Enhancing Thai EFL University Students’ English Translation Skills through Online Collaborative Translation

Abstract

Although online collaborative learning (OCL) is now gaining broad acceptance in
a multitude of language learning classrooms to improve productivity and language
skills, very few studies have investigated online collaboration in EFL translation
class. This study attempted to fill the research gap by investigating the Thai
students’ translation skills through online collaborative translation (OCT) in
Google Docs. Purposive sampling was used to select 26 students enrolling in the
Thai to English translation course during second semester of 2017-2018 Academic
Year at Asia-Pacific International University. A paired-sample T-test was used to
analyze the data of students’ pre-test and post-test scores before and after
participating in online collaborative translation. The results indicated there was a
statistically significant difference in the scores on the test from before participating
in OCT (M =16.92, SD = 1.38) and after participating in OCT (M=18.85, SD =1.38)
as determined by the paired-samples t-test; [t (25) = -11.08, p < .000]. Most
students held a positive attitude towards OCT. Following these findings, some
pedagogical implications are discussed.