Dr Chunxuan Shen
Course overview
- Study period
- Semester 1, 2025 (24/02/2025 - 21/06/2025)
- Study level
- Undergraduate
- Location
- St Lucia
- Attendance mode
- In Person
- Units
- 2
- Administrative campus
- St Lucia
- Coordinating unit
- Languages & Cultures School
This course is structured into modules designed to equip students with the essential skills and practical experience needed to translate a diverse range of genres, including news, business, science and technology, law, and literature. Each module combines hands-on training with cutting-edge AI tools to enhance the translation process, ensuring students gain both theoretical knowledge and practical expertise. Students will develop a deep understanding of English source texts, learning to analyse complex sentence structures and identify key differences between English and Chinese grammar. Students will also explore how machine translation and AI tools can assist in navigating linguistic challenges, while understanding where human translators can apply their experiences, emotions, and cultural insights to improve the cultural appropriateness, stylistic precision, and emotional expression of complex translation tasks.
The Summer Semester external course offering may be cancelled unless a minimum of 20 students enrol.
This course is structured into modules designed to equip students with the essential skills and practical experience needed to translate a diverse range of genres, including news, business, science and technology, law, and literature. Each module combines hands-on training with cutting-edge AI tools to enhance the translation process, ensuring students gain both theoretical knowledge and practical expertise. Students will develop a deep understanding of English source texts, learning to analyse complex sentence structures and identify key differences between English and Chinese grammar. Students will also explore how machine translation and AI tools can assist in navigating linguistic challenges, while understanding where human translators can apply their experiences, emotions, and cultural insights to improve the cultural appropriateness, stylistic precision, and emotional expression of complex translation tasks.
By integrating AI technologies, students will learn to leverage machine translation, AI tools, and post-editing techniques, alongside human judgment, to streamline their workflow and produce high-quality translations. By the end of the course, students will have honed their ability to deliver idiomatic, professional-quality translations that effectively bridge the gap between English and Chinese, preparing them for real-world translation challenges in a variety of professional contexts.
Since all contact sessions for CHIN2750 ﾠare run in workshop style, no lecture recordings will be available for the course.
Course requirements
Assumed background
This subject is designed for native and background speakers of Chinese. Students who have completed third year written Chinese may be admitted but only with ﾠprior approval from the course coordinator.
Incompatible
You can't enrol in this course if you've already completed the following:
CHIN3750
Restrictions
This course is for native speakers of Chinese.
The Summer Semester external course offering may be cancelled unless a minimum of 20 students enrol.
Course staff
Timetable
The timetable for this course is available on the UQ Public Timetable.
Additional timetable information
Public holidays:
Alternative arrangements for affected students will be announced through the Blackboard site.
Class allocation:
In order to optimise the student experience, it may be necessary to reallocate students to a different class from their first choice. Before this happens, every effort will be made to enable students to voluntarily change into an alternative class that is suitable. Please note: Teaching staff do not have access to the timetabling system to help with class allocation. Therefore, should you need
help with your timetable and/or allocation of classes, please ensure you email hass.mytimetable@uq.edu.au from your UQ student email account with the following details:
- Full name,
- Student ID, and
- the Course Code
Additional information and support can be found here.
Aims and outcomes
This course aims to introduce to students the basic principles and the two major approaches of English to Chinese translation and the application of these principles in four major styles of writing. These principles are generally adopted by professional translators.
Learning outcomes
After successfully completing this course you should be able to:
LO1.
understand basic translation and interpreting theories and principles
LO2.
access and understand the application of a variety of translation resources commonly used in the professional workplace
LO3.
understand basic techniques in translation
LO4.
understand how to analyse and interpret an English source text
LO5.
apply different translation approaches appropriately to different genres and styles, as would be required by clients and employers in the translation industry
LO6.
recognise different translation styles and have the basic linguistic vocabulary to talk about texts both academically and in the workplace
LO7.
