Supervisors and Supervisees` Attitudes toward the Use of Google Translate in Thesis Writing by EFL Graduate Students

Subject Areas : All areas of language and translation

Zina Tahir Ghazi ^{1 *} , Javad Gholami ²

1 - Urmia University, Urmia, Iran
2 - Urmia University, Urmia, Iran

Received: 2024-01-31 Accepted : 2024-05-10 Published : 2024-08-13

Keywords: EFL undergraduate students, Google Translate, Supervisor, Thesis writing,

Abstract :

Composing a thesis in the English language poses a formidable demand for the majority of postgraduate students. Several foreign students may receive support in formulating their theses. Google Translate (GT) is a frequently utilized tool for this objective. As far as we know, there has been no investigation into the perceptions of graduate students and their supervisors regarding the use of GT in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The objective of this study is to examine the perspectives of supervisors and supervisees on the utilization of Grounded Theory (GT) in the process of writing a thesis. Additionally, it takes into account the potential rationales and objectives of students' utilization of GT. Furthermore, it aims to comprehend the participants' perspectives regarding the advantages, disadvantages, and ethical aspects of employing GT in the process of producing theses. The researcher conducted a study using questionnaires and interviews to examine the perspectives of 49 PhD and master students from various fields and 18 supervisors from different universities in Iraqi Kurdistan. The findings indicated that students utilized GT for several purposes, including translating words and text to enhance reading comprehension, integrating it into their assignments, and even including it into their theses. Furthermore, while both students and teachers acknowledged GT as a useful tool, they expressed apprehension regarding its lack of accuracy and ethical implications. This study offers suggestions for the most effective employment of machine translation systems, such as Google Translate, in academic writing as a whole and specifically in thesis writing.

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