How to Augment Language Skills

How to Augment Language Skills outlines ways in which translators and language providers can expand their skillset and how translation technologies can be integrated into language learning and translator training.

This book explains the basics of generative AI, machine translation, and translation memory suites, placing them in a historical context and assessing their fundamental impacts on language skills. It covers what to teach in a specific context, how to teach it, how to assess the result, and how to set up lively class discussions on the many problematic aspects. The exploratory empirical approach is designed to reach across several divides: between language education and translation studies, between technology designers and users, between Western and Asian research, and between abstract ideas and hands-on practice.

Features include:

• Fifty-seven technology-related activities for the language and/or translation class.


• Recent research on the capacities of generative AI.


• Examples of how to conduct a needs analysis in the Higher Education context.


• Comparisons of the main teaching methods.


• Ways to assess the use of technologies.


• Examples in Chinese, Spanish, Catalan, French, and German.


• A full glossary explaining the key terms in clear language.

Drawing on years of classroom experience, Pym and Hao illustrate how these skills can be taught in a range of classroom and online activities, making this essential reading for teachers and researchers involved in the teaching of languages and the training of translators.

?This book takes crucial questions about the teaching of language and translation skills in our high-tech, GenAI context by the scruff of the neck and gives them a really good and welcome shake. It will prove to be an inspiring read for anyone teaching or learning about language and translation skills.?

Sharon O?Brien

Associate Dean for Research, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Dublin City University

?As the pace of technological developments quickens, translation and language educators and students alike are in need of up-to-date resources to help them navigate the changing landscape. A strength of this book is the sheer variety of food for thought with regard to possible activities to suit different teaching modes and learning styles, along with ways to assess them. It also tackles the thorny problem of responding to student (and instructor) anxieties in this highly technologized field. The path forward through the murky world of generative AI may not be entirely clear, but with this book, Anthony Pym and Yu Hao deliver a compass and a powerful torch to help guide the way.?

Lynne Bowker

Canada Research Chair in Translation, Technologies, and Society, Université Laval

?How to Augment Language Skills is a must-have for language educators and translators. Packed with practical teaching tips and a captivating exploration of AI, this book brings theory to life. With a fascinating dive into Artificial Intelligence (AI), it empowers readers to enhance their language skills and thrive in today's evolving linguistic landscape. An invaluable resource that makes learning accessible and engaging!?

Defeng Li

Distinguished Professor of Translation Studies, University of Macao