Students’Perceptions of Their Interpreting Trainin...

Students’Perceptions of Their Interpreting Training in Relation to Their Self-Efficacy Beliefs

As mentioned in the methodology section，the data collected from the students consist of their reflective journal entries and semi-structured individual and focus group interviews.This section focuses on the students’perceptions of their interpreting training in relation to their self-efficacy beliefs.We have examined the data and teased out excerpts that help address the research question regarding students’perceptions.

The reflective journal data and the interview data analyses show that students’perceptions of their self-efficacy can be reflected in the following aspects:①their reasons for taking the interpreting training unit;②their reflections of their successful and unsuccessful experiences regarding the interpreting training unit activities，including peer learning，and their selfefficacy beliefs;③their perceptions on how their interpreting training in SmartClass+relates to the real-life interpreting situations;④their perceptions of how the major sources of self-efficacy relate to their interpreting performance;⑤their reflections on other factors，apart from the four major sources，that affect their self-efficacy.

Student Self-Efficacy Is Reflected in Their Reasons for Taking the Interpreting Training Unit

As far as the reasons for the students to take the Chinese-English interpreting training unit are concerned，there appears to be a wide range of considerations，from their awareness that interpreting is an important and“practical”life skill，to their career aspirations and planning，to the students’needs and desires to improve themselves in their self-efficacy and interpreting competence.These reasons reflect the literature that has been reviewed in the previous section，e.g.，self-efficacy is about people’s beliefs in relation to their“cognitive resources and courses of action needed to exercise control over events in their lives”(Wood and Bandura，1989:364).The majority of the students believe that the unit can be a useful and practical“resource”so the act of taking this unit can be regarded as a“course of action”.For example，one of the most salient reasons is that students generally hold the belief that Chinese-English interpreting would help them improve their competence for intercultural communication and build their confidence and self-efficacy.Students 3，6 and 21 expressed this view explicitly in their first entry of the reflective journals.

Interpreting is a very practical skill.This unit would improve my ability to communicate in English and Chinese.　(I-3，i.e.，entry 1，student 3)

I am interested in interpreting;and interpreting can be a useful skill in the future.　(I-6)

I want to improve my oral English as well as interpreting skills.(I-21)

Self-efficacy is also about people’s“judgement”of what one can do with the skills acquired.So the reasons for taking the unit also reflect the students’“judgement”of themselves，in terms of their needs and wants，and the unit in connection to their upskilling and their career planning.For example，

I was attracted to this unit as I always wanted to enhance my multilingual abilities and interpersonal skills.As a self-motivated person，I reckon the atmosphere of the seminars is perfect，and it is generally relaxed and the contents are pretty informative and interesting.　(I-27)

Student 27 perceives him/herself as“a self-motivated person”.Such a perception shows his/her self-efficacy in the sense of his/her own“judgements”of what he/she could achieve，for self-efficacy is not only concerned with the skills one has，but with the judgements of what one can do with the skills acquired.Bandura(1994:72)contends that“an efficacious outlook fosters intrinsic interest and deep engrossment in activities”.This can also be evidenced in student 38’s response.

As compared to others，my interpreting competence is much weaker....Attending classes，cooperating with peers and involving myself in discussion will build my confidence in interpreting.　(I-38)

Sawyer(2004:76-77)argues that“although leading interpreter education programs are situated in an academic environment，interpreter training has never truly left the realm of apprenticeship”.This argument is reflected in some of the students’responses，for example，Students 29，41，43，48 and 49 have explicitly related their interpreting training to real-life importance and practice.They regard the nexus between their class activities and real-life experiences as one of the reasons for taking the unit so that they acquire and accumulate relevant knowledge，skills and real-world experience as shown in the following excerpts:

It is a real life-related study which can improve my communication skills in bi/multilingualism.　(I-29)

I think interpreting plays an important role in life.For example，when a foreigner who needs help does not speak Chinese in China，an interpreter can give him a hand.　(I-41)

My family business involves international trading，and I’ve only completed primary education in China.This unit provided me a chance to practise my language skills and learn more professional vocabularies.(I-43)

I am going back to China after I graduate.I will work in a family commerce company.I need to communicate with all the clients from all over the world，and also need to interpret to local companies.I found this unit could provide me a good opportunity to learn more about the skills of interpreting.　(I-48)

I chose this unit to learn the practical skills for oral translating in real life，which may be useful in my career when I come back to work in China.(I-49)

Some of the reasons provided by students in their reflective journals also reveal their belief that they can learn effectively from the best practice in the industry and obtain“career suggestions”and“practical information and insights of the translation/interpreting industry”.For example，

By focusing on Premier Li’s interview，I can analyse the difference between my interpretation and the official interpreter’s interpretation.I am astonished at the official interpreter’s note taking skills as well as accuracy.I have come to a conclusion that I need to work on my note-taking abilities，especially for consecutive interpreting.　(I-9)

The lecturer tells many funny self experiences and stories as career suggestions to us and I think they are interesting and useful to hear.(I-30)

We can obtain practical information and insights of the translation/interpreting industry in Australia，from an experienced translator/interpreter.　(I-52)

Students 30 and 52’s views reflect what Dennen and Burner(2008:427)have suggested that“learners must work with more experienced others”，i.e.，“learners are challenged with tasks slightly more difficult than they can accomplish on their own and must rely on assistance from and collaboration with others to achieve these tasks”.

