Undergraduate Translation Research Articles

AI Empowered Undergraduate Translation Teaching and Professional Improvement of Translation Teachers

With the rapid development of artificial intelligence technology (AI technology), the field of education has ushered in unprecedented changes. The application of AI not only provides new means and methods for undergraduate translation teaching but also prompts translation professionals to improve their teaching abilities and professional qualities continuously. The purpose of this paper is to explore how AI empowers undergraduate translation teaching and propose effective paths for the improvement of translation professionals. Through literature review, case analysis, and practical exploration, this paper elaborates on the role and impact of AI in translation teaching and strategies for teachers' professional development, aiming to provide references for undergraduate translation teaching and teachers' improvement.

Research on the Construction of Translation Technology Teaching and Language Service Talent Training System under the New Liberal Arts Context

The rise of technologies like machine-assisted translation and terminology management is transforming translation education and industry. The 2020 Teaching Guide for Undergraduate Translation Major formalized translation technology as a core course, supporting professionalization. However, research on translation technology teaching in China remains limited and often lacks practical application. Ethical issues, such as AI-related privacy and intellectual property concerns, are also growing. This study proposes a framework to enhance translation technology education, aiming to better align teaching with industry needs and cultivate skilled professionals.

Improving EFL students’ multimodal literacy through infographics

Abstract Given the importance of multimodality in the twenty-first century and its relevance to second language acquisition, this study aimed to assess the impact of a multimodal literacy intervention on the reading comprehension of authentic multimodal texts. The participants were EFL students enrolled in a college undergraduate translation and interpretation programme, who were divided into two groups: one serving as the control group and the other as the intervention one. The intervention, based on established multimodal instruction frameworks, utilized five handouts and lasted seven weeks. Before and after the intervention a test assessing participants’ reading comprehension was administered. The results indicated a significant increase in reading scores for both groups; however, the intervention group exhibited a more substantial improvement. Additionally, the qualitative data analysis showed that students in the intervention group valued learning about concepts related to multimodality and thought that learning about multimodality helped them become better translators.

The Role of Elements of Text Analysis in Consecutive Interpreting Performance: A Mixed-Methods Study

Despite the theoretical importance of text analysis in translation process, there is a paucity of experimental research into the role that the elements of the text can play in enhancing interpreting performance. The present study, adopting a mixed-methods design, aimed to investigate whether knowledge of text elements enhances consecutive interpreting performance. In so doing, a sample of 36 homogeneous undergraduate translation students participated in this study based on convenience sampling, and a pool of six students participated in the qualitative phase of the study based on purposive sampling, following the data saturation method. Following Nord’s guidelines for text analysis, the experimental group was exposed to the elements of text during the intervention. A validated assessment rubric was utilized to measure students’ interpreting performance, taking the inter-rater reliability of the scores also into consideration. The results of one-way ANOVA confirmed that there was a statistically significant difference between the control group and the experimental group; the experimental group outperformed the control group. Having calculated the inter-coder reliability of the responses emerged from the interviews, the number of common factors included six themes, namely unique, new information, message analysis, motivating, general lexis, and semiotics. In the end, some practical implications are offered for interpreting students and teachers.

Enhancing Post-Editing Machine Translation Skills Among Iraqi Undergraduate Students

Post-editing machine translation often results in discrepancies between industry expectations and the actual quality of the final product. Despite the usually, low-quality outcomes associated with machine translation, it remains underutilized, even when there are opportunities for improvement through post-editing jobs. This study focuses on the impact of technology-assisted training on English proficiency among students. It investigates a standard error observed among Iraqi students during the post-editing of machine translations using Google Translate deciding whether to edit the machine translation output or to translate from scratch and understand the source text. This research involved 20 undergraduates from Al-Mustansiriyah University and employed a mixed methods approach, collecting data through an online questionnaire completed by students in the undergraduate translation program. The findings indicate a significant improvement in the frequency of post-editing skills among Iraqi students, serving as a distinguishing factor between the two groups. It also highlighted differences in translation abilities among students in Iraqi higher education, with notable improvements observed in the experimental group. In summary, this study supports previous research from the last five years, indicating a more favourable attitude toward machine translation and suggesting that post-editing is considered an essential sub-competency in translation education.

