive use of free MT online programmes like GT is revolutionizing the way students interact in the second language.…”

The Use and Abuse of Machine Translation in Vocabulary Acquisition among L2 Arabic-Speaking Learners

“…According to Nomass (2013), integrating the role of technology with that of the instructor is an optimal way to achieve "advanced learning results" (p. 111). Some EFL instructors are not speakers of the target language, so they cannot rely on MT to verify their students' correct understanding of the actual meaning of vocabulary in context (Chandra & Yuyun, 2018), but still, there are several strategies that EFL instructors can adopt in order to complement the role of the translation software in the learners' acquisition of new vocabulary. If used in a pedagogicallysound manner, these strategies can develop students' skills to use MT effectively and independently in advanced phases without the guidance of their teachers.…”