• Offered for Year: 2025/26

• Module Leader(s): Dr Dariush Robertson
• Lecturer: Dr Ya-Yun Chen

• Owning School: Modern Languages
• Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus

Semesters

Your programme is made up of credits, the total differs on programme to programme.

Aims

This module aims to give students:

• A solid understanding of fundamental academic perspectives and professional views of the practice of localisation.
• The practical MT skills required to conduct both pre-editing (looking at negative translatability indicators: NTIs), and post editing machine translation PEMT, in relation to how these can fit into the localisation process.
• An understanding of how to utilise and leverage AI in the translation of content linked to localisation projects.
• The fundamental IT skills required for the translation stage of a localisation project, including opening documents in a CAT tool, translating documents, TMs and TBs, creating a simple project, and exporting the documents.
• Fundamental practical skills required to deal with key challenges in the localisation of interactive digital products (such as apps, videogames, and websites), and non-digital products (such as advertisements, brochures, and technical documents) that require various levels of localisation.

Outline Of Syllabus

This module is divided into lectures and seminars.

The lectures cover the application of MT skills relating to both pre-editing and posting editing, how to leverage AI in the localisation process, as well as foundational CAT tool functions in the localisation of interactive digital products (such as apps, video games, and websites), as well as non-digital products (such as advertisements, brochures, and technical documents). This includes the introduction of these skills, and then feedback on related practical tasks set as short homework tasks, which will involve consolidation via group work and class discussion. The existing and new skills will be integrated, demonstrated, and assessed in the practical component of the final assignment (localisation report).

The lectures will also present case studies, include group activities, and use class discussion to cover the respective strengths and drawbacks of MT, AI, and CAT tools. This will draw from both academic and industry sources to contextualise and underpin practice. The module is non-language specific and taught in English, but as localisation involves multiple languages and cultures, lecturers can use a variety of examples from different languages and cultures to demonstrate points in localisation. These will be selected based on industry and market demand, the needs of the cohort, and the experience of the lecturers. Such an approach can provide a more comprehensive understanding of current localisation practices. This knowledge will be assessed in the theoretical component of the final assignment (essay).

The seminar will involve team presentations, where teams of students present PPTs on a group localisation task. The seminars will be broken into smaller groups, so each team has around 20 mins to present and then receive feedback from the lecturer and other students. This activity will enhance group learning and further develop team localisation skills.

Teaching Methods

Teaching Activities

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

In the lectures, students will:

1. Gain skills and knowledge of MT, in terms of both pre-editing and post-editing. This includes the use MT pre-editing as part of the localisation process (looking at factors such as negative translatability items (NTIs), and post-editing machine translation PEMT.
2. Gain fundamental knowledge and skills of how to leverage AI in the localisation process.
3. Gain fundamental knowledge and skills of how CAT tools are utilised in localisation. This includes creating TMs, TBs, and a basic project.
4. Gain fundamental knowledge of localisation from the perspectives of academia and the industry. This will be delivered by the presentation of various case studies. This knowledge will be further consolidated through small group activities and class discussions.
5. Receive feedback on the practical homework tasks, which present various scenarios designed to contextualise the knowledge gained from the lectures, and develop the skills required to tackle foundational localisation challenges in individual and group activities. These activities will simulate the localisation of various interactive digital products (such as apps, video games, and websites), and non-digital products (such as advertisements, brochures, and technical documents).

In the seminars, students will:
1. Give a group presentation on the localisation of an interactive digital, or non-digital product, using foundational CAT tools skills. The presentations will focus on industry-relevant skills and knowledge, with a focus on the strengths and drawbacks of MT, AI, and CAT tools in localisation.
2. The opportunity to observe other group presentations and participate in the feedback of each presentation, and the resulting discussions - thereby enhancing group learning.

Assessment Methods

The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners

Other Assessment

Formative Assessments

Formative Assessment is an assessment which develops your skills in being assessed, allows for you to receive feedback, and prepares you for being assessed. However, it does not count to your final mark.

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

The (fundamental) assessment has two components: 1. The localisation project report (reflecting practice) and 2. the essay (reflecting theory).

Part 1

For the localisation project report, students use a CAT tool (or CAT tools) to localise a document reflecting industry practice, which could be relating to interactive digital product, or a non-digital product. The focus is on (i) the steps and procedures taken before, during, and after the translation stage (in a CAT tool environment), and (ii) the demonstration of foundational CAT tool skills as covered in the module. Translation quality is not considered; therefore, the translation is not marked for this component. However, the translations can be discussed in the essay, where relevant, with back translations into English.

Part 2

For the 1200-word essay, students can select topics relating to either:

1. The strengths and weaknesses of MT in localisation
(you can focus on one MT or compare two)
2. The strengths and weaknesses of AI in localisation
(you can focus on one AI model, or compare two)
3. The strengths and weaknesses of CAT tools in localisation
(you can focus on one CAT tool or compare two)


If there is to be any resits, they will be in the same format as the original assessments.

Reading Lists

• SML8026's Reading List

Timetable

• Timetable Website: www.ncl.ac.uk/timetable/
• SML8026's Timetable