translate common genres from English into idiomatic Chinese in a linguistically and culturally appropriate manner, that would meet the expectations of translation clients and employers alike
Assessment
Assessment summary
| Category | Assessment task | Weight | Due date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quiz |
Weekly pre-class Blackboard e-tasks
|
20% |
28/02/2025 4:00 pm 4/03/2025 4:00 pm 11/03/2025 4:00 pm 18/03/2025 4:00 pm 25/03/2025 4:00 pm 1/04/2025 4:00 pm 8/04/2025 4:00 pm 15/04/2025 4:00 pm 29/04/2025 4:00 pm 6/05/2025 4:00 pm 13/05/2025 4:00 pm 20/05/2025 4:00 pm 30/05/2025 4:00 pm |
| Examination |
Online In-semester (School) Exam
|
30% |
11/04/2025 5:10 pm |
| Examination |
Final Exam - Translation
|
50% |
End of Semester Exam Period 7/06/2025 - 21/06/2025 |
A hurdle is an assessment requirement that must be satisfied in order to receive a specific grade for the course. Check the assessment details for more information about hurdle requirements.
Assessment details
Weekly pre-class Blackboard e-tasks
- Online
- Mode
- Written
- Category
- Quiz
- Weight
- 20%
- Due date
28/02/2025 4:00 pm
4/03/2025 4:00 pm
11/03/2025 4:00 pm
18/03/2025 4:00 pm
25/03/2025 4:00 pm
1/04/2025 4:00 pm
8/04/2025 4:00 pm
15/04/2025 4:00 pm
29/04/2025 4:00 pm
6/05/2025 4:00 pm
13/05/2025 4:00 pm
20/05/2025 4:00 pm
30/05/2025 4:00 pm
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L02, L03, L04, L05, L06, L07
Task description
Students will complete a pre-class online e-task in Blackboard by a set deadline before the first contact session of each week. Two attempts of each e-task will be permitted. Each e-task will be worth 2% and will test students' knowledge and understanding of the pre-class 'flipped classroom' materials for that week. The best 10 pre-class e-task results for each student will be used to calculate the total mark for this assessment item.
STATEMENT ON AI & MT
This task has been designed to be challenging, authentic and complex. Whilst students may use AI and/or MT technologies, successful completion of assessment in this course will require students to critically engage in specific contexts and tasks for which artificial intelligence will provide only limited support and guidance.
A failure to reference generative AI or MT use may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.
To pass this assessment, students will be required to demonstrate detailed comprehension of their written submission independent of AI and MT tools.
Submission guidelines
Online via Blackboard.
Deferral or extension
You cannot defer or apply for an extension for this assessment.
No extensions are allowed for this series of tasks as students are given a seven-day period to complete them. Individual results and correct answers are automatically released on a weekly basis. Timely engagement with these tasks supports sequential nature of learning in this course.
Online In-semester (School) Exam
- Online
- Mode
- Written
- Category
- Examination
- Weight
- 30%
- Due date
11/04/2025 5:10 pm
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L02, L03, L04
Task description
The in-semester assessment will test students' knowledge and understanding of all the W1-W5 course content, including pre-class, in-class and post-class materials, as well as weekly e-tasks. The assessment may include multiple choice questions, multiple answer questions, matching questions and short answer questions. Students may have access to lecture notes and handouts during the exam.
The exam will be designed as an online Blackboard timed assessment and will be scheduled with a strict time limit so that all students will complete the exam simultaneously.
Students will complete the exam online and must ensure that they have an appropriate device and sufficient internet connection to login to Bb and access the exam.
The exam will be timetabled by the School on Friday of Week 7. The exam will start at 4:00 pm, with 10 minutes preparation time + 60 minutes working time + 15 minutes submission time = 85 minutes. Please note, any exam submitted at exactly 5:25 pm will be automatically marked by Blackboard as "LATE". Your exam must be submitted by 5:24 pm at the latest. Regardless of when you start the exam, the final submission time is still 5:24 pm.
STATEMENT ON AI & MT
This task has been designed to be challenging, authentic and complex. Whilst students may use AI and/or MT technologies, successful completion of assessment in this course will require students to critically engage in specific contexts and tasks for which artificial intelligence will provide only limited support and guidance. A failure to reference generative AI or MT use may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct. To pass this assessment, students will be required to demonstrate detailed comprehension of their written submission independent of AI and MT tools.
