Check the grammar of your translation: The usefulness of WhiteSmoke as an automated feedback program

Abstract

Abstract The use of technology in teaching and learning a second language has been an increasingly important subject of research recently. Various software and applications have been developed to aid the students to identify and correct their grammatical mistakes. The present study aimed to assess the effect of an automated feedback program, WhiteSmoke, on the accuracy of the translated texts by Iranian translation students. To pursue the purpose of the study, 68 male and female students studying at Payame Noor University, Tabriz-Iran were selected among 106 undergraduate students of English translation, based on their performance on Nelson proficiency test and a translation accuracy test. The participants shaped the experimental group and the control group of the study. The experimental group included twenty-six trainees, while the control group included forty-two trainees. They were required to translate a Persian text into English as pretest to homogenize them based on their translation accuracy. After 8 weeks of treatment, posttest was administered to the participants of both groups. The results indicated that translation trainees receiving automated written corrective feedback through WhiteSmoke improved their ability in translation in terms of accuracy. The result might have implications for translation trainers, language teachers, learners, and materials developers.