Using Machine Translation as a Self-Directed Language Learning Tool for Low-Proficiency LCTL Learners in a Tandem Partnership.

This article examines the potential of Google Translate (GT) as a tool for self-directed learning of less commonly taught languages (LCTLs), specifically Turkish and Danish, through an autoethnographic study involving two low proficiency-level tandem partners. The findings indicate that while GT facilitates written communication, vocabulary acquisition, and exposure to authentic language, its effectiveness is limited by language pair challenges, translation inaccuracies—especially with idiomatic and cultural expressions—and the tool’s sentence-level processing. Learner qualities such as motivation, autonomy, machine translation (MT) literacy, and prior linguistic knowledge significantly influence GT’s utility as a learning aid. The tandem partnership complemented GT by providing human feedback and cultural context, creating a symbiotic relationship that enhanced language learning beyond GT’s current capabilities.