VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY HO CHI MINH CITY AN GIANG UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES UNDERGRADUATE THESIS AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE IMPACTS OF TRANSLATION TOOLS ON DEVELOPING WRITING SKILLS AMONG ENGLISH- MAJORED UNDERGRADUATES AT AN GIANG UNIVERSITY TRAN BAO TRONG AN GIANG, 5-2024 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY HO CHI MINH CITY AN GIANG UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES UNDERGRADUATE THESIS AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE IMPACTS OF GOOGLE TRANSLATE ON DEVELOPING WRITING SKILLS AMONG ENGLISH- MAJORED UNDERGRADUATES AT AN GIANG UNIVERSITY TRAN BAO TRONG DTA207790 ADVISOR: MA. NGUYEN THI XUAN BINH AN GIANG, 5-2024 Thesis Title: AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE IMPACTS OF GOOGLE TRANSLATE ON DEVELOPING WRITING SKILLS AMONG ENGLISH-MAJORED UNDERGRADUATES AT AN GIANG UNIVERSITY By: TRAN BAO TRONG Field of Study: ENGLISH LINGUISTICS AND LITERATURE Advisor: MA. NGUYEN THI XUAN BINH Accepted by the Faculty of Foreign Languages, An Giang University on May 2024. Examiner 1 Examiner 2 Ph.
NGUYEN TIEN NGO MA. NGUYEN THI NHAT MINH Advisor MA. NGUYEN THI XUAN BINH Dean of the Faculty of Foreign Languages ACKNOWLEDGEMENT My graduation thesis, a culmination of four years of diligent study at An Giang University, aims to make a meaningful contribution to the educational landscape in Vietnam and beyond. This work embodies the relentless support, inspiration, and encouragement I've received from my family, mentors, and peers.
I extend my heartfelt thanks to my advisor, MA. Nguyen Thi Xuan Binh, for her unwavering support, valuable advice, and profound insights drawn from her vast knowledge, which were instrumental in conducting this research. Collaborating with her has been a privilege, and her guidance was crucial to the completion of my thesis. I am also immensely grateful for the assistance provided by the Faculty of Foreign Languages' educators.
My profound appreciation goes to MA. Buti Thi Thùy Trang, MA. Châu Ngọc Yến Lê, MA. Lý Thị Minh Trang, MA.
Ngô Ngoc Hòa, and Ms. Đỗ Huỳnh Phương Thy, for their support and assistance in gathering and analyzing the data for my research. My highest regards go to all the participants of my study, particularly the 100 students from Classes DH22AV2, DH22TA1, and DH22TA3, who supplied comprehensive data and information essential for the analysis of my research. In conclusion, I owe a debt of gratitude to my university friends, who have been my steadfast companions from the inception of my research proposal to the final phases of this academic endeavor.
Additionally, I express my genuine gratitude to my family, who have believed in me and supported me throughout my journey in higher education. il DECLARATION I hereby declare that the thesis entiled AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE IMPACTS OF GOOGLE TRANSLATEON ON DEVELOPING WRITING SKILLS AMONG ENGLISH-MAJORED UNDERGRADUATES AT AN GIANG UNIVERSITY represents my own work and that has not been previously submitted to any other university or institute in application for admission to degrees or other qualifications. May 2024 Tran Bao Trong iil ABSTRACT The study aimed to investigate the influence of translation tool (Google Translate) on the L2 writing proficiency of the English-majored juniors at An Giang University, as well as to explore their viewpoints on the role of these tools in honing their L2 writing abilities. The data were amassed through a mixed-method approach, utilizing questionnaires to gather quantitative data on the impact of Google Translate on the writing skills of 100 third-year English-majored students, complemented by semi-structured interviews with 10 students to capture their insights.
The findings revealed that while third- year EFL students exhibited suboptimal writing skills, their outlook on using Google Translate for skill enhancement was overwhelmingly positive. The majority of students leveraged these tools to augment their vocabulary and improve their written work. Moreover, they felt that Google Translate granted them the liberty to articulate their thoughts more freely and experiment with novel ways of expressing similar. From the students’ perspective, Google Translate proved particularly beneficial for novices in L2 writing, as they frequently used these tools to broaden their lexicon, gain insights into various subjects, and refine their analytical thinking.
The consensus among students was that Google Translate had contributed positively to their writing ability. Nonetheless, they also acknowledged the risks associated with over-reliance on these tools, which could lead to dependency and a lack of active engagement. The research further provided insights into how writing skills could be developed through the use of Google Translate and suggested avenues for future studies in this domain. KEYWORDS: English-majored juniors, translation tools, L2 writing ability, Google Translate, writing skills development, 1V CONTENTS ,.
