Dr Alisa Tian | UNSW Research

My Expertise

AI translation, post-editing, Systemic Functional Linguistics

Keywords

translation

post-editing

artificial intelligence

systemic functional linguistics

Fields of Research (FoR)

Translation and interpretation studies

Biography

Dr Alisa Tian is an Education-Focused Associate Lecturer in Translation and Interpreting at UNSW Sydney. She completed a PhD in Translation Pedagogy from UNSW, with research focused on translator empowerment and critical engagement with AI-generated translation. She also holds a Master of Philosophy in Translation Pedagogy (UNSW), a Master of Translation and Interpreting (Western Sydney University), and a Bachelor of Arts in Linguistics and Advanced Chinese Studies (UNSW).

Alisa's work sits at the intersection of translation studies, linguistics, translator education and artificial intelligence. Her teaching and research are informed by Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) and focus particularly on AI-assisted translation, post-editing, translation quality assessment, and the development of translators’ critical language awareness. Her teaching innovations have been presented at international conferences and universities in Australia and overseas.

Alongside academia, Alisa has worked as a NAATI-certified Chinese–English translator and interpreter since 2009. Her professional experience spans legal, healthcare, immigration, conference and diplomatic settings in Australia and internationally. Her current specialisations include legal interpreting for NSW courts and tribunals, broadcast subtitling and quality assurance of AI-generated translations for SBS, as well as expert witness work in matters involving translation, interpreting and linguistic analysis.

My Grants

Education-Focussed Grant 2026, UNSW

My Qualifications

PhD (Translation Pedagogy, Post-editing AI translation, Systemic Functional Linguistics), UNSW Sydney

MPhil (Translation Pedagogy, Systemic Functional Linguistics), UNSW Sydney

MTI (Master of Translation and Interpreting), Western Sydney University

BA (Linguistics & Advanced Chinese Studies), UNSW Sydney

NAATI Certified Professional Interpreter & Translator (Chinese-English, both directions since 2009)

My Awards

First-place winner, 3-Minute Thesis Faculty Heat Competition (2025)

The Most Outstanding MA Thesis (2022) by CIUTU (Conférence internationale permanente d'instituts universitaires de traducteurs et interprètes)

Highly Commended Award - 3-Minute Thesis Faculty Heat Competition (2021)

Casual Staff Teaching Award (2021) issued by the School of Humanities and Languages, ADA, UNSW

My Research Activities

PhD Thesis (2026) A Study on the Application of Systemic Functional Linguistics as a Post-Editing Tool for Translation Students in the AI Era

MPhil Thesis (2022): Tackling the translation of long sentences in the classroom - an investigation of the usefulness of a Systemic Functional Linguistics-based approach in teaching long sentence translation from English to Chinese

Conference presentations

Tian, A. (2023, Nov. 20-22). Collaborating with technology to create efficient and effective subtitles: Insights from a subtitler in the age of AI. 2023 Annual Conference of AUSIT (Australian Institute of Interpreters and Translators), Sydney, Australia.

Tian, A. (2024. Jul. 1-5). Empowering Translation Students in the AI Era: developing an SFL-based toolkit framework for post-editing of machine translation. 49th International Systemic Functional Congress. Sydney, Australia. Tian, A. (2025, Nov. 21-23). Introducing a linguistic toolkit for the AI era: Empowering student translators to post-edit with skills and confidence. 2025 Annual Conference of AUSIT (Australian Institute of Interpreters and Translators), Canberra, Australia.

Tian, A. (2026, May. 19-22). Empowering Translation Students in the AI Era: investigating the effectiveness of a linguistic toolkit framework for post-editing AI translation. 2026 Annual Conference of CIUTI (Conférence internationale permanente d'instituts universitaires de traducteurs et interprètes). Milan, Italy.

Tian, A. (2026, Jul. 11-16). Pedagogical implications of an SFL-based toolkit framework for post-editing of machine translation. 51st International Systemic Functional Congress. HKMU, Hong Kong

Invited talks

2020 Interpreting in the courtroom - an Australian practice, Universitas Indonesia, Depok.

2022 Teaching long sentence translation with a systemic functional linguistics perspective, East Asian Translation Pedagogy Network Advance, University of Leeds, UK.

My Engagement

Member and UNSW's representative to the Australian Institute of Interpreters and Translators (AUSIT)'s Education Committee

Co-author of Community Translation Style Guide (English-Chinese Translation) - AUSIT (2021)

My Teaching

Legal Interpreting (MODL5101)

Community Interpreting (MODL5102)

Media Translation (MODL5103)

Specialised Translation (MODL5104)

Text Analysis for Translation (MODL5106)

Certification in Translation (MODL5108)

Certification in Interpreting (MODL5113)

Personalised English Language Enhancement (PELE, ARTS5505/HUMS1005)

Supervision (areas: AI translation, post-editing, SFL)

Nurul Khalisa (Master thesis, submitted): Evaluating the Accuracy of Instagram’s Machine Translation in Translating English Medical-Related Captions into Indonesian

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