Evaluating L2 Phrases from Google Translation and L1-L2 Dictionaries Using Google Search

Abstract

The L1-L2 dictionaries (e.g. Chinese-English dictionaries for Chinese users) and translation tools (e.g. Google Translation) play an important role in sca ffolding L2 writers (e.g. Chinese people who write in English as a second/foreign language) in solving lexical problems in the L2 writing process. However, these tools lack a validation mechanism to support users to validate the returned L2 entries, and to incorporate chosen items into continuous text following accepted collocations. As a result, users face difficulties in choosing appropriate word(s) to convey the intended meaning, leading wrong or inappropriate use of words or phrases for given contexts. This paper proposes a Google Search based model for evaluating L2 phrases/words returned by the L1-L2 dictionaries or translation tools. A pilot experiment was conducted to evaluate the model. The preliminary results show that the model is reliable.