Influence of Modern Machine Translation on Vocabulary Learning among Yemeni EFL Learners

Abstract

Vocabulary is looked as a foundational building block upon which all other language skills are constructed. The present study aimed to investigate the influence of modern machine translation on vocabulary learning among Yemeni English as a foreign language (hereafter, EFL) learners. The two main questions in the study were: (1) How common is machine translation used for vocabulary learning in EFL classes? (2) What is the influence of modern machine translation on vocabulary learning? The study adopted the quantitative correlational explanatory design. The population of this study were Yemeni EFL learners in the English Language Department, Faculty of Education, Thamar University in the academic year 2024-2025. The sample of this study consisted of 50 students of second, third, and fourth levels, the study used a questionnaire to collect data and the design was a close-ended questionnaire. The questionnaire was analyzed through the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) programme. Thefindings of this study revealed that the participants heavily utilized machine translation for quick vocabulary comprehension and contextual learning, often trying independent strategies first. While they found machine translation useful for idioms and complex texts, and generally trust its accuracy, participants worried that machine translation might lead to inaccurate knowledge, overreliance, and rote memorization.