MT literacy in university contexts
The newest generation of machine translation (MT), neural machine translation (NMT), hit the headlines a few years ago and has become increasingly popular in academic contexts and professional life. Seen by many as a great solution to overcoming language barriers, it is also associated with risks that should be considered. The goal of this part of the DigLit project is to develop MT literacy, i.e. the effective and critical use of MT through interventions of various kinds carried out at Swiss universities.
Interventions
MT literacy can be fostered by raising awareness through providing relevant information and illustrating the risks, benefits and ethical issues associated with use cases.
"In discussions about digital competences, ethical aspects and human quality of life must always be taken into consideration. Media criticism also remains an important component of media competence." Dr. H., media educator, winner of the draw for an iPad in the Spring 2021 survey.
The following activities have been carried out, are in progress, or are planned:
- preliminary survey in English, German and French to establish level of MT literacy in the four partner universities (Spring 2021)
- larger-scale survey in English, German, French and Italian to determine MT literacy in universities throughout Switzerland (Winter 2021-2022)
- trials of training interventions for students and staff in four partner universities (Fall 2021-Spring 2022)
- development and implementation of training interventions for MT literacy for students and staff based on survey results throughout Switzerland (2022-2023)
- evaluation of interventions and refinements to materials where necessary; development of online resources (2022-2023)
- dissemination of results to participating universities and beyond (2021-2024)
If you are interested in attending or hosting a training session, contact us: diglit.linguistics@zhaw.ch
Resources
Internal resources
How to turn off automatic translation (different browsers): Youtube Videos
Didaktische Innovationen mit Digitalisierung, Blog «Language matters», 23.09.2021 (in German)
External resources
Dissemination
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Delorme Benites, Alice; Cotelli Kureth, Sara,
2023.
In:
Xème colloque international de l’ADCUEFE – CAMPUS FLE (Association des Directeurs des Centres Universitaires d’Études Françaises pour Étrangers), Lyon, France, 21-23 juin 2023.
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Delorme Benites, Alice; Cotelli Kureth, Sara,
2023.
La traduction automatique neuronale au service de l’apprentissage des langues?.
In:
Xème colloque international de l’ADCUEFE – CAMPUS FLE (Association des Directeurs des Centres Universitaires d’Études Françaises pour Étrangers), Lyon, France, 21-23 juin 2023.
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Delorme Benites, Alice; Cotelli Kureth, Sara,
2023.
Is AI to language learning what the calculator is to maths?.
In:
International Conference and Teacher Training Conference: The Wider Implications of Machine Translation, Université de Neuchâtel, Switzerland, 15-16 June 2023.
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Lehr, Caroline; Summers, Elana,
2023.
Post-editing raw MT output : definition and (affective) considerations for language teaching.
In:
International Conference and Teacher Training Conference: The Wider Implications of Machine Translation, Université de Neuchâtel, Switzerland, 15-16 June 2023.
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Delorme Benites, Alice; Cotelli Kureth, Sara,
2023.
Machine translation literacy for academic writing.
In:
12th Conference of the European Association for the Teaching of Academic Writing (EATAW), Winterthur, Switzerland, 5-7 June 2023.
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Delorme Benites, Alice; Steele, Elizabeth; Cotelli Kureth, Sara; Lehr, Caroline,
2023.
What we (all) do in the shadows : language learning in the era of machine translation.
In:
3rd International Conference ‘Language in the Human-Machine Era’ (LITHME), Leeuwarden, Netherlands, 15-16 May 2023.
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Delorme Benites, Alice; Lehr, Caroline,
2023.
In:
Schweizer Schreibtag: «Schreiben im mehrsprachigen Kontext», Basel, Schweiz, 29. April 2023.
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Ehrensberger-Dow, Maureen; Delorme Benites, Alice; Lehr, Caroline,
2023.
A new role for translators and trainers: MT literacy consultants.
The Interpreter and Translator Trainer.
17(3), pp. 393-411.
Available from: https://doi.org/10.1080/1750399X.2023.2237328
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Cotelli Kureth, Sara; Summers, Elana,
2023.
Language Learning in Higher Education.
13(1), pp. 213-230.
Available from: https://doi.org/10.1515/cercles-2023-2015
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Cotelli Kureth, Sara; Summers, Elana; Delorme Benites, Alice; Noghrechi, Hasti; Steele, Elizabeth,
2022.
Tackling the elephant in the room : introducing MT literacy in a Swiss language centre [paper].
In:
XVII CercleS International Conference "The Future of Language Education in an Increasingly Digital World: Embracing Change", Porto, Portugal, 15-17 September 2022.