Undergraduate Translation Courses: Students' Perceptions at Prince Sattam Universities

The primary goal of this research was to investigate students' perceptions of translation classes in the English language department at Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University. The obtained data underwent fundamental analysis to determine students' concerns and identify components needing alteration to align with their learning objectives. According to the study, students developed an intellectual inclination, focused on recent discoveries, and were motivated to learn more about translation. They comprehended the course's learning objectives, believed it enhanced their professional development, and found it to meet their expectations. Students gained knowledge of translation concerns and key concepts, along with proficiency in translation processes and problem-solving techniques. According to students, the course was thorough, with an appropriate workload, fair evaluation, clear test requirements, and valuable feedback. They appreciated open communication, interaction with tutors, and collaborative problem-solving in translation challenges. The study suggests investigating students' impressions of web-based distance learning courses and how these attitudes evolve during translation courses. Recommendations include faculty training and incentives to participate. This training would assist instructors in becoming more familiar with the material and building effective teaching strategies. It would also guide academics in applying their own research and/or clinical practice, serving as a model for students' reflective practice. It is recommended that students hear from graduates currently applying this knowledge. Finally, future research may focus on translation programs at other universities in Saudi Arabia.

Translating Ulyssei@s: Work in progress between general and specialised translation in light of NMT

It is common knowledge that the publication of translation projects carried out by students is a very motivating factor for training. Since the second semester of 2015-2016, undergraduate translation students of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities of the University of Porto have participated in the development of the French and English versions of the digital encyclopaedia Ulyssei@s, created by the Institute for Comparative Literature Margarida Losa (ILCML) in the early 2010s. Besides motivating students, this translation project published on the Internet allows us to develop translation skills, foster teamwork, consolidate the three-phase methodology proposed by Gouadec (2002, 2007), and experiment with several essential tasks in language services: collaborative glossary-making, translation, revision of human translation and post-editing neural machine translation (NMT). Some of the challenges posed by the translation of Ulyssei@s are common to all types of translation, while others are specific to the translation of entries of this sui generis encyclopaedia, such as a variety of textual genres (biography, literary criticism, prose, poetry, theatre, essay) in hybrid texts and the need to find the original or the official translation of the works cited. This paper focuses on the data collected in the spring semester of 2022 and is based on the results of a survey submitted to students at the end of the project. It aims to share the experience of developing an inevitably unfinished project and adapting training and learning to the latest advances in Human Language Technology, since NMT has become a valuable tool for human translators, and Ulyssei@s is a digital encyclopaedia regularly enriched by ILCML collaborators with new entries.

DIGITAL REFLECTIVE JOURNAL IN THE TRANSLATION CLASSROOM: DOES THE FORMAT CHANGE THE GAME?

Reflection is considered an integral part of modern translation classrooms, particularly within the framework of the social constructivist paradigm. To enhance its effectiveness, students' reflective activities should be supported with appropriate tools. This paper aims to compare the effectiveness of two formats of digital reflective journals. A mixed-methods research was conducted involving 34 third-year undergraduate translation students, who were divided into two sample groups (SG). They were instructed to accompany their translation submissions with reflective journal entries, either in a MS Word document (SG1) or in a digital reflective journal application (SG2). The research results indicated a statistically significant difference in the translation proficiency levels of students in the two SGs. Reflective journaling using a specific application resulted in better translation performance and higher quality journal entries over the term. This study highlights alternative approaches to reflective journal writing in translation classrooms. Future research could explore the evaluation of journal entries using digital tools.

Investigating the Professional Needs of Undergraduate Translation Students at the College of Language Sciences, King Saud University

Translation instructors typically select texts based on what they think students need. However, their translation experience may not extend beyond teaching translation. Furthermore, previous research reported a gap between translator training and the translation job market. As translation courses should cater to the needs of the translation profession, the current study was motivated by the importance of identifying the professional needs of undergraduate translation students in the English Language Program at the College of Language Sciences, King Saud University, to identify any gap between the Program’s requirements and workplace practices. Using questionnaires, interviews, and the analysis of relevant documents, the researchers attempted to identify the most frequent fields, genres, skills, and evaluation criteria professional translators encounter at the workplace. The graduates of the Program under investigation, reported that the most frequent translation fields in the job market were the business translation and legal translation. Furthermore, the most common genres were terms and conditions, policies, reports, agreements and contracts, and website content. The analysis of the documents and interview data showed that the genres addressed in the legal translation course align with the genres encountered at the workplace. In addition, the evaluation criteria adopted by course instructors are well-aligned with the aspects emphasized by employers. In general, some significant discrepancies were found between the Program and the job market regarding genres and fields. Thus, it is recommended that course specifications and objectives are revised in light of job market needs.

