Tips for Success: Don’t Use a Translator App!

horses galloping across a field

Sometimes it is tempting to use a translator to translate sentences or paragraphs, but this is not a good idea. Here are some reasons why you should not use a translator when you do writing assignments and other homework:

1) Translators are not good at accurately translating idioms and phrases. For example, if you use an app to translate “hold your horses,” it might give you a very confusing meaning. This is because translating words is not the same as translating meaning.

2) The grammar between languages is very different. Apps will often have trouble giving you the correct sentence grammar, and they might produce some strange errors.

3) You will not always have your translator, and using a translator prevents you from really learning and understanding the language. On tests and in face to face situations, you must be able to create language from your brain. Using a translator prevents your brain from needing to learn.

4) Most importantly, translating directly from one language to another will stop you from learning how to think in the new language.

To study at a high level in that language, you must learn to think in that language.