INTEGRATING AI AND HUMAN TRANSLATION IN LITERARY TRANSLATION PEDAGOGY: A STRUCTURED PEDAGOGICAL SEQUENCE FOR CRITICAL REFLECTIVE JUDGEMENT

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.35631/IJEPC.1164059

Keywords:

Generative AI, Literary Translation Pedagogy, Reflective Judgement, Translator Agency, Arabic Literary Translation

Abstract

Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) gives student translators additional renderings to consider, each of which still requires human evaluation of meaning, style, and cultural context. This article examines how critical reflective judgement becomes visible in students’ decisions during GenAI-assisted literary translation. The dataset comprises six anonymised student portfolios representing 23 distinct passages and 40 student–passage cases from the Muʿallaqah of Zuhayr, translated into Malay or English. Students produced an initial literal translation, consulted ChatGPT and Gemini using lecturer-provided prompts, prepared a refined version, and justified their decisions in writing. Comparative analysis of successive versions and reflective commentaries traced how students addressed semantic, stylistic, and cultural problems and, where AI-generated alternatives were identifiable, whether they accepted, modified, or rejected them. Critical reflective judgement was clearest when students tested AI suggestions against contextual or literary evidence, assessed their adequacy, and explained why particular renderings were retained, revised, or rejected. The portfolios make the intervening processes of comparison, evaluation, and decision-making more explicit within the staged translation task. They inform a seven-stage pedagogical sequence of translation, AI consultation, comparison, evaluation, decision-making, refinement, and justification. Based on this bounded dataset, the sequence is an empirically informed pedagogical proposition, not a validated model of instructional effectiveness.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Angelone, E. (2010). Uncertainty, uncertainty management and metacognitive problem solving in the translation task. In G. M. Shreve & E. Angelone (Eds.), Translation and cognition (pp. 17–40). John Benjamins. https://doi.org/10.1075/ata.xv.03ang

Boase-Beier, J. (2020). Translation and style (2nd ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429327322

Eskelinen, J., & Pakkala-Weckström, M. (2016). Assessing translation students' acquisition of professional competences. Translation Spaces, 5(2), 314–331. https://doi.org/10.1075/ts.5.2.08esk

González Davies, M. (2004). Multiple voices in the translation classroom: Activities, tasks and projects. John Benjamins. https://doi.org/10.1075/btl.54

Hurtado Albir, A. (2015). The acquisition of translation competence: Competences, tasks, and assessment in translator training. Meta, 60(2), 256–280. https://doi.org/10.7202/1032857ar

Jiménez-Crespo, M. A. (2025). ‘If students translate like a robot …’ or how research on human-centered AI and intelligence augmentation can help realign translation education. The Interpreter and Translator Trainer, 19(3–4), 277–295. https://doi.org/10.1080/1750399X.2025.2542022

Kenny, D., & Winters, M. (2020). Machine translation, ethics and the literary translator's voice. Translation Spaces, 9(1), 123–149. https://doi.org/10.1075/ts.00024.ken

Kiraly, D. C. (2000). A social constructivist approach to translator education: Empowerment from theory to practice. St. Jerome Publishing.

Lahiani, R. (2025). Beyond words: Translating nonverbal communication in Arabic poetry: A cultural turn approach. Cogent Arts & Humanities, 12(1), Article 2526941. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311983.2025.2526941

Massey, G., & Ehrensberger-Dow, M. (2011). Commenting on translation: Implications for translator training. The Journal of Specialised Translation, 16, 26–41. https://doi.org/10.26034/cm.jostrans.2011.485

Moorkens, J. (2020). ‘A tiny cog in a large machine’: Digital Taylorism in the translation industry. Translation Spaces, 9(1), 12–34. https://doi.org/10.1075/ts.00019.moo

O'Brien, S. (2012). Translation as human-computer interaction. Translation Spaces, 1(1), 101–122. https://doi.org/10.1075/ts.1.05obr

PACTE Group, Hurtado Albir, A., Galán-Mañas, A., Kuznik, A., Olalla-Soler, C., Rodríguez-Inés, P., & Romero, L. (2018). Competence levels in translation: Working towards a European framework. The Interpreter and Translator Trainer, 12(2), 111–131. https://doi.org/10.1080/1750399X.2018.1466093

Pietrzak, P. (2019). Scaffolding student self-reflection in translator training. Translation and Interpreting Studies, 14(3), 416–436. https://doi.org/10.1075/tis.18029.pie

Risku, H. (2002). Situatedness in translation studies. Cognitive Systems Research, 3(3), 523–533. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1389-0417(02)00055-4

Romaniuk-Cholewska, D. (2025). Analysis of critical thinking skills: How do students perceive and evaluate AI translation tools? Linguodidactica, 29, 173–187. https://doi.org/10.15290/lingdid.2025.29.12

Schön, D. A. (1983). The reflective practitioner: How professionals think in action. Basic Books.

Sperber, D., Clément, F., Heintz, C., Mascaro, O., Mercier, H., Origgi, G., & Wilson, D. (2010). Epistemic vigilance. Mind & Language, 25(4), 359–393. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0017.2010.01394.x

Xu, S., Su, Y., & Liu, K. (2025). Investigating student engagement with AI-driven feedback in translation revision: A mixed-methods study. Education and Information Technologies, 30(12), 16969–16995. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-025-13457-0

Zhang, W., Li, A. W., & Wu, C. (2025). University students' perceptions of using generative AI in translation practices. Instructional Science, 53(4), 633–655. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11251-025-09705-y

Downloads

Published

2026-09-20

How to Cite

Ramli, S., Ahmad, H., Gani, M. I. A., & Isahak, A. (2026). INTEGRATING AI AND HUMAN TRANSLATION IN LITERARY TRANSLATION PEDAGOGY: A STRUCTURED PEDAGOGICAL SEQUENCE FOR CRITICAL REFLECTIVE JUDGEMENT. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EDUCATION, PSYCHOLOGY AND COUNSELLING (IJEPC), 11(64), 1127–1139. https://doi.org/10.35631/IJEPC.1164059