The Use of Machine Translation among Chinese Students

Abstract

The study aims at investigating how the use of Machine Translation, especially its latest development ChatGPT hinders or develops students’ English language learning in a prestigious university in Southwest China. A qualitative approach is adopted, involving focus-group interviews, classroom observations and field notes. It is found that the use of Machine Translation is not an issue at all with many supervisors and yet the lack of cognitive engagement with the English language poses a serious threat to the ELT classroom. Implications for teaching practices are explored.