The use of Google Translate for language learning in emergency forced displacement contexts

Abstract This paper explores the use of Google Translate (GT) by displaced people (DPs) from Ukraine in Australia and English language educators supporting learners from refugee backgrounds in the context of decolonizing language learning. The survey and interviews with DP participants revealed that GT provides them with a sense of confidence and freedom, inclusion and value following their emergency evacuation from the war. Significantly, the learners’ use of GT suggests high levels of metalinguistic awareness and digital literacy, and they contested the dominance of ‘privileged’ language varieties in machine translation applications. Their use of GT also promoted wider understanding of multilingual learners in educational settings. The educator interviews provided insights into their goals for supporting learners in (re)settlement and their contrasting views regarding the potential for GT to play a role in language learning. A critical discussion of different ways that learners and educators perceive tools such as GT provides insights into the complexities of the use of machine translation in language teaching and learning.