Assessing the Rate of Dependence on Online Translation Tools and Its Factors Among Final-Year English Department Students

Abstract

One of the advancements of technology, such as Online Translation Tools (OTT), raises some concerns about its excessive usage. The main problem lies in the more students rely on OTT, the less opportunity they have to engage directly with the language, which may ultimately hinder the development of their language proficiency. Therefore, this research aims to assess the extent to which Final-year English students rely on OTT in their writing and the underlying factors that contribute to this dependence. Through an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design, the study first gathered the data through a survey questionnaire distributed to 84 students. Then, semi-structured interviews were conducted with five students who demonstrated the highest levels of OTT dependence based on the average score from the questionnaire results. The findings reveal that the use of OTT among students is considerably high, with 70% falling into the dependence category (medium-very high dependence level). Furthermore, the findings found several major influential factors to their dependence, these are social, psychological, biological, and instrumental factors. These findings suggest the need for academic regulation regarding the use of such AI tools, including OTT, to ensure balanced usage.