English Language Students’ Frequency, Perception and Purpose of Use of MT and CAT Tools

Abstract

Machine and computer-assisted translation tools have become widely accessible and user-friendly in the modern digital age. English language learners, in particular, stand to gain significantly from utilizing machine translation (MT) or computer- assisted translation (CAT) tools such as Google Translate or Trados. This paper seeks to investigate the frequency of use of these tools by the English language students at the University of Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina outside the classroom, the specific tools utilized, the purposes of their application, and the students’ perceptions of these tools, with a focus on features such as translation quality and usability. To gather data, a survey was used consisting of both open-ended and closed-ended questions. The findings indicate a lower frequency of MT and CAT tools usage, and reveal notable differences in the students’ perception of the features of MT and CAT tools analyzed. The insights derived from this research may contribute to understanding how these tools can be better incorporated in English language instruction and translation studies.

Keywords

• machine translation
• computer-assisted translation
• English language

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