Is Google Translate a good way to learn Spanish? Why do students use Google Translate? Does it feel like you’re constantly policing use of Google Translate? Do your students not know how to use Word Reference or other dictionaries?
I’ve been there and I know you have too. I’ve given a writing assignment and had students realize they don’t know a word. Then, instead of looking for the ONE unknown word, it turns into an entire sentence. Before you know, you’re reading a computer generated master piece. 😂 Then, on top of it, the student INSISTS that they wrote it. 🤦🏽♀️
Google Translate is not a good way to learn a language. It’s a shortcut but a bad one. It’s like needing a cast for your broken arm but someone hands you a bandaid. It won’t help much in the long run.
Google Translate shoots out a translation without helping the students understand the meaning of any of the text.
“Is Spanish going to be hard?” “Do I have to write it in Spanish?” How many times have you had this question on the first day of school? Learning a language has earned an unfortunate reputation of being hard. Students are using Google Translate because they feel intimidated or stressed. It’s an easy out when you’re not feeling confident.
How do I keep students from using Google Translate?
Ok…I know this is what you’ve been waiting for. How do I keep my students away from Google Translate?
Give them an alternative. Show them how to use Word Reference as a substitute for Google Translate.
What is Word Reference?
Word Reference is an online language dictionary tool. It has a variety of tools that will help support students during their World Language studies.
This tool helps students to learn and acquire new vocabulary while searching for the specific word needed in context.
How do I introduce Word Reference to students?
Don’t make the mistake a made! “Use Word Reference instead Google Translate?” My students were probably thinking, “What even is that Profe?”.
I don’t know why I didn’t model in depth how to use the dictionary of tools sooner. It made all the difference. Just like we model using the language, we have to model using the online dictionary tool.
That’s where I come in! I created a resource about How to Use Word Reference.
How to Use Word Reference Resource:
- students will practice finding meaning based on context.
- students will explore the conjugation tool.
This resource was designed to help students understand the tools available to them. It’s also designed to make students pause. It’s so important for students using any type of dictionary to pause and take the time too read and find the correct word for context.
There is also a self-checking quiz in Google Sheets.
Have you used this resource? I’d love to hear about it in a comment.
If you liked this post…
If you liked this blog post, you may be interested in these:
Don’t forget to pin this post to check out these ideas for later.
Jade Greene
