Students’ Perceptions of AI-Assisted Blended Teaching in A Chinese Translation Class: A Preliminary Study

Tertiary translation education is essential for cultivating talents in cross-cultural communications in the age of language automation. However, the mismatch between current translation pedagogy and the language industry is palpable. While artificial intelligence has emerged as a key impetus of language automation, learners’ perceptions of utilizing educational technologies in their translation learning remain underexplored. Particularly, the underlying factors of learner perceptions that significantly affect learners’ technology acceptance have yet to be thoroughly examined. This study aims to preliminarily identify the key factors influencing learner perceptions and acceptance of AI-assisted blended teaching in translation classrooms. It addresses two major issues: first, students’ perceptions of harnessing AI-assisted blended teaching in their translation learning; second, students’ current learning experiences in their compulsory translation courses. Focus group interviews were conducted with English majors enrolled in a compulsory translation course at a Chinese university. The findings provide an in-depth thematic analysis of students’ perceptions of AI-assisted blended teaching, offering insights for a customized translation pedagogy aligned with Industrial Revolution 4.0. By elucidating the learners’ perceptions of the emergence of translation competence and learner autonomy through the translation learning process, this study proffers preliminary insights on reshaping the translation pedagogy toward an AI-assisted blended teaching integration.