Exam details
| Planning time | 10 minutes |
|---|---|
| Duration | 60 minutes |
| Calculator options | No calculators permitted |
| Open/closed book | Open Book examination |
| Materials | books, notes and dictionaries |
| Exam platform | Other |
| Invigilation | Not invigilated |
Submission guidelines
Deferral or extension
You may be able to defer this exam.
Late submission
Exams submitted after the end of the submission time will incur a late penalty.
Final Exam - Translation
- Hurdle
- Identity Verified
- In-person
- Online
- Mode
- Written
- Category
- Examination
- Weight
- 50%
- Due date
End of Semester Exam Period
7/06/2025 - 21/06/2025
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L02, L03, L04, L05, L06, L07
Task description
The final translation exam will test student's knowledge, understanding and application of the course content, including pre-class, in-class and post-class materials, with a particular focus on W6-W12. The exam will consist of a number of passages in English to be translated into Chinese. The texts will represent the different genres studied in the course (i.e. news, law, business, science & technology, literature). MT and/or AI versions (e.g. Google Translate, Baidu, Youdao, DeepL, ChatGPT) of the translation tasks will be provided in the exam. Students will be required to find errors in the MT/AI versions and correct these errors in their own translation version. Students may have access to paper and one specified online dictionary during the exam, as well as lecture notes and handouts.
The exam will be designed as an online timed Inspera assessment. Students will complete the online exam in-person on campus and must ensure that they have an appropriate device to login to Blackboard and access the exam. The exam will be timetabled by UQ Central Examinations and administered (invigilated) by the School. Students will be notified of the exact time and date for the Final Exam as soon as the exam timetable is published by UQ Central Examinations. The exam will be 100 minutes in total, which includes 10 minutes planning time + 90 minutes working time.
STATEMENT ON AI & MT
This assessment task is to be completed in-person. The use of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) or Machine Translation (MT) tools will not be permitted. Any attempted use of AI or MT may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.
Hurdle requirements
Minimum 40/100 on Final Exam in order to pass the course. In order to PASS the course, you must achieve a total mark of 50 overall, AND a minimum of 40% in the final exam (i.e. 40 out of 100, or 20 out of 50). Students who do not achieve 40% in the final exam can only receive an overall grade of 3 or less for the course, even if their total mark is greater than 50/100.Exam details
| Planning time | 10 minutes |
|---|---|
| Duration | 90 minutes |
| Calculator options | No calculators permitted |
| Open/closed book | Open Book examination |
| Materials | books, printed materials, paper dictionaries, one specified online dictionary |
| Exam platform | Inspera |
| Invigilation | Invigilated in person |
Submission guidelines
Deferral or extension
You may be able to defer this exam.
Late submission
This is a timed exam that students can access via Blackboard link in Assessment folder or UQ Inspera platform. Answers are automatically submitted at the designated end time.
Course grading
Full criteria for each grade is available in the Assessment Procedure.
| Grade | Cut off Percent | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 (Low Fail) | 0 - 24 |
Absence of evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: Has not satisfied course requirements. |
| 2 (Fail) | 25 - 44 |
Minimal evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: Inadequate source text comprehension, with inadequate understanding of nuances and an inadequate ability to convey these nuances accurately, and withﾠerrors or omissions which alter or detract from the source text meaning. Occasionally faithful to the dominant source text function.ﾠSome grammatical and/or collocational errors. Awkwardness in the translation,ﾠwhich detracts from the work as a whole. Problems in renderingﾠidioms and figurative language. Expressions often used inappropriately in the context. Occasionally considers the discourse structure but rarely considers the desirability of restructuring or other translation techniques. Rarely pays attention to the connection between sentences. Demonstrates inadequateﾠawareness of the use of appropriate terminology. ﾠIn a professional workplace, the translations would require checking and significant rewriting. Few of the quiz answers are correct. Marking criteria and/or marking rubrics are available in the ‘Assessment’ folder in Blackboard for this course. |
| 3 (Marginal Fail) | 45 - 49 |
Demonstrated evidence of developing achievement of course learning outcomes Course grade description: Some source text comprehension, with developing understanding of nuances and a developingﾠability to convey these nuances accurately, but withﾠerrors or omissions which somewhat alter or detract from the source text meaning. Sometimes faithful to the dominant source text function.ﾠA few grammatical or collocational errors. Some awkwardness in the translation,ﾠwhich detracts from the work as a whole. Developing attempts have been made to render idioms and figurative language. Expressions sometimes used appropriately in the context. Sometimes considers the discourse structure and occasionally considers the desirability of restructuring and other translation techniques. Occasionally pays attention to the connection between sentences. Demonstrates a developing awareness of the use of appropriate terminology.ﾠIn a professional workplace, the translations would require checking and rewriting. ﾠSome of the quiz answers are correct. Marking criteria and/or marking rubrics are available in the ‘Assessment’ folder in Blackboard for this course. |
