1. Defining and Avoiding Academic Dishonesty
in Foreign Language Classes
Academic Integrity Week, CSU.
October 16th, 2012
Dr. Maite Correa
Foreign Languages and Literatures, Colorado State
University

2. Definitions
• Academic dishonesty (for more categories refer to Baker,
2008 or Gehring & Pavela, 1994)):
Plagiarism: deliberate use of “someone else’s language, ideas, or
other original (not common-knowledge) material without
acknowledging its source” (CWPA, 2003).
Falsification/fabrication: the false creation of data or documents.
Unauthorized possession or disposition of materials:
possessing or using materials that are unauthorized by the instructor
(such as previous exams, answer books,…).
Cheating: Intentionally using or attempting to use unauthorized
materials, information, or study aids in any academic exercise.
Facilitation (of academic dishonesty): Intentionally or knowingly
helping or attempting to help another to commit an act of academic
dishonesty.

3. Introduction
• Beasley (2004, p. 9) divides plagiarists in three broad
categories:
• accidental
• opportunistic (intentional)
• committed (intentional)
• Intentional and accidental plagiarism have to be addressed
differently:
• Accidental cheaters should be aware of proper ways of
quoting, paraphrasing and referencing
• Intentional/opportunistic cheaters should be aware of
the implications that such acts have on themselves and
others.

4. Cheating Accross Disciplines
• “Wandering eyes” or bringing unauthorized material to an
exam
• Using someone else’s ideas (easier now thanks to technology):
• cyber-plagiarism: submitting papers downloaded from the
internet, in whole or in part as an original work (Oliphant,
2002, p. 78);
• cut & paste plagiarism: copying a few sentences of material
from the Internet without citing the source (Beasley, 2004, p.
2)
• patchwriting: paraphrasing from a source by altering some
grammatical structures or using synonyms (Howard, 1999).
• Making up excuses (yeah, that is also academic dishonesty)

5. Foreign Languages
• How is a Foreign Language class
different from others when it comes
to cheating?

6. Foreign Languages (cont.)
• In foreign languages (FL), the mode of delivery
(language) is a substantial part of most assignments: any
unauthorized help that the student can get in order to
put their thoughts into words can become an act of
academic dishonesty.
• This means that, even if the source is cited or the ideas
are original, the process from idea to language poses
potential for cheating.

7. Foreign Languages (cont.)
• In the Foreign Language (FL) classroom unique and specific
types of academic dishonesty occur that are not found in
other disciplines:
• 1) help is provided by native/advanced speakers
(anything from asking for a single word, an expression,
or asking for a complete review, i.e. “going over the
paper”).
• 2) assignments initially written in the native language
(original or copied from a website) are translated into
the target language with the help of online translators

8. The « roommate problem , i.e.,
« can you go over my paper? »
• Some students get help from native/advanced speakers of the target
language
– What happens when the person providing help is a paid tutor or another instructor
(from the same or another institution)?
– Where is the line that separates “legal assistance” from “too much outside help”
when writing a paper or assignment (how much is acceptable)?
– If peer-review is accepted within the classroom setting, is it automatically also
accepted outside of class?
– What if it is a classmate who does it (outside of class)?
– ACCIDENTAL OR INTENTIONAL?
• Is it illegal to have a tutor?

9. SOLUTION: Instead of asking
anyone to go over your paper…
• You can ask specific questions about your paper to anyone:
» Is this sentence grammatical? Why (not)?
» How can I say «ante sus ojos» in English?
» How do I conjugate this verb?
» Do I need a preposition here?
» Should I say X or Y in this context?
» What is the difference between X and Y?
» Can you read my paper and give me general suggestions? (example: there are many
agreement problems; you need to work on paragraph structure; review the
subjunctive, …)
• The difference is that, in this case, YOU are fixing the paper, not your
editor.
• To avoid being accused of cheating, you should ALWAYS include the
original version you wrote, the comments your tutor gave you, and
the final version you are submitting for a grade

10. Use of Online Translators
• What is the difference between Google Translate and
WordReference?
• Are we allowed to use them? Why (not)?

11. Use of Online Translators
• What is the purpose of a foreign language
class?
– If I can use Google Translator…why would
I bother to learn a language?
• The use of online translators is comparable
to purchasing papers online.
• Moreover: humans are much better at
translation than machines (we know the
difference between “fly” and “fly” or “like”
and “like”):
– Time flies like an arrow
– Fruit flies like a banana

12. • “Captain Edward Smith, who, despite 34 years of
professional experience as a manager of luxury
hotels clumsier, as a sailor, took 25 minutes to start
the first SOS. In addition, delayed the ship's
departure thus hide most passengers do not realize
the danger before it is too late.”
Example

13. SOLUTION: Online Dictionaries
• The use of sites as WordReference is encouraged. Why?
Like a dictionary, but
better (forums are
very useful even for
experienced writers)
Still YOU are
fixing the paper
while you learn

14. Conclusion
• The difference between cheating and getting outside
help lies on the amount of work that is carried out by
the «helper» and the «writer»
• Help is not automatically translated as «cheating»
• There are many ways in which «outside help» can
become a learning tool, but we need to use this help
wisely:
– Online dictionaries, forums, thesauri, specific questions to
advanced speakers…that is all part of our learning process
because, after all, we also do it in our native language.
• When in doubt: ask your instructor!!

15. References
• Baker, R., Berry, P., & Thornton, B. (2008). Student attitudes on academic integrity
violations. Journal of College Teaching & Learning, 5(1), 5–13.
• Beasley, J. D. (2004). The impact of technology on plagiarism prevention and
detection: Research process automation, a new approach for prevention. Retrieved
from http://ww w. powerreserche r. com/download/plagiarism_tech_impact. pdf [2
0 0 6, Feb. 16].
• Council of Writing Program Administrators, W. I. (2003). Defining and Avoiding
Plagiarism: The WPA Statement on Best Practices. Retrieved from
http://www.wca-online.org/OnlineStudentResources/WPA-Avoiding-Plagiarism.pdf
• Gehring, D. D. & Pavela, G. (1994). Issues and perspectives on academic integrity
(2nd ed.). National Association of Student Personnel Administrators.
• Howard, R. M. (1999). Standing in the shadow of giants: Plagiarists, authors,
collaborators. Ablex Publishing Corporation.
• Oliphant, T. (2002). Cyber-plagiarism: Plagiarism in a digital world. Feliciter, 48(2),
78–80.