Speakers
Description
This study explores the potential impact of machine translation (MT) on improving EFL students' writing abilities. Despite some teachers' reservations about MT usage, it can be a beneficial tool when employed appropriately. Yamamoto (2023) investigated whether EFL students' writing skills improved with the guidance of MT provided by their instructor. Findings suggested that lower-level students might benefit more from MT than higher-level students. This research aims to present results from more robust experiments involving a larger sample size with varying English proficiency levels. The study involved students initially writing a composition in English, revising it using MT, and then producing another piece on the same topic without MT after a week. The process was repeated with a different topic using a dictionary instead of MT as a control. Two external expert raters evaluated the blinded and randomized pre- and post-revision writings. Additionally, survey results from participants will be summarized, including their preferences, usage of MT and dictionaries, and the perceived impact of MT on their writing skills.