| 4 (Pass) | 50 - 64 |
Demonstrated evidence of functional achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: Adequate source text comprehension, including an understanding of some of the nuances and an ability to convey these nuances accurately some of the time, but withﾠa few errors or omissions which mayﾠalter or detract from the source text meaning. Sometimes faithful to the dominant source text function, be that defined in terms of the message, the style, the tone or other parameters.ﾠA few grammatical or collocational inappropriacies. Some awkwardness in the translation,ﾠwhich mayﾠdetract from the work as a whole. Attempts have been made to render idioms and figurative language. Expressions often used appropriately in the context. Sometimes considers the discourse structure and the desirability of restructuring and other translation techniques. Sometimes pays attention to the connection between sentences. Use of terminology is sometimes appropriate, and some background research appears to have been done. ﾠIn a professional workplace, the translations would require some checking and rewriting. ﾠMany of the quiz answers are correct. Marking criteria and/or marking rubrics are available in the ‘Assessment’ folder in Blackboard for this course. |
| 5 (Credit) | 65 - 74 |
Demonstrated evidence of proficient achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: Good source text comprehension, including an understanding of most of the nuances and an ability to convey these nuances accurately most of the time, but withﾠsomeﾠminor errors or omissions which may slightly alter or detract from the source text meaning. Generally faithful to the dominant source text function, be that defined in terms of the message, the style, the tone or other parameters.ﾠA few minor grammatical or collocational inappropriacies. Occasional awkwardness in the translation,ﾠwhich does not detract significantlyﾠfrom the work as a whole. Reasonable attempts have been made to render idioms and figurative language. Some variety in the use of expressions and synonyms, and mostly used appropriately in the context. Often considers the discourse structure and the desirability of restructuring and other translation techniques. Pays attention to the connection between sentences, albeit with some minor lapses. Use of terminology is generally appropriate, and most necessary background research appears to have been done.ﾠIn a professional workplace, the translations would require some checking andﾠminor adjustments.ﾠThe majority of the quiz answers are correct. Marking criteria and/or marking rubrics are available in the ‘Assessment’ folder in Blackboard for this course. |
| 6 (Distinction) | 75 - 84 |
Demonstrated evidence of advanced achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: Very good source text comprehension, including an understanding of most of the nuances and an ability to convey these nuances accurately, but withﾠsomeﾠminor errors or omissions which do not majorly alter or detract from the source text meaning. Generally faithful to the dominant source text function, be that defined in terms of the message, the style, the tone or other parameters.ﾠNoﾠgrammatical errors and only very minorﾠcollocationalﾠinappropriacies. Occasional minor awkwardness in the translation, which does not detractﾠfrom the work as a whole. Good attempts have been made to render idioms and figurative language. Variety in the use of expressions and synonyms, and almost alwaysﾠused appropriately in the context. Mostly considers the discourse structure and the desirability of restructuring and other translation techniques. Pays attention to the connection between sentences. Use of terminology is almost always appropriate, and any necessary background research appears to have been done. ﾠIn a professional workplace, the translations would require some minor editing. ﾠMost of the quiz answers are correct. Marking criteria and/or marking rubrics are available in the ‘Assessment’ folder in Blackboard for this course. |
| 7 (High Distinction) | 85 - 100 |
Demonstrated evidence of exceptional achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: Excellent source text comprehension, including an understanding of the nuances and an ability to convey these nuances accurately,ﾠwithout error. Faithful to the dominant function of the source text, be that defined in terms of the message, the style, the tone or other parameters.ﾠNo grammatical or collocational errors. Style is natural,ﾠacceptable and appropriate. Idioms and figurative language are handled skilfully. Extensive range of expressions and synonyms, used appropriately in the context. Considers the discourse structure and the desirability of restructuring and other translation techniques, and always pays attention to the connection between sentences. Use of terminology is always appropriate, without error, and any necessary background research has been done. ﾠTranslations could be used in a professional workplaceﾠwith no checking or rewriting .ﾠNearly all of the quiz answers are correct. Marking criteria and/or marking rubrics are available in the ‘Assessment’ folder in Blackboard for this course. |
Additional course grading information
Marking criteria and/or marking rubrics are available in the ‘Assessment’ folder in Blackboard for this course.
