Polakova Petra, Klimova Blanka
Department of Applied Linguistics, Faculty of Informatics and Management, University of Hradec Králové, Hradec Králové, Czech Republic.
Heliyon. 2023 Jul 22;9(8):e18595. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e18595. eCollection 2023 Aug.
With the advent of new emerging technologies, machine translation, especially natural machine translation (NMT) and its tools, is being increasingly applied in second language (L2) acquisition. The aim of this study is to investigate the usefulness of machine translation, specifically DeepL Translator, in the second language acquisition process, since it has a great potential to transform foreign language education. The present empirical pilot study describes an experiment dealing with the use of neural machine translation in the process of formal writing (i.e., writing a summary) in a foreign language. Altogether 16 university students learning English as an applied foreign language with C1 level of English proficiency participated in the experiment. The results show differences between pre-test and post-test, and a significant improvement in students' language skills due to the use of DeepL Translator. The questionnaire survey, among other things, reveals positive perceptions of this tool and awareness of improved language skills by the research participants. The findings indicate that purposefully guided working with a NMT tool can contribute to the perceived usefulness of its use in learning English as an applied foreign language.
随着新兴技术的出现，机器翻译，尤其是自然机器翻译（NMT）及其工具，正越来越多地应用于第二语言（L2）习得。本研究的目的是调查机器翻译，特别是DeepL Translator在第二语言习得过程中的有用性，因为它具有改变外语教育的巨大潜力。目前的实证性试点研究描述了一项关于在外语正式写作（即写摘要）过程中使用神经机器翻译的实验。共有16名将英语作为应用外语学习且英语水平达到C1级的大学生参与了该实验。结果显示了前测和后测之间的差异，并且由于使用了DeepL Translator，学生的语言技能有了显著提高。问卷调查等显示，研究参与者对该工具持积极看法，并意识到语言技能有所提高。研究结果表明，有目的地使用神经机器翻译工具有助于其在将英语作为应用外语学习中的使用价值被感知。
