Scaffolding Strategies for Training Anxiety-Stricken Novice Interpreters

Abstract

Interpreting teaching and learning has long been a fret, particularly for novice undergraduate interpreters who suffer from higher levels of anxiety over their listening, note-taking, and production. This paper aims to ease this plight by offering various types of scaffolding, a method that has been maturely employed in language education. In this study, I use specific lecture examples to demonstrate how scaffolding can be used in each step of interpreting training for novices, including vocabulary building, active listening, discourse analysis, note-taking, production, shadow reading, and simultaneous interpreting. The present study may provide pedagogical implications for interpreter trainers and learning strategies for student or trainee interpreters.