ChatGPT has been in the news. School districts around the world are scrambling to handle a massive shift in education. Students can now use ChatGPT and similar software to instantly produce believable and competently written essays. ChatGPT is not the focus of this post, however. Instead, I want to hone in on simpler translation apps available on any phone, and more recently, highlighter-style stand-alone devices. I think these simpler devices can be useful tools in a language class when teachers better understand the purposes of their courses.
I teach ESL abroad. As a result, most of the students that I teach have some sort of translation device in their backpacks. My older students use translators on their laptops. My younger students are not allowed laptops. They use small devices that can translate text when run over like a highlighter. For the first few years, I attempted to limit these devices. I tried not giving credit for assignments using a translator. Then, I made allowances such as being able to use a paper dictionary on exams if students would use the dictionaries in class. I eventually gave up trying to keep the devices out of my classroom. Instead, I wanted students to use them effectively.
I needed to review and explain to myself why we did certain lessons. It sounds basic, but occupational inertia happens. We often do things a certain way because that’s what we’ve always done. When I looked at these translation devices more closely, I learned an embarrassing truth. Many of my assignments were too basic. My students were using English but they were not pushing their abilities. I wanted to change that.
I thought about why my students wanted to use translation apps and devices. It wasn’t because they were lazy. I see them hard at work every day. I did a small experiment. I compared student work when I allowed them to use their devices and work when I banned devices. The most noticeable difference is how much more mature and complex their language is when they have devices. This was expected. A more exciting difference was the maturity of ideas in device-aided assignments. Because the students were able to offload some of the cognitive processing involved with translating ideas, they were able to focus more on presenting those ideas.
After seeing these differences, I looked at translation devices differently. They became keys that unlock more potential from my students. Without a device, a student will often limit their output to their language level. Very few students seem comfortable truly taxing their abilities. They play it safe to avoid mistakes.
I am trying to redefine the purpose of my ESL class. Technology is changing language learning very quickly. Unfortunately, due to external examinations, I can not go too far off-script. My students will take exams that require strong English reading and writing abilities. Eventually, education will need to catch up and reexamine the purposes of all language courses.
The Keasy Depot 