Tackling the elephant in the language classroom: introducing machine translation literacy in a Swiss language centre

Abstract

University students, especially language learners, have increasingly been using machine translation (MT) systems in the last decade and for all kinds of texts, including homework, assignments and exams. This ubiquity does not translate into visibility as few teachers address the subject in class. Several researchers have shown that MT systems, while technically very easy to access and use, are not always employed in a critical manner. They have therefore suggested that users should develop MT literacy skills. As part of a larger Swiss project on digital literacy in university contexts (DigLit), an action research project at the University of Neuchâtel Language Centre (UniNE LC) seeks to investigate whether delivering a 20-min presentation about machine translation in all L2 classes (French, German, English) at the beginning of the semester was sufficient to foster minimal MT literacy in language learners. All LC students were surveyed at the end of the semester. These survey results were compared with those from a survey of Swiss university students carried out in spring 2021 as part of the DigLit project. These results have allowed us to monitor and enhance the teaching of MT literacy skills in our LC.