Translanguaging with AI-powered tools and English for specific academic purposes: Chinese international students’ experiences in Anglophone English medium instruction higher education

Abstract This article reports on Chinese international students’ experiences in Anglophone English-medium instruction higher education, focusing on translanguaging with AI-powered tools and English for Specific Academic Purposes. The qualitative study is based on in-depth individual interviews with fourteen Chinese international MA and PhD students studying one social science subject. Through thematic analysis, the findings revealed that participants utilised AI-powered tools – including generative AI chatbots, AI-powered machine translation tools, and AI-powered writing editors – while engaging in strategic translanguaging during their use of English for specific academic purposes, particularly in reading and writing. Participants’ use of AI-powered tools varied depending on individual linguistic and cultural resources, disciplinary knowledge, and their understandings and perceptions of artificial intelligence use in academic social environments, particularly in relation to academic excellence and academic integrity. The broader social context of Anglophone institutions also had an impact on participants’ attitudes towards the use of AI-powered tools for standard English. Despite AI’s benefits in terms of time-saving and facilitating academic reading and writing, participants encountered negative experiences in translanguaging with AI-powered tools, revealing cultural, linguistic, and disciplinary nuances. The study highlights the interconnectedness of translanguaging, AI-powered tools, and English for specific academic purposes within the context of Anglophone English-medium instruction higher education and provides practical and theoretical implications for researchers, practitioners, and course administrators in similar contexts.