Challenges and strategies in feeding AI-powered translation machine with religious texts: English department students’ experiences

Authors

  • Adaninggar Septi Subekti Universitas Kristen Duta Wacana
  • Lemmuela Alvita Kurniawati Universitas Kristen Duta Wacana, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
  • Mega Wati Universitas Kristen Duta Wacana, Yogyakarta, Indonesia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.30762/jeels.v13i1.7187

Keywords:

Artificial Intelligence (AI), challenges, religious texts, strategies, translation machine

Abstract

Religious texts contain unique linguistic, cultural, and interpretive challenges, such as sacred terms, figurative language, context-bound meanings, and doctrinal sensitivity. It delves explicitly into the participants’ challenges and strategies to navigate the process. The present study aims to explore Indonesian English department students’ experiences in feeding an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered translation platform with the English translation of Indonesian religious texts. The study employed qualitative secondary document analysis of the reflections of six students, who consented to their reflections being used for this study. Thematic Analysis was employed to fulfill the research objectives. This study found that students had difficulty capturing subtle meanings, implied messages, and contextual interpretations in the texts when translating the texts due to their lack of knowledge about the cultural aspects of the translated texts. This study further revealed that to navigate the process of feeding the platform, the students employed three strategies. They consulted with the peer translators and the teachers, used other AI tools to improve the quality of the translation, and self-regulated themselves in response to the demanded quality of the translation. Accordingly, this study provides insights into the complex behind-the-scenes dynamics of AI-powered translation feeding and how these dynamics can support students’ translation learning.

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Author Biographies

Adaninggar Septi Subekti, Universitas Kristen Duta Wacana

Adaninggar obtained her doctoral degree from Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta (UNY), Indonesia, and her M.Sc. in TESOL from University of Edinburgh, Scotland, UK. She currently works as a lecturer at the English Language Education Department, Faculty of Education and Humanities of Universitas Kristen Duta Wacana (UKDW), Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The Editor-in-Chief of SAGA Journal UKDW, she is also a reviewer of MEXTESOL Journal, SiELE Journal, Englisia Journal, LLT Journal, Pedagogy Journal, and Colombian Applied Linguistics Journal. Her research interest includes L2 learners’ individual differences, Global Englishes, L2 writing, multilingualism, and inclusive education in ELT.

 

Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.co.id/citations?user=f03gmioAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao

Web of Science Researcher ID: ADG-6215-2022

ORCiD ID: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6641-0307 

SCOPUS ID: 57202583019 https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorId=57202583019

Lemmuela Alvita Kurniawati, Universitas Kristen Duta Wacana, Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Lemmuela is earned her master degree in English language teaching from Sanata Dharma University.  Her specific research interests are the use of technology in English language teaching and learning, curriculum and material development, ESP, pre-service teacher education, and in-service teacher professional development.

Mega Wati, Universitas Kristen Duta Wacana, Yogyakarta, Indonesia

The combination of her education in English teaching from Sanata Dharma University, Online Teacher’s Course of Oregon University and educational management from Yogyakarta State University has given her the opportunity to teach General English to learners of different age groups, English for Specific Purposes, as well as undergraduate courses in education. Her research interests include educational theories, individual differences, teaching reading, learning-teaching methodology in general, and teaching students with special needs.

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Published

23-05-2026

How to Cite

Adaninggar Septi Subekti, Kurniawati, L. A., & Wati, M. (2026). Challenges and strategies in feeding AI-powered translation machine with religious texts: English department students’ experiences. JEELS (Journal of English Education and Linguistics Studies), 13(1), 431–453. https://doi.org/10.30762/jeels.v13i1.7187

Issue

Vol. 13 No. 1 (2026): JEELS May 2026

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Articles

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