Using online translators in Foreign Language Classes

              We've all done it despite the fact that we've all been told not to do it. Using an online translator such as Google Translate can be extremely tempting while doing foreign language homework, or even while doing in class assignments as well. While Google Translate if used correctly, can be beneficial to students in foreign language classes, it can also be a negative if used improperly. Many students think that they can just type sentences upon sentences into Google Translate and have it automatically decipher everything perfectly into whatever foreign language you choose! This is not the case. Google Translate will most likely not give you the correct translation if you use it in this way. This extremely common improper usage of the site is why so many students will hear their teachers ban them from using the site, which is unfortunate as it can be very helpful. Google Translate is to be used more a source to look up a word or maybe even a phrase, but not just sentences upon sentences. If Google Translate is used more as a dictionary to look up a word or two, the website will be much more likely to give you the correct translation. To reassure yourself that the translation is correct, another technique to do is to THEN write the word you need in a sentence to see if Google still uses the same translated word. From personal experience another step I then take afterwards is then to Google that new word I have learned in order to see more common uses and other references to reassure me that I have the correct word. A great source to supplement Google Translate is Word Reference. Word Reference is a great source because it not only gives you the word, but gives you synonyms, antonyms, examples of the word used in different sentences, verb conjugations, and it will tell you if a noun is masculine or feminine. I personally prefer Word Reference much more than Google Translate, however both need to be used properly and both are very helpful for students taking a Foreign Language if they are used in the way that I have just described. I think that as a future French teacher, I would like to show my students my methods of how I use Google Translate and Word Reference to model for them how they could use these online translators without running into trouble.