VietTESOL International Convention 2025

The 21st century has witnessed a significant transformation in technology and science. Gradually, Google Translate has gained popularity thanks to its usefulness to users. As a result, learners, including English-major students, take advantage of this tool in their language learning. Grounded in relevant studies in integrating machine translation into education, this study investigates how English-major students at a university in the Mekong Delta use and perceive their use of Google Translate to understand their practices and their views on the benefits and drawbacks of this tool. Data were collected via a mixed-methods approach: a survey (n = 203) and a semi-structured interview (n = 10) conducted on third-year English-majored students. The findings indicated that students frequently use Google Translate when learning translation for various purposes, mostly for translating individual words rather than whole sentences. They usually use GT during the initial stage of the translation process. Additionally, students reported some benefits of Google Translate, such as free access, user-friendliness, speediness, diverse functionalities and enhanced translation efficiency. However, some noticeable drawbacks revolved around machine dependence that may potentially diminish vocabulary retention and deduction of meaning, and hinder translators’ originality. Students also demonstrated the need to regulate their use of Google Translate. The study suggested students selectively leverage Google Translate’s benefits while addressing its potential drawbacks, and not without the teachers’ role in giving strategic guidelines.