Web-based machine translation (wbmt) tools have long been used by language learners, but until recently, their value as learning tools was limited by the limited accuracy of their outputs. In the past few years, however, the advent of neural machine translation has drastically improved the accuracy of wbmt, considerably increasing their attractiveness to language learners. Accordingly, the present exploratory study seeks to delve into students' attitudes and beliefs regarding the use of wbmt tools for English language learning. Surveys are used to collect data from 80 upperyear Korean-speaking university students regarding their use of and attitudes toward using wbmt tools. The results indicate that the majority of students use them to support their language studies both at home and at school, and for a range of purposes. Most students reported having limited trust in the accuracy of the outputs, but in general, the results reveal disparities among students in terms of their dependency upon and perceived value of such tools. Furthermore, the students evaluated the output of two popular wbmt tools, revealing evidence of struggle in terms of their ability to critically analyze their outputs. The pedagogical implications associated with this issue are discussed.

In recent years, marked gains in the accuracy of machine translation (MT) outputs have greatly increased its viability as a tool to support the efforts of English as a foreign language (EFL) students to write in English. This study examines error corrections made by 58 Korean university students by comparing their original L2 texts to that of MT outputs. Based on the results of the error analysis, the error types were categorized into 12 categories. Students were divided into three distinctive groups to determine differences among them according to the frequency of errors in their writing. The t-test results reveal that the numbers of errors significantly decreased in the revised versions for most of the error types among all groups. The results of the regression analysis also reveal a positive correlation relationship between the number of changes and the reduction of errors. However, the results also indicate that although all groups made error corrections at similar rates, students who less frequently committed errors in their L2 texts (higher language proficiency groups) generally tended to correct a higher proportion of errors. Based on the findings, pedagogical implications are discussed regarding how EFL teachers can effectively incorporate MT into the classroom.

Summary. The effect of picture upon the readability of a specially written science topic was studied. 338 14‐year‐old children studying CSE Biology in six comprehensive schools completed a cloze test during their study and an objective items recognition test 15 minutes afterwards. Analysis of variance performed on post‐test scores showed that when pictures were present the topic was more easily remembered. However, pictures played little part in the children's performance on the cloze test. It is concluded that attempts to match science textbooks to their readers solely by the application of standard readability formulae, which are unable to take account of the pictorial content of such materials, are simplistic and misleading.

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