Examining the Acquisition of Translation Competence: Dynamicity and Translation Quality as Indicators

The purpose of the study was to examine translation competence acquisition using dynamicity and translation quality as indicators. The researcher adopted a mixed methods research design using a closed-item questionnaire, translation tasks, and semi-structured interviews to collect data from undergraduate translation students, translation instructors, and employers of translators. One hundred fifty-eight undergraduate translation students completed the questionnaire, and 50 undergraduate translation students completed the translation tasks. The researcher interviewed four translation instructors and four employers of translators. Statistical and qualitative analyses revealed that the undergraduate translation students sampled in the study have not acquired translation competence successfully as shown by the absence of statistically significant differences in the dynamic/static views of translation knowledge among them in addition to the nondiscriminating translation performance of the students on the translation tasks as well as the feedback obtained from the instructors and employers in the interviews. Due to their significance to translator training, the findings of the study may contribute to the design and development of translation programs and curricula—in pedagogical settings—and professional development and on-the-job training programs—in professional settings.

Personality-based intercultural awareness in undergraduate translation students via postcrossing

Personality-based intercultural awareness in undergraduate translation students via postcrossing

The Status of Undergraduate Translation Programs at Yemeni Universities in Light of Academic Accreditation Standards: Perspectives of Faculty Members and Heads of Translation Programs

The Status of Undergraduate Translation Programs at Yemeni Universities in Light of Academic Accreditation Standards: Perspectives of Faculty Members and Heads of Translation Programs

Developing Translation Competence of Undergraduate Translation Students under Computer-aided Translation Technology

College students who major in translation often face psychological and physiological challenges that affect their learning experience. They have a particular interest in learning translation, but their level is not high; their enthusiasm for translation learning is not high, and they lack confidence. This paper divided them into control and experimental groups comprising 50 students. Before introducing computer-aided translation (CAT), students in both groups were given the same basic training, including language, translation theory, and professional knowledge, thus ensuring that both groups had similar essential competencies. The experimental group introduced CAT and provided them with the necessary training and guidance to ensure their complete understanding and familiarity with CAT technology. Regular translation tests were conducted on two groups of students, mainly examining their performance in vocabulary translation, grammar translation, and discourse cohesion. Meanwhile, feedback and discussion with the experimental group of students can help them improve the quality of their translations. Before the introduction of CAT technology, 25% of vocabulary omissions occurred, while after the introduction of CAT technology, 7% of vocabulary omissions occurred. This article contributed to the cultivation of translation competencies of undergraduate translation students.

Cooperative Training of Undergraduate Translation Students: Trainee Perceptions and Job Market Alignment

The study examined the cooperative training course at an undergraduate English translation program at a public university in Saudi Arabia with the aim of tapping into the perceptions of a sample of undergraduate translation students regarding their cooperative training experience. The study also aimed to identify the extent to which the students’ university training is aligned with job market needs. To achieve these aims, a qualitative study was conducted, and 87 undergraduate students were surveyed using a questionnaire designed for the purpose of the study. The findings indicated that the students generally had positive perceptions towards cooperative training. The findings also indicated that the students’ undergraduate training is aligned with job market requirements in some respects while there is room for improvement in others

A curriculum analysis of applied English translation program in the scope of translator competence: The case of Tokat Gaziosmanpasa University

In today's world, the increasing desire and need for internationalization in all areas of life have increased the interaction of people speaking different languages in parallel. This situation has revealed how important the need for translation and translator is. Thus, translator training programs have become increasingly common in Turkiye and worldwide. In addition to the departments of Translation and Interpreting that offer undergraduate translation education, Applied English Translation programs at associate degrees have also been constituted. Curriculums designed to train translators, whether at undergraduate or associate degree, need to be constantly updated in line with the needs of the translation industry. The developments that cause this update can be exemplified as technological innovations, collaborations developed in different fields, and emerging markets in this sense. The translators need various knowledge, skills, and professional competencies to provide the translation service expected from them. Whereas these competencies are expressed as translation competence, a higher term in some studies, some researchers have preferred to use the concept of translator competence for the same phenomenon. Regardless of the preferred concept, this phenomenon is considered a central element in curriculum design. This competence is gained through translation training programs offered at different levels (undergraduate or associate degree) in higher education institutions. This study aims to present, in the case of Tokat Gaziosmanpaşa University, to what extent the Applied English Translation program curriculum given at the associate degree covers the translator competence required by the translator candidate.

