Tools Used
What tools students used and why
Learners used a range of different online tools while completing their writing task, but, for all three languages, the students most often used machine translation tools.
During their retrospective recalls and post-interviews, learners pointed to several reasons why they favored MT tools.
Ease & Speed
Many students cited the ease and speed of MT tools as a reason why they used them.
Overwhelming Metadata
Students also cited the overwhelming nature of non-MT tools as a reason why they chose to use MT.
"[Tools that give you lots of options,] it's very overwhelming and you're like, well, which I supposed to use? I didn't even know what this word meant, you know? So that's why I like Google Translate sometimes because even though it's not always the most accurate, it definitely is quicker." -Eliza
Grades
Students also cited grades-wanting to protect or augment their grades-as a reason to use MT.
"If I was submitting [the task,] I would have gone back and chose a better word. If it wasn't for high grade, I probably wouldn't be too concerned with using like the fanciest word.” -Mailey
Textbook Woes
Many students expressed frustration with finding information in their textbooks and cited this as a reason to use MT.
"None of us know how to find anything in the textbook." -Amy