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In:Instrumentalising Foreign Language Pedagogy in Translator and Interpreter Training: Methods, goals and perspectives
Edited by Olaf Immanuel Seel, Silvia Roiss and Petra Zimmermann-González
[Benjamins Translation Library 161] 2023
► pp. 54–75

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Chapter 4
Free voluntary reading as a language and knowledge enhancement tool and its impact on interpreting students’ self-perceived B language fluency

 | University Pontificia Comillas, Spain
 | University Pontificia Comillas, Spain
Published online: 1 June 2023
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https://doi.org/10.1075/btl.161.04fer
The present proposal argues that it is relevant to design, implement and test more practical strategies to help Interpreting students enhance their second active working language to meet market requirements. Within the framework of a dialogue interpreting B.A. course, a free voluntary reading (FVR) experiment was conducted, based on the extensive literature proving that self-selected reading contributes to improving second language acquisition. The aim was to explore its potential as a Language and Knowledge Enhancement tool in improving native Spanish Interpreting students’ self-perceived fluency in English, and to analyze whether introducing FVR transversally as a horizontal activity in different B.A. in TI courses can help students build more robust active core competences in this foreign language.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Preliminary considerations, research scope, and motivations
    • 2.1A market-driven focus on English as a B language
    • 2.2B language enhancement from the outset
    • 2.3Reading as an LKE tool
  • 3.Theoretical framework
    • 3.1Krashen’s FVR
    • 3.2Setton and Dawrant’s intensive and extensive reading strategies
    • 3.3Duhigg and Clear on nurturing habits
  • 4.Methodology
    • 4.1Population and sample
    • 4.2Research tools
    • 4.3Limitations of the study
  • 5.Analysis and discussion of results
    • 5.1Reading habits and self-perceptions before the FVR experience
    • 5.2Postquestionnaire results
  • 6.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
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Dang, Dieu Lam Ngoc & Su Li Chong
2025. Fostering Lifelong Learning and Sustainable Development: The Crucial Role of Volitional Reading. European Journal of Education 60:4 DOI logo

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