View Content #5567
| Contentid | 5567 |
|---|---|
| Content Type | 1 |
| Title | Internet Translators: Part 1 |
| Body | What do to about student use of Internet translators has been a recent topic on the FLTEACH listserv. Many teachers have shared activities and projects they do to demonstrate to their students the drawbacks to the use of such tools. A search of the FLTEACH archives yields the following suggestions: --- I sometimes assign a project to my students which requires them to find five on-line translators and a non-Internet translator such as a dictionary or electronic translator. They then have to plug in about 15 sentences which I have given them. Each sentence contains homonyms such as bat, batter, fly... The students then analyze how well the translators did. They quickly realize how ineffective a translator can be unless you have a thorough understanding of the language beforehand. I also use this project to teach them how to use a Spanish-English dictionary and the importance of cross-referencing. It is very effective! McNichols, T. ON-line translators. Foreign Language Teaching Forum (http://www.cortland.edu/flteach , 4 Jun 2006). --- I wrote a rather long project to introduce kids to the reality of machine translation, using back translation. It is appropriate for upper level classes. It can be viewed at http://listserv.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind9908&L=FLTEACH&P=R88243&I=-3 . Stacy, C. Re: Project: was "From the NYTimes". Foreign Language Teaching Forum (http://www.cortland.edu/flteach , 24 Aug 1999). --- A newspaper article about fun and humor with the results of Internet translators may be a good starting point for discussions with students. The article can be viewed at http://listserv.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind9803&L=FLTEACH&P=R21805&I=-3 . --- My main focus has been with real-time translating chat systems. I have seen foreign language students use the chat system to practice what they are learning. The students adjust the chat system so they can send the language they are learning and they watch the English translation from the text they type. This method is used to see if the gist of what they are sending is accurate. This reverse check helps them build confidence in their ability to communicate in the language that they are learning. Blaustein, B. Re: Internet Translators: Pros/Cons. Foreign Language Teaching Forum (http://www.cortland.edu/flteach , 4 Mar 2001). --- Another way to bring home the point that these things have limits (and defects) is to use the program to play the old Berlitz game that they did years ago on the Johnny Carson Show. Use one of the on-line translators to translate something from English to L2, then use the output of L2 and have it translate that to L3, etc. After just a few levels, the communication will have completely broken down and there is only chaos. The kids can directly see the weakness of the device, as well as get an appreciation for the fact that you have to translate ideas, not word-for-word to communicate from one language to the next. Daugherty, R. Re: Babblefish & other translators via internet. Foreign Language Teaching Forum (http://www.cortland.edu/flteach , 8 Jun 1999). Coming next week: Part 2: More Suggestions. |
| Source | FLTEACH |
| Inputdate | 2007-01-08 08:29:35 |
| Lastmodifieddate | 2007-01-08 08:29:35 |
| Expdate | Not set |
| Publishdate | 2007-01-08 00:00:00 |
| Displaydate | Not set |
| Active | 1 |
| Emailed | 1 |
| Isarchived | 1 |
