Is multicultural effectiveness related to phrasal knowledge in English as a second language?

The present study investigates the role of personality in language learning, with a special focus on the association between multicultural effectiveness and phrasal knowledge in L1 Dutch L2 English learners in Belgium (n=97). Results from the Multicultural Personality Questionnaire (MPQ) (five personality dimensions) were associated with results from a rational cloze test, measuring productive phrasal knowledge. In addition, scores from grammar proficiency tests were also included, since language proficiency is known to be a strong predictor for phrasal knowledge. A regression analysis revealed significant associations between phrasal knowledge and the personality dimensions Flexibility and Openmindedness, when grammar proficiency was controlled for. This study adds to the growing body of evidence of associations between phrasal knowledge and personality, encouraging researchers to pursue this avenue with learners from different L1/L2 pairings, in different contexts of L2 acquisition

Investigating tolerance of ambiguity in novice and expert translators and interpreters : an exploratory study

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Student translators and student interpreters: poles apart?

Even though student translators and student interpreters are quite a homogenous group of advanced language learners – they share the same curriculum for the first three years of their four-year training in Flemish Colleges – many teachers claim they are poles apart in terms of personality characteristics. The same clichés apply to professional interpreters and translators. Interpreters are considered more outgoing and self-assured while translators bear the stamp of perfectionism and introversion. With this paper we aim to investigate these assumptions empirically. Although the translator profession as well as the interpreter profession requires adequate advanced linguistic skills, a number of non-linguistic skills (such as heuristic skills for the translator and interpreting strategies for the interpreter) also prove necessary when aiming for good job performance. Both linguistic and non-linguistic skills are an important part of translator and interpreting training programmes, yet students’ decisions to enter translator or interpreter training seems to be informed by individual difference variables underlying the development of these non-linguistic skills rather than by their linguistic command. Although individual difference variables (ID variables) between learners have received a lot of attention over the past two decades in Second Language Acquisition (SLA) Research, their relevance for translator and interpreter training remains underexplored, with the exception of some recent studies focussing on ID variables in interpreters and translators (e.g. Jiménez Ivars and Pinazo Calatayud 2001; Schweda Nicholson 2005; Hubscher-Davidson 2009; Bontempo and Napier 2011; Rosiers, Eyckmans and Bauwens 2011). This contribution will report on a study targeting four ID variables (cognitive style, ego permeability, willingness to communicate and extraversion) in a student population of future translators, interpreters and multilingual communicators. The research methodology (including self-report questionnaires and performance measures) will be discussed in detail as well as some preliminary results and the implications for the professional field

How does a study abroad experience contribute to the intercultural competence of student translators?

The importance of intercultural competence as a key skill for translators has been stressed by several influential models of translation competence (e.g. PACTE 2005, EMT expert group 2009). Successful translators today are required to communicate successfully among different linguistic-cultural communities (Kiraly 2000). Translator training should therefore incorporate the development of intercultural competence. One strategy is to encourage students to take part in an Erasmus exchange programme. In some translation and interpreting programmes, this semester abroad is even mandatory. In this chapter I will report on a study using the Multicultural Personality Questionnaire (MPQ-SF; van der Zee, van Oudenhoven, Ponterotto and Fietzer 2013) to gauge student translators’ level of intercultural competence before and after an Erasmus exchange programme. Within this socio-psychological approach to measuring an individual’s intercultural competence (or multicultural effectiveness as it is called in the model), five personality dimensions are identified: cultural empathy, social initiative, flexibility, open-mindedness and emotional stability. Apart from reporting on the contribution of a study abroad experience to the development of translator students’ intercultural competence, didactic implications of the findings for the teaching of translator competence will also be explored

Personality as a determinant of study and career choice : an empirical study in advanced language learners

Choosing a study programme and consequently a professional career is a challenging process that is influenced by many factors. Besides the required professional competences – e.g. language professionals need a thorough knowledge of their working languages – factors from within the individual seem to influence the ultimate choice. These factors are sometimes called individual differences or learner-internal variables and often they refer to the personality of the learner. This contribution focuses on individual differences between three groups of advanced language learners: interpreter students, translation students and students of multilingual communication. In relation to foreign language learning, individual difference variables have gained a lot of importance over the past decades in Second Language Acquisition Research. With this study we aim to explore whether the choice of study programme and the choice of professional career of students is determined by individual differences underlying the development of non-linguistic skills. To this end, we look into five personality dimensions (cultural empathy, social initiative, flexibility, open-mindedness and emotional stability) which together gauge students’ ‘multicultural effectiveness’. The participants are 91 advanced language learners divided into three groups: translation students, interpreter students and students of multilingual communication. The analysis of the data reveals some distinct differences between the groups, especially between the translation students and interpreter students for the personality traits emotional stability and social initiative. In this paper, we will clarify the five personality constructs and discuss their importance for advanced language learners

Multicultural effectiveness in advanced language learners

This contribution aims to investigate whether the choice of study programme and the choice of professional career of advanced language students is determined by Individual Learner Differences underlying the development of non-linguistic skills such Multicultural Effectiveness. A selection of Individual Difference Variables, more specifically the five personality dimensions that have been grouped together under the heading Multicultural Effectiveness, will be investigated in three populations of University students. These three populations all share the same bachelor training in Applied Language Studies but have opted for one of three Master’s degrees: Translation, Interpreting or Multilingual Communication. Recent findings (Rosiers, Eyckmans and Bauwens, 2011) have shown that student translators and student interpreters tend to differ with regard to Individual Difference Variables. Despite their shared educational background master students in Interpreting exhibit a higher level of linguistic self-confidence than master students in Translation, who display a much higher level of language anxiety. These findings play into the stereotypes of the articulate and extroverted interpreter and the timid and introverted translator. This paper presentation reports on the differences in students’ Multicultural Effectiveness, as measured by the Multicultural Personality Questionnaire SF-40 (MPQ; van der Zee, van Oudenhoven, 2002, Ponterotto and Fietzer (2013). Relevant research on the MPQ and its five sub dimensions (social initiative, open mindedness, flexibility, cultural empathy and emotional stability) as well as the preliminary results will be discussed. The results point to significant differences between the three student populations with regard to social initiative, emotional stability and the overall Multicultural Effectiveness score

Working memory storage capacity and executive control in advanced language learners

Working memory refers to the brain system that allows us to hold information on-line and manipulate it for short periods of time (Baddeley, 1992) and is crucial in performing complex tasks such as language learning and language processing (Baddeley, 2003). Two subsystems are particularly relevant for language aptitude: the phonological loop and the central executive. The phonological loop consists of a storage system for verbal and acoustic information and a subvocal rehearsal system. The central executive is an attentional-controlling system that permits maintaining or suppressing information and coordinating or switching between tasks. Even though their importance for language aptitude is widely accepted, research into the relationship between both subsystems is surprisingly scarce. In the current study we compare advanced language learners’ storage capacity to three executive functions: updating, inhibiting and shifting. Storage capacity was measured by means of a forward and backward digit span task. The executive functions were tested using computer-based response tasks, viz. a 2-back task, an Attention Network Test, a Simon task and a Switch task. Participants are 60 undergraduate students who have obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Applied Language Studies and are currently pursuing a Master’s degree in interpreting, translation or multilingual communication. They are considered highly advanced language learners with a L2 proficiency level of C1 or above. Although we hypothesized that high performers on the digit task would also score well on the executive control tasks, the results suggest that this is not the case across all executive tasks. In the paper presentation, these results will be discussed in greater depth alongside the methodology used

Practice makes perfect? Does interpreting training affect cognitive abilities

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