Integrating technologies in translation teaching: a study on trainers’ perceptions

ABSTRACT In recent years, the language industry has undergone a technological revolution, and professionals are increasingly required to have strong technological knowledge and expertise. Undergraduate translation programmes have tried to adapt to these changing market demands, albeit at a much slower pace. However, there still seems to be a significant gap between the increasingly challenging technological demands of the translation market and training in translation technologies (TT) in university degree courses. A previous empirical study investigating the presence of technology in undergraduate translation module syllabi showed that there is little integration of TT into translation modules. This paper presents a follow-up study, the primary goal of which is to comprehensively describe this situation with the testimonies of a cohort of translation trainers in Spanish higher-education institutions at undergraduate level. We expect to contribute to the field by reporting on the challenges experienced by trainers who are trying to integrate technologies into their practical translation modules. Findings show that there is little integration of TT into the teaching methodology of translation modules. This is due, in most cases, to factors that are beyond trainers’ control.

Setting Educational Objectives of the Undergraduate Translation Curriculum of Arab Universities with Korean Language Major Based on Translation Competencies

Setting Educational Objectives of the Undergraduate Translation Curriculum of Arab Universities with Korean Language Major Based on Translation Competencies

Undergraduate Translation Students’ Perceptions of Online Learning during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Aim. The Covid-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented challenges at all levels of education. Higher education institutions across the globe had to move traditional campus-based learning online as it was the only available option to continue academic activities. Students’ perceptions of online learning during the Covid-19 crisis have been investigated in many fields of study, however, little known research has been conducted in the field of Translation studies. To fill in the gap, small-scale research was carried out at a University in Lithuania. It aimed to examine undergraduate translation students’ perceptions of learning online during the Covid-19 pandemic. Methods. To carry out the research, qualitative methodology was used. The data was drawn from 23 translation students’ essays and analysed using inductive content analysis. Results. The study resulted in the identification and description of two major categories and five subcategories that revealed the students’ experience of online learning during the pandemic and their perceptions of its positive and negative impacts. Conclusion. The results demonstrate that all study participants perceived online learning both as a positive and negative experience with the number of the student-reported negative impacts being slightly bigger than that of the positive ones. The findings of this research are important; yet they do not allow for wide scale generalisations as the study was conducted on a small sample. Originality. The present study contributes to the research in the field by providing new insights into the impacts of online learning during the Covid-19 pandemic as seen from the students’ perspective.

학부 번역교육에서 기계번역 메타언어 학습 활동에 대한 연구

The purpose of this study is to present Machine Translation (MT) metalanguage learning activities and to examine whether the degree of metalanguage utilization shown by undergraduate students majoring in translation is related to their explicit knowledge, and their ability to identify and solve translation problems. Metalanguage helps learners to learn foreign languages by activating the metalanguage knowledge they have about their native language and their ability to explain specific language phenomena or translation problems. Unlike the previous undergraduate machine translation education research focused on post-editing, this study attempts to use machine translation as a tool for translation learning with the purpose of promoting understanding and knowledge of translation and explaining theoretical approaches to translation problems. Using the machine translation result of the novel Pachinko, students conducted the following learning activities with “Translation Problem Judgment Tests”: 1) Understand the translation problems, 2) Indicate the translation problems, and 3) Explain and correct the translation problems. The analysis found that although the use of metalanguage was active, there was a case where the translation problem was not accurately identified and analyzed. This meant that the two sub-categories of explicit knowledge, metalanguage and analyzed knowledge, were not highly correlated. On the other hand, the higher the frequency of using the metalanguage, the higher the explicit knowledge needed to explain the translation problem. Taken together, these results suggest that meta-linguistic education enhances students' awareness of translation and ultimately helps expand explicit knowledge. The findings of this research have significant implications because they show that metalanguage learning activities using machine translation in undergraduate translation education can help students increase their explicit knowledge of translation and extend their analytical skills.

Technological Empowerment: The New Trend to Promote Undergraduate Translation Teaching in Applied Universities

In the context of AI, innovative translation teaching model “translation+technology” is the new trend to meet the needs of the language service industry. In the current context of the increasing marginalization trend of humanities, the concept of new liberal arts should be vigorously advocated, actively seeking changes by breaking majoring barriers and integrating new technologies into liberal arts education. The undergraduate translation teaching in applied universities should be based on Teaching Guidelines for Undergraduate Translation Major and the actual situations, and make efforts in the construction of translation technology lab, cross-school collaborative education, teacher teams construction, curriculum system and evaluation system to optimize the existing training model of undergraduate translation major and improve the teaching quality.