Tasks and assessments
Students can and will make use of machine translation tools for a variety of tasks and strategies, often covertly for assessed coursework. Whilst some universities try to account for this development in their collusion and plagiarism policies, other universities are finding innovative ways to embed the tools in their teaching and assessment practices.
Ulrike Bavendiek and Jordi Sanchez from the Department of Modern Languages and Cultures are investigating a new form of exercise and assessment which requires learners to compare a GT produced English text with the source text in the learner’s target language (German or Spanish). This reflects on the shortcomings of machine translation and aims to produce a better, more appropriate translation. By asking learners to regard computer assisted translations as a starting point, not as an acceptable end product, it is hoped that they will develop a more considered approach to the use of the technology.
Project aims
The aim of the exercise is:
- Develop reading comprehension in German/Spanish
- Demonstrate the complexity of the translation process
- Raise awareness of language as more than a string of words governed by a set of syntactical rules
- Raise awareness of the unreliability of GT to produce acceptable translations
- Develop and implement digital literacies useful for language learners
- Develop editing skills necessary for professional translators.
The project was first presented in June 2018 at the conference ‘Google Translate and Modern Languages in Education’, Nottingham University.
More data will be collected in 2018/19 to determine the influence of the exercise on the students’ awareness of language and translation complexities.
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