Are translation devices really that great?

In my experiences over many years teaching English in Japan I have found that many people want to find ways to make things easier. This might sound like an obvious observation and can apply to many areas of life, not only language. The reason this stands out to me is that it brings into question where each language student’s motivation lies. Many people see new innovations and you can see them thinking whether it is enough for them or if they need to go on studying. I should qualify this with the fact is that a portion of students just enjoy learning a new language and exploring new ways to communicate with other people.

One of the technological advances that has changed the game is the addition of a function to translate in real-time for the Apple iPods Pro 3. When the earbuds are connected to an iPhone with their proprietary AI, Apple Intelligence, we can see translations appearing instantaneously. The translations are shot directly to your earpiece and you can hear what was said in a friendly language. ‘I really want it,’ or ‘these can change my life’ could be heard in the classroom. One initial flaw to this is that the communication is very one-sided unless the other person is also using the same product. One student who used it said that the translations were not great and sometimes they could catch errors. But since that is one opinion, what does the web say? One British website (HERE) said that there was a slight delay which was distracting and Siri’s voice over the other speaker’s was confusing at times. A New York Times reporter said the function was not bad but did not function well in lively or noisy places.

The other technological solution some turn to is a device call Pocketalk, which basically translates everything into text, or using our cell phones’ translation app. This is what brought the idea of this blog post to my mind. At the beginning of last month, I headed back home to Vancouver for a week to support my son’s life journey and recharge my English batteries. On two separate occasions I was waiting at a line in a popular coffee chain while a customer at the counter was trying to communicate to the clerk, using a phone or other device to facilitate communication. Both times the clerk looked incredibly patient and helpful, but communication was anything but smooth and the whole exchange was quite time consuming (like the image for this post). The device doubtlessly enabled communication where it might not have been before, but it was not real communication.

By beginning to rely too much on these devices, people give up on learning the language needed to perform even simple tasks like ordering a coffee. The communication is anything but smooth and I am left to wonder if the people using them really feel satisfied with with the exchange they had. Staring at blue screens has already made humans less social, and this technology is taking us even further down that dark path.

Now don’t get me wrong, or think of me as a negative, tech-hating person. I will acknowledge there are times I might need this kind of device or app. If I were to stop over for a couple of hours in Korea, it would be very useful for me to use. But I would be very conservative in how much I need to communicate. Also, some people are more than happy to speak and then read answers on a screen, especially in Japan where there is abundant anxiety about speaking to foreigners.

I guess what I really want to say is, not to over rely on or completely trust these advancements. I am confident that both products I talked about here will improve in the future and become more indispensable. But remember that the most rewarding and productive conversation will also originate from your lips and resonate in your ears, so don’t give up on studying language!