11/12/2001

Department of Languages and Literatures

Pacific Lutheran University

Among the fundamental goals of second language and cultural study at the university level is the acquisition of the cognitive skills necessary to express one’s own thoughts and ideas effectively in the second language without dependence upon others. Central to this goal is the principle of Academic Integrity, which states that "[s]tudents are inherently responsible to do their own work, thereby insuring the integrity of their academic records."

The challenge, and at times the struggle, of learning to formulate coherent thoughts in a second language forms an integral part of the process of second language acquisition. The use of machine translation by students to complete assignments in courses in which second language acquisition is a primary goal subverts the aim of gaining practice and skill in thinking for oneself in the target language. Moreover, it short-circuits the capacity of students to appreciate and gain skill in the use of idiom in the target language, an aspect of translation in which machine translators are notoriously weak.

Among the definitions of cheating included in PLU’s policy on Academic Integrity is "[the use of] information or devices not allowed by the faculty, such as formulas or a computer program or data…." Given the aims and the realities mentioned above, and in light of PLU’s policy on Academic Integrity, the Department of Languages and Literatures issues the following guidelines on the use of machine translation for students of language, literature, and culture:

1. The use of machine translation in the writing of graded homework and other class assignments in which language counts is strictly prohibited.
2. The use of machine translation in the creation of other work authored by the student and submitted for a grade must be declared in writing as part of the document in question.
3. Failure to follow these guidelines will be treated by faculty as a breach of PLU’s policy on Academic Integrity.

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