Accompanying research:

Multilingual Writing with AI in Academic Contexts: Translation Practices in Focus

Objective of the Research:

The aim of the companion research is to investigate how students use their linguistic repertoire in the academic writing process and what role AI-supported translation practices play in this context.

Research Questions:

• How do students use their multilingualism in the writing process?

• When are which language(s) used, and for what purpose?

• Which translation practices can be observed when AI tools are involved?

• When and for what purpose is translation used, and how do writers proceed in practice?

Relevance:

Universities are multilingual spaces. Multilingualism is reflected in everyday academic life, for example when reading academic texts in different languages or writing one’s own texts in a foreign or second language. At the same time, AI is increasingly used throughout the writing process and also shapes translation practices in particular.

The study aims to make visible what often remains invisible in the final text: how students actually use their linguistic resources and AI tools during the writing process.

Procedure and Research Methods:

Data is collected within the workshop “Academic Writing and AI: Argumentation, Structure and Critical Thinking.” The workshop is based on a multilingualism-oriented approach to writing didactics and is conducted over several iterations. Participants write an argumentative text, record their writing process, and reflect on it over several sessions.

The study combines different qualitative methods to analyse the writing process. It is based on screen recordings made while participants write an argumentative text, showing how students use their linguistic repertoire and AI-supported translation practices. These recordings are complemented by reflection portfolios and retrospective interviews. Since writing is a cognitive process, the interviews provide additional insights into which languages students think in and why certain languages are used for specific purposes.

Outlook:

The findings provide concrete impulses for writing didactics in multilingual contexts. Reflection, strategy work, and targeted guidance should become a stronger part of writing didactic formats. In particular, AI-supported translation practices can be explicitly integrated into writing workshops and writing consultations. This can help further develop existing didactic approaches and strengthen perspectives for translingual writing didactics.

Responsible for research: Lefkothea Sinjari