Medical Students’ Internationalization by Using Machine Translation
Yukiko Ideno1 and Yoko Sakamoto2
1Kanagawa Dental University,
Department of Liberal Arts Education,ideno@kdu.ac.jp

2Dokkyo Medical University
Division of Languages and Humanities
y-saka@dokkyomed.ac.jp

Abstract
General foreign language education in the medical faculties was based on the concept of learning aforeign language and then using it. Despite the fact that university language education focuses on only
English, the results were not as promising as expected. In other words, there was a limit to bottom-up
teaching. We have decided to change our perspective and develop lessons with a top-down approach withthe goal of fostering global interest (cultivating international curiosity). The idea of language education
using machine translation is to learn and use a foreign language at the same time. By using machinetranslation, it is possible to shift the traditional learning method of "learn and then use" to "learn after
becoming able to use." The sense of "becoming able to use" will also be useful for fostering students’motivation. Depending on how it is used, machine translation can be useful for learning a foreign language.
Normally, it takes a long time to learn English and then be able to read medical journals without difficulty.
However, effective use of machine translation will enable students to read the latest articles and data froma variety of medical texts and reviews. These abilities will ultimately contribute to the development ofmedicine as well.

Keywords
machine translation, medical students, internationalization, multiple languages, globalism▪ Preface : Confusion of non-native English teachers
Eiichiro Sumida, a fellow at the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology(NICT) and a leading researcher in machine translation in Japan, has announced that “simultaneousinterpretation will be automated by 2025.” (2022). This announcement will have a significant impact on
English teachers, who may lose their jobs. Sumida also states that the evolution of machine translation
was limited to people in the IT community and universities who were interested in the accuracy oftranslation when German company DeepL's instructional translation arrived in Japan in 2020. Only people
in the translation industry were astonished by the improvements in Google's automated translation in 2016.
Prior to 2015, automated translation was rarely of interest to the public.
▪1 Introduction
Kanagawa Dental University and Dokkyo Medical University devised an effective speech learning method
using machine translation. It is possible to shift from the conventional learning method of "learn and then use"
to "learn after becoming able to use". These abilities will ultimately contribute to the development of medicalcare.
In this study, we will provide machine translation instruction to improve the communicative competence of
foreign language learners at medical universities, to clarify what difficulties they face in doing so, and to help
learners learn how to use machine translation effectively. Due to low autonomy, even learners who are highly
motivated to contribute to society in the medical field in the future may not have enough time to study todevelop the language skills required by global society beyond the study of medical subjects. Since both
Kanagawa Dental University and Dokkyo Medical University are located in international regions, it is essential
for medical students to build rapport with patients in English during hospital training. Therefore, bothuniversities provide classes to enhance the communication skills necessary for rapport-building byincorporating information technology called machine translation into foreign language education. We would
like to create an instruction manual in multiple languages for medical communication using machinetranslation by having students learn how to convert English into other languages (Chinese and Korean) using
machine translation.

▪2 Objectives for research▪2. 1 To internationalize community-based medicine
The significance of this study is that it will be useful for teaching communication in multiple languages atmedical universities in Japan. With the development of information technology, foreign language education inJapan is facing a major turning point. Many foreign language educators are trying to create a manual to
overcome this turning point, and Kanagawa Dental University and Dokkyo Medical University have plans to
do so. Currently, an AI-based automatic translation technology called "Pocket Talk" is used in variousindustries. In the field of medicine, the use of AI and robots is further advancing the sophistication of medicalcare, and doctors are expected to play the role of a link between medicine and patients.
▪2. 2 Machine translation using English is effective for multiple languages
In medical universities in Japan, the heavy emphasis on specialized fields in relation to the total number ofclass hours makes it difficult to have the autonomy of foreign language learning. Until now, foreign language
education has been based on the concept of using a foreign language after acquiring it. However, the language
education using machine translation in this study is based on the idea of learning a foreign language and using
a foreign language at the same time. By using machine translation, students learn English and are exposed toother languages (Chinese, Korean, etc.). By "exposure," we do not mean that the teacher will teach multiple
languages in class, but rather that the students will understand how to learn and use multiple languages on theirown through machine translation. Machine translation is currently evolving, and will continue to evolve. By
mastering this machine, students will be able to communicate not only in English, but also in many otherforeign languages. In a globalized society, it will be advantageous to be able to communicate with many people
in the medical field.
▪2. 3 Machine translation is necessary for medical universities to become globalized.
There are already many curriculum studies on language learners. However, there are no studies that linklanguage learning using machine translation to the internationalization of healthcare, specifically in themedical field. Therefore, in this study, using data from questionnaires and achievement tests on machinetranslation, Kanagawa Dental College and Dokkyo Medical University will collaborate to devise a lesson plan
to improve learning for the globalization of medicine and to create a manual for teaching multiple languages.
We would like to make the manual widely available for use in language education and in training at medicaluniversities. Since most classes at medical universities are for national examinations for doctors and thenumber of classes does not allow students to study English, it will be essential to use machine translation forhandling large amounts of information. The importance of this study is suggested in the above points.