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Students” academic wrItIng DTOÍICI€TICV.- 555 +< + ++ssss+ 27 Vill LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AGU An Giang University EFL English as a foreign language ELL English Linguistics and Literature ELTE English Language Teacher Education FFL Faculty of Foreign Languages L2 Second language GT Google Transtlate 1X CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION This chapter consists of five sections that provide an overview of the study. They cover the rationale of the research, the objectives and questions of the research, the significance of the research, and the organization of the thesis. Rationale of the Research Many people in the world use English as a means of communication. It is also a global language that is widely spoken in various countries.
In the field of education, we recognize that English has four main skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing, these skills are crucial and necessary (Fibriana, Ardini, and Affini, 2021). Besides, English also involves other aspects such as grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, spelling, and writing skills. Furthermore, Khazrouni (2019) claimed that English writing skill has an important role for EFL learners to develop several skills in their English learning, such as analyzing, arguing, and critical thinking skills. Among the listed skills, writing is one of the skills that some students find difficult.
This is because writing requires mastery of many components, such as vocabulary, grammar, spelling, and other common challenges in writing (Mantasiah et al., 2018; 2019; 2020; Yusri et al. It is also a challenge for students who learn English as a foreign language, as writing in English differs from writing in their native languages. Writing in English often requires an academic approach, which employs logic and evidence to substantiate an academic position. Fibriana, Ardini, and Affini (2021) stated that it is important to present the arguments in a logical order and draw conclusions.
Writing skills, additionally, allow people to express their thoughts, views, and information effectively while traditionally covering grammar, syntax, vocabulary, and organization. To assist students in using written form to communicate with others, technology has shown a significant impact on various aspects of education in recent years, including language learning and writing skills (Javed, 2013). According to Fibriana, Ardini, and Affini (2021), new technologies have a significant influence on how people learn in the contemporary world. For example, finding any information source becomes easier with the help of the search engine.
We only need to type a keyword, and it will display the result. Moreover, social media can indirectly impact the learning process, we can gain benefits from platforms like Instagram, YouTube, and Netflix, technology, including tool like GT, significantly influences how students write. Machine translation is a powerful tool that not only facilitates the translation process but also assists in improving speaking, writing, and reading skills. The impact of using GT in developing writing skills is a topic that has gained attention in recent years, as more scholars need to publish in EFL and have access to free online GT engines such as GT.
This study reviews the literature on using GT in modern-day academic contexts, focusing on how it affects students' performance, what are some possible pros and cons, and what is the importance of writing skills among EFL learners in academic contexts. One of the main questions that arises when using GT for academic writing is whether it is a useful aid or a hindrance to producing high-quality texts. O'Brien et al. (2018) found that GT did not negatively impact the text quality of abstracts written by EFL scholars, but the participants had mixed opinions about which task was easier and whether they would use GT again for academic writing support.
They suggest that GT can be seen as a form of second-language writing support, similar to other tools such as dictionaries or grammar checkers. A similar study on EFL learners’ views on translation tools revealed that it was a useful and convenient resource, as it enabled the users to understand the meaning of words, phrases, and clauses (Marito and Ashari, 2017). However, using GT for academic writing also entails some challenges and limitations. For instance, Steigerwald et al.
(2022) argued that relying on GT can create barriers to accessing scientific careers and knowledge, as it may reduce the diversity and richness of scientific languages and cultures. They propose that translation can serve as both a short- and a long-term solution for making science more resilient, accessible, globally representative, and impactful beyond the academy, but they also call for structural changes that encourage and value translating scientific literature. Another issue that needs to be considered when using GT for academic writing is the quality and reliability of the GT output. As noted by Bowker (2017), different GT systems may produce different translations for the same source text, depending on factors such as the language pair, the domain, the style, and the intended audience.
Therefore, it is important for users to evaluate the quality of the GT output and to revise it accordingly, taking into account the purpose and context of their writing. It is undeniable that the use of GT in developing writing skills has been a topic of interest in recent years, but there is a lack of research on this issue in Vietnamese learning contexts, especially in university settings. Most of the studies on translation tools in Vietnamese learning contexts have focused on the quality and accuracy of different tools, such as GT, in translating various linguistic features, such as modal verbs, from English to Vietnamese or vice versa (Nguyen and Khau, 2021; Truong, 2023). However, few studies explore the awareness of the benefits and challenges of using GT for writing purposes among teachers and students in Vietnam.