To use or not to use? Understanding the adoption of automatic speech recognition among interpreting postgraduates in China

The interpreter profession is undergoing a profound 'technological turn', requiring interpreting students to leverage technologies to enhance their competitiveness in the future job market. The present study surveyed the adoption situation of automatic speech recognition (ASR) among 156 students from Master of Translation and Interpreting (MTI) programmes in Chinese universities. The results showed that MTI students already actively used ASR applications on their mobile devices, with the majority expressing their willingness to continue using them in interpreting activities. A large discrepancy in the future adoption intention of ASR was found among students with different user profiles and usage experiences. More specifically, compared with their counterparts, students from language universities, those with higher interpreting competence, and those with interpreting service experience were less inclined to continue using ASR in interpreting tasks. However, students who reported longer usage time and greater satisfaction with ASR were more willing to continue utilising this tool. The findings of this research deepen our understanding of students' technology use, providing practical suggestions for the development of interpreting technologies, curricula, and pedagogical strategies.