The roles of language proficiency, working memory, and anxiety in speech error repairs in consecutive interpreting

Nan Zhao and Yumeng Lin
Hong Kong Baptist University | New York University

This study investigates the underexplored aspect of how interpreters detect and repair speech errors, focusing on various linguistic levels. We examined how error repairs are influenced by individual differences in language proficiency, working memory, and anxiety levels among student interpreters. Our findings demonstrate that while interpreters effectively detected and repaired lexical, syntactic, and phonological errors, they struggled with conceptual errors. Error detection and repair improved with an increase in the interpreter’s working memory span, whereas heightened anxiety impeded the repair of conceptual errors. Interpreters with superior working memory were more successful in correctly repairing conceptual errors and indeed speech errors in general, and those with better language proficiency also showed more success in error repair. The results highlight the pivotal role of working memory and the influence of language proficiency and anxiety on error correction in interpreting, emphasizing the significance of source language comprehension in avoiding conceptual errors.

Publication history

Date received: 10 July 2023

Date accepted: 28 June 2024

Published online: 26 June 2025

Table of contents

Interpreting, a special form of spoken language production, entails an intricate process of decoding a message in the source language and subsequently articulating it in the target language. Inevitably, this complex cognitive task, much like other forms of spoken language production, is prone to various speech errors. Though a rich body of research has dissected speech errors in standard language production, there is a marked paucity of understanding of the nature and repair of errors that interpreters produce when interpreting from the source to the target language. This study delves into the realm of how individual differences (specifically, interpreters’ language proficiency, working memory, and anxiety) impact the detection and successful rectification of speech errors in language production during consecutive interpreting from English (a second language, L2) to Chinese (a first language, L1). The insights gleaned from this research hold substantial pedagogical value for enriching interpreter instruction and training methodologies.

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