▪3 Academic background of this research―academic questions that form the core of the research topic―
There is a time limit to what can be taught in the classroom. In medical universities, in particular, students
must focus on specialized subjects in preparation for the national examinations, which means that they cannot
devote much time to language learning. However, as medicine has become increasingly globalized in recentyears, it is necessary to quickly absorb academic knowledge from abroad, make it the national standard, anddevelop it.
To solve these problems, autonomy in language learning is necessary. According to Holec (1979), who was
the first to relate learner autonomy to language learning, language learners' autonomy is defined as the ability
to take responsibility for their own language learning. According to Komorowska (2014), autonomy does notexist at birth and must be systematically cultivated. The stage of full autonomous competence is, according toNoonan (1997), the stage of taking responsibility for one's own learning beyond the formal curriculum contentof schools and other institutions. According to Komorowska, learning autonomy is a process that inevitably
occurs when the learner incorporates new knowledge into already existing knowledge; language learning
autonomy encourages language learning outside the classroom to supplement what is lacking in language
learning in the classroom, and autonomy promotes a learning style that suits each individual learner.
In order to foster learners’ autonomy, it will be necessary to change the form of the classroom, and this will
require a shift from the traditional learner-controlled model to a learner-supported model. Cohen (1998)
suggests that for learner support, diagnosing the learner and coordinating the learning of each learner isparamount. As Noonan points out above, there will be an urgent need to increase the autonomy of language
learners so that they can improve their English language skills outside of the school curriculum in order to
respond to globalization.

Currently, due to the emphasis on science-related subjects required for admission to medical universities,some students have the perception that languages are only for university entrance exams. In addition,
inadequate guidance to enhance the autonomy of English language learners in secondary schools has resulted
in low learner autonomy. As a result, many university students do not develop their English language skills
beyond the university entrance examinations. In addition, a small number of students, even those who likelearning English, study English in order to score points on the exam, because they need TOEIC when they finda job.
The reality is that they do not gain English proficiency beyond what they had at the time of entrance
examination. In other words, these phenomena explain the current situation in which many Japanese who canuse English are not being trained to do so, even if their English proficiency on entrance exams is high.
Therefore, this research on the use of automatic translation to enhance learner autonomy may contribute to thedevelopment of internationalized medicine in the future.

▪4 Related domestic and international research and the position of this study
Conventional foreign language education was based on the concept of learning a foreign language and thenusing it. Despite the abolition of the second language requirement at universities and the focus on English, theresults were not as promising as expected. In other words, we thought that there was a limit to bottom-up
teaching. We decided to change our perspective and develop lessons with a top-down motivation from the goalof fostering global interest (cultivating international curiosity), given the current situation in which not only
English but also various other languages, such as Chinese, are used worldwide. The idea of language education
using machine translation is to learn a foreign language and use a foreign language at the same time. By using
machine translation, it is possible to shift the traditional learning method of "learn and then use" to "learn after
becoming able to use". The feeling of "being able to use" will also help to elicit a sense of competence instudents. Various studies have shown that using machine translation to translate Japanese into English is notuseful for learning English if you write a long sentence in Japanese and have the machine translate the wholesentence, but if we use machine translation while thinking about Japanese sentences one by one, it can be
useful enough to improve our English ability.

▪5 Approach
To analyze the results of a survey on machine translation conducted with a total of 328 university students
at four universities:
Kanagawa Dental University,
Waseda University,
Chiba University of commerce,Tokyo Seitoku University.

▪6 MethodsWe surveyed 328 first-year students at four Universities about the translation sites they frequently use.
(Multiple responses were available.)
Kanagawa Dental University=KDU
Chiba University of Commerce=CYC
Tokyo Seitoku University=TSU
Waseda University=WASEDA

badKDU

CUC

Good40Good40200Somewhat
bad

bad

Somewhatbad

N= 96 (Instructor: SAKAI Shien, IDENO Yukiko)
N=70 (Instructor: SAKAI Shien)
N=125 (Instructor: TSUCHIYA Kagari)
N=37 (Instructor: SAKAI Shien)

Somewhat
good
Can't sayeither

Somewhatgood20bad0Somewhat
bad

Can't sayeitherTSUWASEDA

Good
80
60
40200

Good
151050Somewhat
good
Can't sayeither

badSomewhat
badSomewhat
good
Can't sayeither▪7 Results
There were no significant differences among the four universities in what they thought of machinetranslation. It seems that they use automatic translation in the same way as they use a computer or smartphone,and they accept it smoothly. However, the overall distribution is skewed to the right because this data is froma survey conducted at a university where faculty members recognize the advantages of automatic translation
and actively encourage students to use the specifications. Considering the fact that the students in Table 1 use
automatic translation in some form or another, it is possible that the key to English education will be torecognize the effective use of automatic translation and to use it efficiently in the classroom in the future.
Traditionally, the idea that using English only after an individual has achieved a certain level of proficiency
in English and has a certain level of operational ability is more popular. While this may have been a good
method in the days of traditional English communication, we are now entering a new era in Japan in which weare expected to interact not only with people from English-speaking countries, but also with people fromvarious cultures. In such an era, it will not be possible to keep up with the demand if we think that we can only

use English after we have improved our individual proficiency in English and have a certain level ofoperational ability. Therefore, this study will use machine translation to enable students to handle English
materials and data in real time. This capability will contribute to the internationalization of medicine.

▪8 Future prospect
Using machine translation to enable multilingualism from English
We would like medical students to use not only English but also other languages by using a translation
function, which is very different from the foreign language education they received when they were in a juniorhigh school and a high school. Conventionally, teachers thought teaching method should promote anindividual's proficiency in English and students could use English only after he or she has acquired a certain
level of language skill. While this opinion may have been right in traditional English communication, we arenow entering an era in Japan where we are expected to interact not only with people from English-speakingcountries, but also with people from various cultures, especially Asian countries. In such an era, it is impossible
to think that we can only use English after we have improved our individual proficiency in English and havea certain level of operational ability. Therefore, this study aims that students can learn simple conversation inforeign languages other than English by using machine translation. We would also like to create the firstmanual for teaching multiple languages for medical universities throughout Japan.
※ This paper is based on 2022 PAAL Poster Presentation (IDENO, SAKAMOTO)▪10 References
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