Research Question: Student Translating Non-English Native Languages into English in Essay Writing
Define the Problem and Frame Research Question
Research Question: Student Translating Non-English Native Languages into English in Essay Writing
I am teaching for a pre-degree programme.
All of our students are international; and most of their native languages are not English.
Some students have overused machine translation tools to write their essays. This research is particularly about the case where student write the essays in their own native languages and then translate the whole essay into English for submission.
This has been an ongoing problem.
We can see the because the students’ writings of this year are significantly better than the ones in previous years; and the tone of the language in some writings is very ‘machine-ish’.
Collect Data and Planning
The Machine Translate tool include Google Translate, which doesn’t create content, and ChatGPT, which create content.
It is important to differentiating between machine translation tools that only translate between languages, like Google Translate, and AI-driven automatic writing tools, like Grammarly (Zhao et al., 2023). I think the students are using both kinds.
Intervention
We instructed students to utilize machine translation tools exclusively for the translation of individual vocabulary items is emphasized.
We are telling them that translating the entire essay into English is unacceptable because it’s not helping language development.
This direction is conveyed both verbally in the classroom setting and visually through presentation slides.
Evaluate Change Made
During the submission in the first term, we can still suspect that the students are using translator software to translate the whole essay
In one case, we found out for sure because a student used the word ‘minimally’ in his essay. However, he doesn’t actually understand the word when we sit down and talk to him
I should ask the students since I want to know their perspective. How do students see the use of machine translation and the overusing for it?
Interview with Student A
Summary – Interview outcomes:
- He would only write his essays in English.
- He thinks that translating the essay into English is a massive shortcut.
- He thinks that students should not translating the essay into English.
- But there is no way to actually stop the students from doing it if they decided to do so.
Review and Reflect
Reflection:
- Students actually think that translating non-English native languages into English in essay writing is a massive shortcut.
- The practicality – the teachers can encourage the students to write in English, but cannot really stop them practically.
Define the Problem and Frame Research Question
What is the purpose of teaching? Is it for preparing students for the industry?
Collect Data and Planning
Interview with Tutor A & B
Summary – Interview outcomes:
- She is okay with students translating the essay (which is odd for me).
- But she thinks translating essay is seen as a short cut and not good for students from an academic communication perspective.
- And it’s NOT trans-languaging.
- To make the students understand, ask the students: “Do you want to live in the UK with good communication? Do you want to train the hearing?”
- Social justice – There are so many languages out there, but I can only teach in one language.
Summary – Interview outcomes:
- A degree should have universality. People with this degree are expected to have hi-level English skills.
- Social justice – English speakers are privileged in the world.
- The educator should have different methods of assessments.
Reflection:
- Acknowledging that English speakers are privileged in the world; but also the fact that the students ‘sign up’ for an English speaking programme and teachers are expected to hold them to a certain standard.
- Allowing the students to translate the essays into English is devastating the universality of university degrees, which is against social justice.
- It’s not good for the students in a long run if they translate the essay into English, as they lost the chance of developing their communication; and they would not meet the expectation from the industry.
- The assessment should focus on assessing their thinking process instead of merely the outcome. We should possibly integrate more oral presentations as assessment method, rather than assessing only on written assignment.
Intervention
We started to identify ChatGPT-ish writing in the assessment. In the feedback we provide, we are pointing where the writing exhibits issues, when we identify writings that are done by ChatGPT or other translation software.
Evaluate Change Made
It does not work too well because the same student is still using machine translation tools in his following submission.
Interview with Student B
Summary – Interview outcomes:
- She would write her academic essays in her native language; and then she uses translator to translate her essay into English for submission.
- She does not only translate essay; but she also translates everything that her tutors say in class using real-time translator on her phone.
- She claims that she could graduate without understanding English or having ever written in English at all.
- Now ChatGTP can even correct the grammar, so she doesn’t even have to proofread.
- She claims that, if the essay has grammatical errors, then the grades should be only deducted due to grammatical errors. Who cares how the essay is produced/written.
- The tutors should refer the students to academic supports if the students encounter difficulties in writing essays in English.
- She is not the only one that uses this method, as she reckons a lot of students also write in their native language and then use translator. She is not confident in her English ability but still thinks that she is better than some other students.
Review and Reflect
Reflection:
- She dismisses the importance of understanding the language.
- The real-time translation of tutors’ instructions further underscores a lack of commitment to language acquisition.
- The assertion that correcting grammar is sufficient negates the value of genuine comprehension.
- The use of machine translator is probably related to the English levels of the students.
Define the Problem and Frame Research Question
What are the better ways of assessment? Social contract as establishing the goal of education? How to make them understand the disadvantages of translation into English?
What is the purpose of teaching/preparing for the industry? Is it good for the students in a long run if they translating the essay from Chinese to English?
Collect Data and Planning
Interview with Tutor C
Summary – Interview outcomes:
- Education should focus on how instead of what.
- Students should translate works only when it helps thinking more or when it’s in group discussion.
- He is against once-and-for-all translation since it stops students from thinking.
- Once the students got the translated terminology, the thinking stopped.
- We should appeal to the students explaining they shouldn’t use translation tools for essay.
- The curriculum is an agreement between the students and teachers – “this is what you sign up for.”
- There should be better ways of assessing the work – pay more attention to the process.
- We should have more conversation on translation tools in academia.
Intervention
- We will ask every student to do presentation for assessment for Business Pathway next term.
- I think presentations are a better way to assess whether students did the work.
Conclusion
To conclude, here is the summation of key findings.
Machine translation tools are widely employed by students in listening reading, and writing.
The students reflected that they perceived that the use of these tools for essay writing is a massive shortcut.
The teachers expressed that allowing the students to translate the essays into English undermines the universality of university degrees, goes against principles of social justice, and hampers students’ long-term development in communication skills.
Simply instructing students to stop using machine translation tools, either verbally or in writing, is ineffective.
I believe the incorporation of presentations are a more effective means of evaluating students’ comprehension and communication skills.
There is the need for more consideration of the role of translation tools in education.
References:
Zhao, X., Sbaffi, L. and Cox, A. (2023) The Digitisation of Writing in Higher Education: Exploring the Use of Wordtune as an AI Writing Assistant. https://doi.org/10.31219/osf.io/uzwy7