Is Google Translate really that bad?

How to benefit from Google translate?

by | Aug 7, 2019 | Tips

Google Translate is the best translation app available for smartphones today, and you probably have it installed on your devices. As the name suggests, it is meant to be used for translation, NOT language learning! Let’s see what you can do with this app/website:

What it does

In addition to the regular text translation, Google has recently incorporated significant improvements to Google Translate to provide real-time translations of texts and spoken words. Along with handwriting recognition and picture translation, Google also added Word Lens to Google Translate. This feature allows the user to translate a text and provide an automatic voice translation by simply pointing the smartphone’s camera at the text. For signs, menus, etc. just point your camera and get an instant translation.

Google Translate and English learning

I know what you’re thinking! It is amazing to have such a powerful tool to use in place of a monolingual dictionary. Well, I’m sorry to disappoint, but Google Translate is not much useful for English learners: The translations are not always accurate, buy priligy online Australia and even if they are, you cannot be sure of the correct usage of the language you are trying to learn. Remember! Google Translate is still a machine, after all, and can’t always understand what you exactly mean.

Are you saying I must not use it?

For travel and translation, it is a reliable tool; however, by far the best source of English learning is your dictionary. Always look up new words in a good English-English dictionary first, and only if necessary, double-check meanings in Google Translate.

If you are not sure about the best way of using a dictionary, read this lesson on how to use a dictionary correctly.

About the Author

About the Author

CEO and Co-founder of Juice Academy

Mehdi Safavi is a Cambridge certified English teacher (CELTA Grade A), IDP-trained IELTS expert, Sussex Downs College TESOL with 17+ years of teaching & teacher training experience. More about him →

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