Machine Translation in EFL Learning: Chinese Undergraduates’ Use, Perceptions, and Machine Translation Literacy

Abstract

Machine translation (MT) has been recently experiencing an upsurge in popularity within the realm of second language (L2) and foreign language (FL) education.This paper aims to present the findings of a questionnaire survey that investigated the use and perception of MT, as well as MT literacy, in English as a foreign language (EFL) learning among undergraduate students in China. A total of 936 online questionnaires were collected from one university in China, with corresponding statistical data analyzed thereafter. The results indicate that MT is prevalently and frequently used in EFL learning by both low- and high-proficiency respondents from diverse disciplines, highlighting an urgent need to improve their MT literacy. This study holds significant pedagogical implications, shedding light on best practices for the efficient use of MT in realm of language education, particularly in EFL education.