學習口譯的焦慮與心流體驗

Interpretation Students' Experience of Anxiety and Flow

口譯的多工認知處理常讓學生備感壓力，進而產生焦慮感受。但儘管承受種種心理負荷，仍有許多學生表示喜歡學習口譯，也願意進一步修習更高階的口譯課程。這些學生從口譯過程中所獲得的樂趣相當類似Csikszentmihalyi （1975） 所提出的最優體驗或心流 （flow）。為瞭解學生在學習口譯過程所產生的焦慮與心流感受，本研究採用問卷與訪談，探究翻譯研究所學生學習口譯的心路歷程。研究者參考之前文獻與問卷 （Chiang， 2006），設計出「口譯學習焦慮問卷」。調查對象為國內六所翻譯研究所學生，施測後共收回81 份有效問卷。依統計分析結果，再選出11 位學生進行個別訪談。問卷結果顯示，研究所學生對於學習口譯具有中等程度的焦慮 （M= 3.43），且獨立樣本t 檢定顯示在不同性別、年級、有無口譯實務經驗等變項，學生的焦慮程度並無顯著差異。學生最感到焦慮的是對演講主題不熟悉 （M= 4.28），其次是各領域的專業術語 （M= 4.26） 以及講者的口音 （M= 4.26）。進一步訪談結果則顯示大多數學生曾在口譯過程中產生順暢、輕鬆不費力、與講者合而為一等感受，並在活動結束之後產生成就感、更有自信等心流狀態。雖然心流狀態，主要取決於講者與題材，學生卻也近乎一致表示，事前充實背景知識，良好精神狀態，在口譯前先讓自己平靜下來，會更容易產生心流。本文最後也探討如何將這些學習口譯的焦慮與心流經驗整合至口譯教學，藉此擴大口譯研究領域中對於學習口譯心理層面的瞭解，並提供口譯學習者與教師在自學與教學上的參考。

Stress stemming from the cognitive processing demand put on interpreters of spoken languages is said to be most strongly felt by interpretation students who are still grappling with the “multitasking” aspects of this skill. Anxiety is a common response to stress, and it may interfere with students' concentration, thinking and performance. While students have described the skills of interpretation as stressful and anxiety-provoking, they have also voiced their interest in interpreting and willingness to take more advanced courses. This may be in part because students have also experienced a positive emotion, a certain exhilaration or sense of “flow” (Csikszentmihalyi, 1975), during the process of interpreting, thereby becoming motivated to repeat the activity. The purpose of the study is to explore the affective domain of learning to become interpreters, more specifically the emotions of anxiety and flow, via questionnaires and interviews. The researchers developed a scale to measure students' learning anxiety based on previours questionnaires and research (Chiang, 2006). A total of 81 questionnaires were collected from graduate students studying interpretation at six GITIs around Taiwan. Interpretation students reported a moderate level of anxiety (M= 3.42). However, the results of an independent t-test showed no significant difference with regard to gender, years of study, and amount of field experience. Among the various factors contributing to interpretation learning anxiety, unfamiliarity with the topic of a speech was the most anxiety-provoking (M= 4.28), followed by the use of slang or jargon (M = 4.26) and unfamiliar accents (M= 4.26). As evidenced by interview responses, the state of “flow” was also a common experience shared by many informants, who described it as the state or awareness of a smooth, effortless merging with the speaker. Students also expressed a sense of achievement and felt better and more confident after having this flow experience. Although the speaker and topic are the main determinants of the experience of flow, good preparation, both mentally and physically, could also facilitate reaching this state. Based on the aforementioned findings, the study ends with a discussion of an interpretation training process that takes into account both the anxiety and flow experiences of students, in an attempt to further the interpretation learning process and achieve better teaching outcomes.