Translation Students’ Perceptions of the Integration of Artificial Intelligence in Translation Education: Artificial Intelligence in Education: A Constructivist Approach

Abstract

This study explores how translation students perceive and interact with artificial intelligence (AI) in their educational journey, focusing on its applications, their readiness to use it, the challenges they encounter, and their expectations for future training. Guided by Constructivist Learning Theory, a qualitative approach was adopted, analyzing open-ended responses from 45 translation students collected through an online survey via thematic analysis. The findings reveal three core dimensions: (1) Perceptions of AI Integration (students appreciate AI’s potential to boost efficiency, productivity, and translation accuracy but worry about overdependence, threats to employment, and the loss of human creativity) (2) Student Readiness for AI-Assisted Translation (marked by uneven access to formal AI instruction and varying levels of self-initiated use, leading to differing degrees of self-efficacy); and (3) Challenges and Future Prospects (highlighting AI’s limitations in handling context and culture, ethical dilemmas such as plagiarism and data privacy, and technical shortcomings in output quality). Theoretically, the study enriches Constructivist Learning Theory by demonstrating how active, reflective engagement with AI tools shapes learning and confidence. Practically, it urges translation programs to go beyond superficial AI exposure and integrate structured training in prompt engineering, critical assessment of AI-generated translations, and real-world collaboration with industry stakeholders. By foregrounding student voices, an often-overlooked perspective in AI and translation discourse, this research offers original, actionable recommendations to reshape curricula and prepare future translators to navigate, critique, and ethically leverage AI in professional settings.

Keywords: AI in translator education, Student perceptions of AI, Constructivist learning in translation, AI readiness among translation students, Ethical challenges of AI translation