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Top1. Introduction
Computer assisted language learning (CALL) is a wide variety of technological tools including CD-ROMs and web-based resources and applications used for teaching and learning languages (Chapelle, 2010; Garrett, 2009). Machine translation is one type of CALL whose purposes and uses have changed and expanded over the time. It has been utilized by a wide range of users in a wide number of settings including language teaching and learning (Farzi, 2016). Machine translation, particularly online translation tools, have transformed the way languages are taught and learned (Clifford et al., 2013). Google Translate (GT) is one of the most widely used translation tools developed by Google, which provides free translation in over 130 languages (as of December 2022) (Bin Dahmash, 2020). GT has widely been used by students for various reasons such as GT’s rapid translation and lack of confidence in students’ translation and for various functions including checking unknown words and translation and (O’Neill, 2019).
The use of the Internet and technological tools gradually became very widespread in Afghanistan after 2001 before which the Taliban barbarically suppressed the Internet and banned non-governmental Internet use and punished those who violated the edict (USDS, 2003). The Internet use substantially grew in the last two decades (2002-2021) in Afghanistan. For instance, 18% of the population of Afghanistan had access to the Internet in 2020 while the number of Internet users was less than 1% in 2001 (WB, 2022). Mobile phone companies such as MTN Afghanistan and Afghan Wireless have been the major providers of Internet connection in Afghanistan (Madory, 2022). A number of factors including high price of Internet data, little access to electricity and forceful shutdown of mobile network operators by the Taliban decelerated people’s access to the Internet especially in remote areas (Mohammadi, 2018; Noori et al., 2022). Unfortunately, people’s access to the Internet have declined since the Taliban returned to power in August 2021 because hundreds of thousands of people lost their jobs and millions were driven into poverty.
People have used the Internet for various purposes in Afghanistan. Akseer et al. (2019) and Altai Consulting (2017) reported that people used the Internet for communication, getting information, news, and social networking. Orfan (2021) found that people used the Internet to engage in political activities online, particularly on social networking sites (e.g., Facebook). Akramy (2022), Noori (2021) and Hashemi (2021) reported that Internet was used for learning activities, in particular by higher education institutions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on the author’s observations and experiences, the Internet has been used for online translation. University lecturers have used GT to translate their articles, especially abstracts, from local languages to English language, which is required by almost all academic journals including national ones. Translation services providers have used GT to translate their customers’ reports and documents. Employees of NGOs (nongovernmental organizations), particularly those of the international ones, have used GT to translate their reports from local languages to English. Students especially EFL (English as a foreign language) learners have used the Internet to get access to online translation machines, in particular GT. However, there is no information and knowledge about their attitudes and use of online machine translations especially GT. The current study investigates EFL students’ views of GT.