Abstract

With a significant number of students using machine translation (MT) for academic purposes in recent years, language teachers can no longer ignore it in their classrooms. Although an increasing number of studies have reported its pedagogical benefits, studies have also revealed that language teachers are still sceptical about using MT for various reasons. Most of all, they have limited trust in MT quality and the effectiveness of using MT in foreign language (FL) learning. Hence, the current study examined these issues to provide an overview and a guide to language teachers regarding the use of MT in FL education. The study examined 87 MT studies related to FL education published between 2000 and 2019. It employed both systematic review (primary) and meta-analysis (secondary) as research methods for a robust data analysis. The results showed that the number of publications in this area has increased in recent years and that MT quality has been significantly enhanced. Most studies also reported the positive impacts of using MT in FL learning, particularly for writing. However, this study also found that students had mixed emotions about MT and that there are disparities in perceptions between instructors and students. Based on the results, the present study presents several pedagogical implications and suggestions for future research on MT.

摘要

近年来，随着大量学生将机器翻译 (MT) 用于学术目的，语言教师不能再在课堂上忽视它。尽管越来越多的研究报告了它的教学优势，但研究还表明，出于各种原因，语言教师仍然对使用机器翻译持怀疑态度。最重要的是，他们对 MT 质量和在外语 (FL) 学习中使用 MT 的有效性信任有限。因此，当前的研究考察了这些问题，为语言教师提供有关在 FL 教育中使用 MT 的概述和指南。该研究审查了 2000 年至 2019 年间发表的 87 项与 FL 教育相关的机器翻译研究。它采用系统评价（主要）和元分析（次要）作为研究方法，以进行可靠的数据分析。结果表明，近年来该领域的出版物数量有所增加，机器翻译质量也得到了显着提高。大多数研究还报告了在 FL 学习中使用 MT 的积极影响，特别是对于写作。然而，这项研究还发现，学生对 MT 的情绪复杂，教师和学生之间的看法存在差异。基于这些结果，本研究提出了一些教学意义和对未来 MT 研究的建议。这项研究还发现，学生对 MT 的情绪复杂，而且教师和学生之间的看法存在差异。基于这些结果，本研究提出了一些教学意义和对未来 MT 研究的建议。这项研究还发现，学生对 MT 的情绪复杂，而且教师和学生之间的看法存在差异。基于这些结果，本研究提出了一些教学意义和对未来 MT 研究的建议。