Google Translate in English Language Learning : A Study of Teachers' Beliefs and Practices

Abstract: The purpose of this study is to explore upper secondary school English teachers' beliefs and practices for free online machine translation (FOMT) tools. It is believed that students are using these tools, but the focus of this study is to highlight what teachers think and how they are addressing FOMT usage by students. Participants are currently teaching various English levels in upper secondary schools throughout Sweden and have varying degrees of experience. This study includes a brief background of previous studies detailing teachers' attitudes and methods for incorporating machine translation (MT) in their language teaching. The theoretical framework used for this study is language teacher cognition and translation in language teaching. The results reveal that the previous research conducted in this area has not yet influenced teachers' language classrooms methods. Teachers' education and language learning experience may explain this disconnect to current research. There is a common theme that teachers do not mind using FOMT tools in their personal lives but strongly recommend other sources for their students.