One common problem language teachers encounter is that students use online translators. This is especially true when students are working on projects because they often research in English and then translate into the target language. This method usually does not produce very good results because the student's language skills in their native language are way more advanced than their second language. My school has a policy that students will receive a zero if they use a translator for an assignment. The only resource that we give to our students is an online dictionary called wordreference (www.wordreference.com). But I just found a new resource called lingro (http://lingro.com).
Lingro is a free website that works similar to an online dictionary, but it is way better. It turns any website into an interactive webpage and if you come across a word that you don't know the meaning of, you just have to click on it. It is available in 11 languages, including English, Spanish and French. This is such a great resource because students won't have to take time to go to an online dictionary or use a paper one, they can simply click on the word and in a second you have the meaning of the word.
This website is very easy to use. First, on the main page of Lingro, you type in the address of a website that you want to use the program with. Then you hit enter and it takes you to that webpage, but it is now an interactive webpage. You can click on any word and it will give you multiple definitions of the word as well as audio that allows you to hear the word.
One of the great features of Lingro is that it keeps track of the words you clicked on and creates a wordlist for you to review later. It also records the sentences the words appeared in. In addition, you can review the words with some basic online games/flashcards.
One of the downsides is that the students have to know how to use a dictionary. So it is extremely important to teach students how to use one correctly, otherwise this website won't be very beneficial to students.
I think my students will like how quick and easy this program is to use. It will also be useful for me too when I am reading the French newspaper online. I hope that this resource will cut down on the number of students using online translators.
This sounds like it would be a great resource in the classroom. I remember studying Latin and there would be a word that I would see and never quite retain. I like that the program creates a review list for the student of past words used. It is like a personal digital word wall for the student. I also like that the program has an audio component.
ReplyDeleteJessica,
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a wonderful resource. I like the interactive features of it, being right there when a word is unknown. Most students probably wouldn't take the time to get a separate dictionary, so this is very handy. I like the features including: multiple definitions, audio, word list, games, and most importantly, allowing the student to retain meaning in the context of the sentence. As a learner of Spanish and French myself, this would be an amazing resource to utilize in my studies. Thanks for sharing!
Wow, what a great find. I had no idea about this wonderful resource. I had an amazing time interacting with the website and was thinking about how this can solve many issues in a language classroom. For example many dictionaries, including online dictionaries, do not accurately translate words because of the many conjugations and varied contextual factors. However, I noticed Lingro was translating everything correctly. I also really liked the audio component, I see this feature assisting students with their speaking abilities. The one drawback I found was that some students might let this tool do too much for them, much the same way a calculator in math, and thus not achieve all that should be achieving.
ReplyDeleteOnce again great find, I can't wait to share this with other language teachers and students!
This is revolutionary!!! I worked as a translator during the college years. One of the translation assignment was to revise machine-translated text into better Chinese since there were lots of problem with machine translation. The technology has improved since. With Lingro, I can look up words in the 11 languages it offers. It's better than copy and paste words to dictionary.com or Google translation. I love it!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds very interesting Jessica. Several months ago I converted a survey written in English into different languages. I used Google translator to do this. These languages included French, Japanese, Chinese, Spanish, and three others. I then delivered the translated surveys to native speakers of each language. Without exception, they indicated that Google translator did a terrible job. Part of me feels like their concerns our legitimate. But.....part of me feels like the translations may not be as bad as they are leading me to believe. Of course, these folks get paid to translate documents so I would imagine they may feel threatened by the computer. Do you think this will be a problem with the Lingro or did you get a sense it provided accurate information related to definition and context? Thanks.....Mike
ReplyDeleteOnline translators really do a horrible job. Sometimes students try to pass off translated work as their own, but it is so obvious that they used a translator. An online translator can't look at a complete text and translate the words based on context (maybe it will in the future). There are many idiomatic expressions that don't translate well. So it is worth having a real person do it for you.
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