In order to PASS the course, you must achieve a total mark of 50 overall, AND a minimum of 40% in the final exam (i.e. 20 ﾠout of 50 ﾠmarks). Students who do not achieve 40% in the final exam can only receive an overall grade of 3 or less for the course, even if their total mark is greater than 50/100.
Supplementary assessment
Supplementary assessment is available for this course.
Learning resources
You'll need the following resources to successfully complete the course. We've indicated below if you need a personal copy of the reading materials or your own item.
Library resources
Find the required and recommended resources for this course on the UQ Library website.
Learning activities
The learning activities for this course are outlined below. Learn more about the learning outcomes that apply to this course.
Filter activity type by
Please select
| Learning period | Activity type | Topic |
|---|---|---|
Week 1 (24 Feb - 02 Mar) |
Workshop |
W1: Introduction Course introduction; introduction to complex sentences; theories and concepts in translation and interpreting Learning outcomes: L01, L02 |
Week 2 (03 Mar - 09 Mar) |
Workshop |
W2: Foundation I Techniques in analysis and understanding of complex sentences; comparison of Chinese and English grammar Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L04 |
Week 3 (10 Mar - 16 Mar) |
Workshop |
W3: Foundation II Techniques in analysis and understanding of complex sentences; professional T&I ethics Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L04 |
Week 4 (17 Mar - 23 Mar) |
Workshop |
W4: Foundation III Basic techniques in translation Learning outcomes: L01, L03, L04 |
Week 5 (24 Mar - 30 Mar) |
Workshop |
W5: AI Challenges: Translation of idioms & proverbs Translation of idioms & proverbs, neologisms etc. Learning outcomes: L02, L03, L04 |
Week 6 (31 Mar - 06 Apr) |
Workshop |
W6: Genre 1 Translation of news & journalistic texts Learning outcomes: L02, L05, L06, L07 |
Week 7 (07 Apr - 13 Apr) |
Workshop |
W7: Genre 2 Translation of business texts Learning outcomes: L02, L05, L06, L07 |
Week 8 (14 Apr - 20 Apr) |
Workshop |
W8: Genre 3 Translation of science & technology texts Learning outcomes: L02, L05, L06, L07 |
Mid-sem break (21 Apr - 27 Apr) |
No student involvement (Breaks, information) |
Mid-semester Break |
Week 9 (28 Apr - 04 May) |
Workshop |
W9: Genre 4 Translation of legal texts Learning outcomes: L02, L05, L06, L07 |
Week 10 (05 May - 11 May) |
Workshop |
W10: Genre 5 - Part 1 Translation of literary texts - Part 1 Learning outcomes: L02, L05, L06, L07 |
Week 11 (12 May - 18 May) |
Workshop |
W11: Genre 5 - Part 2 Translation of literary texts - Part 2 Learning outcomes: L02, L05, L06, L07 |
Week 12 (19 May - 25 May) |
Workshop |
W12: Interpreting Taster & Mock Final Test Basic techniques in interpreting; differences between translation and interpreting; Mock Final Exam Learning outcomes: L02, L05, L06, L07 |
Week 13 (26 May - 01 Jun) |
Workshop |
W13: Revision Revision for final exam Learning outcomes: L02, L05, L06, L07 |
Policies and procedures
University policies and procedures apply to all aspects of student life. As a UQ student, you must comply with University-wide and program-specific requirements, including the:
- Student Code of Conduct Policy
- Student Integrity and Misconduct Policy and Procedure
- Assessment Procedure
- Examinations Procedure
- Reasonable Adjustments - Students Policy and Procedure
Learn more about UQ policies on my.UQ and the Policy and Procedure Library.