Investigating Students’ Perceptions of Ethical Principles in Translation Teaching in the AI-Mediated Era

Huong Nguyen; Anh Vo

doi:10.53761/9h4acj49

Abstract

Ethics in translation is often treated as a marginal or theoretical concern, rather than a central, integrated component of the curriculum. This mixed-methods study aims to investigate students’ perceptions of ethical principles in translation teaching in the era of AI-supported education. 416 fourth-year students from a university in Vietnam completed a structured questionnaire. Eleven students were randomly selected for semi-structured interviews to explore deeper insights into their ethical perspectives. While students showed ethical awareness of copyright and confidentiality, they lacked sufficient understanding of or interest in privacy policies. They highly appreciated professional values, acknowledging the role of human translation in refining AI-generated translations. Still, they paid little attention to sustainability and justice, which are implicit aspects of AI use in translation. The findings highlight the need for curriculum integration of translation ethics in the AI-enabled era to train both competent and ethically grounded novices who can evaluate platform terms, form privacy-aware decision-making habits, and engage with sustainability and justice. Clearer AI platform policies are needed to support responsible and ethical use of translation technologies. Future research should explore students’ ethical decision-making in AI-based translation and the impact of AI tools on students’ professional development and translators’ agency.

Keywords

Ethics, machine translation, students' perceptions, translation teaching, translation technology.

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Author Biographies

Dr Huong Nguyen, University of Da Nang, Vietnam

Huong Nguyen graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Education, The University of Danang, in 2002. She obtained a Master’s degree in English Language Teaching Methodology from the University of Queensland, Australia, in 2006, and completed her PhD in Applied Linguistics and Translation Studies at the University of Queensland, Australia, in 2019. She is currently a Senior Lecturer and Vice Dean of the Faculty of English, University of Foreign Language Studies, The University of Danang. Her areas of interest include translation, translation teaching, and technology in language teaching.
Associate Professor, Dr Anh Vo, University of Da Nang, Vietnam

Associate Professor Dr. Vo Thi Kim Anh holds two Master’s degrees in English Language and Language Teaching Methodology, and a PhD in Teaching English as a Second Language. With extensive experience in higher education, she specializes in applying innovative and advanced pedagogical approaches to language teaching and learning. Her research interests focus on enhancing instructional effectiveness, assessment and evaluation practices, and curriculum development in language education. She has been actively involved in teacher training, academic program development, and research supervision, contributing significantly to the improvement of English language education in both academic and professional contexts.