Integrating Artificial Intelligence-Assisted Translation Support into English Courses: Effects on Translation Accuracy, Perceived Stress, and Anxiety

Summary

This study examines how structured artificial intelligence-assisted translation support can be incorporated into English courses to improve translation accuracy while reducing perceived stress and anxiety among higher education students.

Abstract

English translation competence is an important academic skill in higher education, yet many students experience substantial linguistic difficulty, cognitive burden, and psychological pressure during translation tasks. This mixed-methods study examined whether structured artificial intelligence-assisted translation support integrated into English courses was associated with changes in translation accuracy, perceived stress, and anxiety among university students. A total of 525 undergraduate and postgraduate students participated in an eight-week instructional intervention. Baseline and post-intervention assessments included a translation accuracy test, the Perceived Stress Scale, and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 scale. Quantitative analysis was conducted using paired comparisons, correlation analysis, regression analysis, and group-based comparisons, and was complemented by qualitative interviews to explore students’ learning experiences. After the intervention, participants showed improved translation accuracy and lower levels of perceived stress and anxiety. Higher frequency of tool use was associated with better translation performance, although the study design does not support strong causal inference. Qualitative findings further indicated that structured tool-assisted practice helped reduce cognitive overload, supported revision processes, and improved engagement with translation tasks. These findings suggest that integrating artificial intelligence-assisted translation support into English courses may offer a practical instructional approach for strengthening translation performance while supporting student well-being. The study contributes empirical evidence to current discussions of technology-enhanced translation pedagogy and provides an adaptable teaching framework for higher education contexts.

Introduction

English translation competence has become increasingly important in higher education as universities seek to prepare students for global academic exchange, international professional communication, and cross-cultural knowledge production¹. Yet translation is not a purely linguistic exercise. It also requires contextual judgment, cultural mediation, and sustained cognitive control, making it a demanding form of academic work for many learners². In classroom settings, these demands often generate considerable pressure, especially for students in disciplines such as linguistics, literature, and international studies, where ....

Protocol

This study was conducted within the School of Humanities and Arts, Civil Aviation Flight University of China, using de-identified educational data collected in the course setting. No directly identifiable personal information was included in the analytic dataset. All participants were informed of the study purpose and procedures, and written informed consent was obtained prior to participation. Participation was voluntary, and non-participation or withdrawal from the research component did not affect course attendance, grades, or access to regular instruction. Under the applicable research practice framework of Civil Aviation Flight University of China, studies based ....

Results

Primary outcomes

The primary objective of this study was to determine whether translation accuracy, perceived stress, anxiety, and translation confidence changed over the eight-week intervention period. Analyses based on 525 participants showed significant pre-post differences across all four primary outcome variables. As shown in Table 3, translation accuracy increased from 68.45 (SD = 8.12) at baseline to 82.76 (SD = 6.95) after the intervention. Perceived s.......

Discussion

The present study examined whether structured use of translation support tools in university English courses was associated with changes in translation performance and psychological outcomes over an eight-week period. The results showed significant pre-post differences in all four primary outcomes. Translation accuracy increased after the intervention, while perceived stress and anxiety decreased, and translation confidence increased. The secondary analyses further showed that post-intervention translation accuracy was a.......

Materials

List of materials used in this article

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
AI-assisted translation and language support platform	OpenAI (web)	Web service; accessed on study schedule	Used during weekly drafting and revision tasks to generate translation suggestions and language feedback
Computer workstations / laptops	Institutionally available equipment	Equivalent acceptable	Used for translation tasks, data entry, coding, and statistical analysis
Digital audio recorder / recording device	Institutionally available equipment	Equivalent acceptable	Used to record interviews when required
Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale (7-item)	Original developers: Spitzer et al.	Standard instrument	Used at baseline and post-intervention to assess anxiety
Headphones for transcription and checking	Institutionally available equipment	Equivalent acceptable	Used during transcription and coder checking
Online translation platform	Google LLC (web)	Web service; accessed on study schedule	Used as an additional translation support source during the intervention
Perceived Stress Scale (10-item)	Original developers: Cohen et al.	Standard instrument	Used at baseline and post-intervention to assess perceived stress
Qualitative coding software	QSR International	Version 14	Used for thematic organization and coding support during interview analysis
Statistical analysis software	IBM Corp.	Version 31	Used for descriptive statistics, paired-sample tests, regression, chi-square tests, and Pearson correlations
Translation accuracy source texts	Study-developed	Version 1.0	Approximately 300-word passages matched in length and difficulty
Translation confidence measure	Study-developed	Version 1.0	Three-item self-report measure using a 5-point Likert format
Translation scoring rubric	Study-developed	Version 1.0	Four analytic domains: lexical accuracy, grammatical/syntactic appropriateness, semantic fidelity, cultural contextualization
Weekly usage log	Study-developed	Template v1.0	Used to record task stage, frequency, and function of support-tool use