A Case Study Of Learner Autonomy Of Master Of Interpreting Candidates At Sisu

Learner autonomy can be broadly defined as the capacity to take control of one s ownlearning, or learning in which the objectives, progress and evaluation of learning isdetermined by the learners themselves. The increasing international exchange asks formore excellent interpreters, and autonomous learning is essential for interpreting learners.However, studies on foreign language autonomous learning have mostly centered onnon-English major undergraduates so far; and the limited number of those focusing oninterpreting majors, tend to remain theoretical comment rather than empirical research.The present paper reviews the theories of and researches on autonomy in foreignlanguage learning and analyses the status quo of interpreter training in MTI (Master ofInterpreting and Translation) institutes in China. As a case study of the Graduate Instituteof Interpretation and Translation of Shanghai International Studies University, the studysurveys36present Master of Interpreting candidates there of their learning strategiesapplied to autonomous learning and probes into factors affecting their learner autonomy,aiming at helping improve interpreting teaching from an autonomous-learning perspective.The questionnaire used in the survey is an adaptation from Oxford s Strategy Inventory forLanguage Learning (SILL). Demonstrated by SPSS analysis of the collected questionnairedata, of all the autonomous learning strategies being investigated, social strategies are mostfrequently used by MI candidates, followed by meta-cognitive strategies and affectivestrategies; the average proportion of efforts given to autonomous learning out of theiroverall learning efforts is66.67%; the degree of learner autonomy is in strong positivecorrelation to the learner s interpreting proficiency and in significant negative correlationto his age; while its correlations with gender, year and undergraduate major are notsignificant. Based on the research findings, suggestions on fostering learner autonomy inMI candidates through the application of meta-cognitive strategies, affective strategies andsocial strategies are proposed; future studies are recommended as well.