The Impact Of Listening Anxiety On MTI Students’ Performance In Classroom Practice Of English To Chinese Simultaneous Interpreting

The past 20 years witnessed a psychological shift in the field of interpreting studies.Research on interpreting anxiety has become an important part of interpreting process studies.In particular,the effects of interpreting anxiety on interpreting output have become a key research topic.Most relevant studies,however,target undergraduate students to explore the impact of interpreting anxiety on consecutive interpreting quality.A study on the effects of MTI students’ interpreting anxiety on their simultaneous interpreting performance can not only enrich empirical research in this field,but also contribute to improving the quality of MTI programs,thereby generating more qualified interpreters for the market.This thesis therefore aims to measure the effects of different degrees of listening anxiety on MTI students’ simultaneous interpreting output by using the listening anxiety scale and recordings of those students’classroom practice of simultaneous interpreting.Furthermore,this thesis endeavors to investigate the causation of debilitating listening anxiety through interviews so as to provide coping strategies for MTI students to help them mitigate the negative impact of listening anxiety on interpreting quality.Results show that MTI students moderate in listening anxiety and low in listening anxiety performed significantly better than those high in listening anxiety.There was no significant difference,however,between the performance of the moderate anxiety group and the low anxiety group.This suggests that high levels of listening anxiety are a type of debilitating anxiety and can impair MTI students’ simultaneous interpreting performance.Further interviews reveal that high levels of listening anxiety were due to inadequate preparation,insufficient grasp of listening skills,irrational beliefs and a lack of confidence.MTI students high in listening anxiety are suggested to（1）make adequate pre-interpreting preparation;（2）proactively make use of a variety of listening skills in classroom practice of simultaneous interpreting;（3）observe their irrational beliefs and gradually transform them into rational ones;（4）view their listening capacity objectively to avoid an excessive lack of confidence in their overall listening capacity as a result of self-depreciation.Additionally,interpreting teachers may take the lead to learn about and teach students about listening anxiety,its effects on interpreting performance and the coping strategies,including psychological therapies such as the REBT and systematic desensitization.