EFL students’ engagement in machine translation-assisted writing: Scale development and validation

The use of machine translation (MT) in second language (L2) writing has been criticised for potentially disengaging low-proficiency English as a foreign language (EFL) learners from the writing process. However, little is known about how these learners use MT, let alone how their engagement with the writing process should be empirically measured. Therefore, this study developed and validated a multidimensional scale to assess low-proficiency EFL students’ engagement in MT-assisted writing. A 24-item instrument encompassing behavioural, cognitive, affective, social, and agentic engagement subscales was administered to 773 Japanese university students at the CEFR-A2 level (final sample, N = 708). Exploratory factor analysis with half the participants (n = 354) identified five engagement constructs, with cognitive engagement subdivided into pre-editing and post-editing. Agentic engagement was excluded due to a low factor loading. The hypothesised five-factor model was then tested on the remaining participants (n = 354) through confirmatory factor analysis, which yielded satisfactory reliability, as well as construct, convergent, and discriminant validity. This newly developed scale is a valuable tool for investigating how low-proficiency EFL students engage in L2 writing with MT, which often remains unobservable in classrooms where MT use is discouraged or prohibited.