Listening with Our Eyes: A Phenomenology of Subtitled Interpreting Pedagogy

This study investigates the sensory and pedagogical transformations brought about by AI-generated English subtitles in a full-semester Mandarin-to-English interpreting course involving 88 undergraduate students. Drawing on phenomenology of practice and hermeneutic analysis, the study explores how this visual-auditory interface reconfigures students' interpretive listening processes. Through teaching journals, classroom observations, subtitle text analysis, and student feedback, this research reveals a marked shift from auditory to visual reliance—a phenomenon termed "visual listening." The instructor's pedagogical strategies evolved in response, incorporating deliberate subtitle delays and no-subtitle drills to restore auditory primacy. The findings indicate that AI subtitles act not merely as learning aids but as epistemic agents reshaping perception, attention, and instructional design. The study offers insights into the sensory politics of interpreter education in the age of AI and proposes a framework for reflective integration of subtitling technologies in interpreter training.