A Case in Responsible AI Use: How Translation Students Applied Generative AI with Critical Oversight

Recently, I organized an online forum with my former students from the MA in Translation Technologies at The Saudi Electronic University, alongside my current Level 3 BA  translation students at Sohar University. The objective was to foster a community of learners, establish a network, and promote the exchange of practices across universities and the country. After the meeting, I asked the moderator of teh Omani group to prepare minutes that would document our experience. The format of the document, seemingly processed by an AI or generative AI tool, particularly struck me. In my classes, I have been gradually integrating the careful use of generative AI and AI tools with my Level 3 BA students, consistently emphasizing the importance of human oversight on any output.

 It appears that my students, whom I am teaching this semester in Audiovisual Translation, effectively utilized this factor in the processing of the meeting minutes document, which I find gratifying. When I inquired about their approach to preparing the four-page meeting minutes document, one student explained :

       'To prepare this document, I began with the video recordings, which totaled over an hour and a half. I transcribed them into text using Evernote. Subsequently, I divided the text into smaller sections and employed ChatGPT to extract the main ideas from each segment. After compiling all the key points into a Word document, I meticulously reviewed everything to ensure accuracy, and I discovered that most of what ChatGPT provided aligned with the actual discussions from the meetings. 

Translanguaging Pedagogy (Translation + Foreign Language education combined) : The way ahead in MENA English Instruction

Enough is enough!
In the MENA region, a significant portion of the student population continues to face challenges in acquiring proficiency in foreign languages, particularly in writing, speaking, and listening skills. This difficulty extends to tasks such as translation and post-editing, especially in the context of the recent surge in large language models.  

Listening to the video that discusses the essential role of translanguaging in both monolingual and multilingual education will illustrate its relevance, inclusivity, and capacity to empower and motivate learners. It is time to move beyond post-colonial recommendations regarding effective foreign language learning strategies, irrespective of the accent employed. This applies not only to countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and North Africa but potentially to other regions of the world that have experienced colonization by powers such as the French and English.

https://youtu.be/I-EwN6l_CPg?si=HwzMyGDz1xRGikWQ