This paper on translation pedagogy (Díaz Fouces, 1999, 2001; Laviosa, 2008, 2010, 2020; Camargo, 2016a, 2016b; Serpa et al, 2021; Thow, 2022) aimed to analyze recurring and preferred words in the cultural translation of a work of Brazilian literature and its versions into English by the participants of the mini-course and by the pair of translators responsible for translating the work into English. Translation pedagogy is understood as the use of translation theories and practices in its teaching. Also, for this study, we used data-driven learning by Johns & King (1991) and Berber Sardinha (2004). To prepare the frequency lists of recurring and preferred words, we used the online tool Sketch Engine. The corpus is composed of the Brazilian literary work (1) Gabriela, cravo e canela, by Jorge Amado, its translation into English by James L. Taylor and William L. Grossman, in addition to the excerpts translated by the participants of the mini course that contain their choices regarding the words selected for analysis. After examining, discussing and analyzing the aforementioned words by reformulating the definitions of cultural domains suggested by Aubert (1981, 2006) and Camargo (2016a), we compared the English versions produced by the participants of the mini course and by the pair of professionals. It was observed through this study that the students were able to identify the similarities and differences in the original work and in the translated works, regarding the recurring and preferred words selected for this investigation. Furthermore, the intention was for them to be able to use them in their own translated text, in addition to the possibility of applying the theory in the practice of translation.