The Interplay Between Foreign Language Anxiety, Willingness to Communicate and Other Learner Factors in Tertiary Interpreting Classrooms

Jackie Xiu Yan*, Jun Pan, Honghua Wang

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in book/report/conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

3 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Interpreting is an act of oral communication. Factors such as confidence and ability in oral communication are therefore held as important in the selection and cultivation of potential interpreters. However, there has so far been little research supporting the link. This study thus aims to fill the gap by investigating the effect of foreign language anxiety, willingness to communicate (WTC) and other learner factors in a tertiary translation and interpreting programme. Participants of the study included 83 undergraduate students at a university in Hong Kong. A questionnaire was applied, which was developed based on existing measurements of the variables under investigation. The study identified significant correlations between foreign language anxiety and students’ interpretation learning outcomes, foreign language anxiety and WTC. Both foreign language anxiety and WTC were found to significantly correlate with many other factors concerning the learning of interpreting. The study provides important pedagogical insights to tertiary interpreting education.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationResearch on Translator and Interpreter Training
Subtitle of host publicationA Collective Volume of Bibliometric Reviews and Empirical Studies on Learners
EditorsJackie Xiu Yan, Jun Pan, Honghua Wang
PublisherSpringer Singapore
Pages147-167
Number of pages21
Edition1st
ISBN (Electronic)9789811069581
ISBN (Print)9789811069574, 9789811349737
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 30 Nov 2017

Publication series

NameNew Frontiers in Translation Studies
ISSN (Print)2197-8689
ISSN (Electronic)2197-8697

Scopus Subject Areas

  • Linguistics and Language
  • Education
  • Language and Linguistics
  • Communication

User-Defined Keywords

  • Foreign language anxiety
  • Interpreter training
  • Learner factors
  • Tertiary interpreting programmes
  • Willingness to communicate

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