There are also other reasons for the students to take the unit，for example，some of the students’past experiences help create their need and motivation，so they look for self-understanding in relation to their own strengths and weaknesses，and for intellectual challenge，through taking the unit.For example:

My ongoing exposure to interpreting situations from a medical perspective— my placements mean that I am often dealing with elderly patients who require the services of an interpreter，and it is particularly insightful to see how professional interpreters are able to convey meaning so fluently，easily and beautifully....It is a great motivator to be able to work with students who consider Chinese as their first language，and it is a worthwhile intellectual challenge to be able to learn from each other，and better understand my own strengths and weaknesses as I encounter them.(I-5)

I am a little bit afraid of face-to-face communication...I enrol into this unit as a new challenge.　(I-10)

Another salient reason，as far as the students’journal entries are concerned，is their passion and career aspirations and planning，e.g.，NAATI accreditation for relevant employment in translation and interpreting in the future.Bandura(1997)points out that self-efficacy belief is multidimensional，and it is domain specific or context dependent.This domain-specific nature of the unit helps students raise their awareness of the connection between the unit they take and their future career development.For example，students 11，12，13，32 and 34 have expressed their career aspirations in their reflective journals.

I’m aiming to do this advanced translation/interpreting studies with my passion and confidence to participate in studies，e.g.，NAATI accredited courses.　(I-11)

I’d like to eventually find work as an interpreter and translator.Much of the classes surrounds professional-ethics training as well as characterbuilding exercises.　(I-12)

As my long-term goal is to become an interpreter，this unit leads me to the world of interpreting.　(I-13)

I think it will help my future career development.　(I-32)

I wish to pursue translation or perhaps interpretation as my future career and continue to study it as a master’s degree.　(I-34)

Since the interpreting training unit is conducted as situated learning in a multimedia-based classroom with an implicit focus on cognitive apprenticeship，students also see ample“practice”opportunities，which to some extent help enhance their confidence and self-efficacy beliefs.For example:

The role play we do in the seminar provides us with experiences of how the process of interpreting works，which is more practical than the online practice.　(I-33)

The seminar practice interpreting exercises have incorporated not only literal speech dialogues but also video-based exercises.This allows us to grasp the mind set and environment in a realistic interpreting context.(I-34)

The last but not least important reason appears to be directly related to the students’intention to enhance their self-efficacy.This is broadly connected to students’strive for accomplishment and personal well-being，as Bandura(1994)points out that having a strong sense of efficacy enhances human accomplishment and personal well-being in many ways.For example，students 39 and 51 have elaborated on their views on self-efficacy in relation to why they take the interpreting training unit.

Through taking the unit，I believe my self-efficacy belief has an impact on my interpreting performance.When I meet some trouble or challenge in translating，I believe myself that I can overcome it.　(I-39)

I plan to do some interpreting work in the future and also translation skills are important while combining with journalism.And I do think that self-efficacy can affect my learning.　(I-51)

Students’Reflections of Their Successful and Unsuccessful Experiences Regarding the Interpreting Training Unit Activities，Including Peer Learning，and Their Self-Efficacy Beliefs

In the reflective journal entries，the students also reflected on their most successful and unsuccessful experiences for the class activities throughout the interpreting unit.As far as the students’successful experiences are concerned，they have positive beliefs that the class activities can help strengthen their abilities，and that practice makes perfect or leads to improvement.For example:

To me，SmartClass+activities have been strengthening my bilingual ability，interpreting skills as well as my ability to cope with unexpected situations step by step.　(II-13)

I think，SmartClass+ is really a useful learning tool to improve interpreting skills.I can use it in the class，listening for a while firstly，and then stopping it and interpreting it.The whole learning process is nearly like a professional interpreting in the real world.After practicing many times，my interpreting skills will be improved.　(II-52)

Other successful experiences of the students include learning from professionals and learning by doing.This is closely related to situated learning，where expert demonstration，modelling，guidance and coaching tend to take place.Such successful experiences reflect students’engagement in cognitive apprenticeships and they are trained or apprenticed through expert vicarious experiences as well as their learning-by-doing activities in the initial phases of their interpreting training.For example:

I listen to Li Keqiang’s recording.That makes me know many professional interpreting skills，like how to translate proverbs.And the role play gives me some idea about the interpret etiquette.　(II-4)

It can be quite off-putting and high pressure to have the entire class listening to your interpreting，but at the same time，being put on the spot with everyone in full attention very closely simulates the spontaneity and quick critical thinking skills required in professional interpreting contexts.This is why the class role-playing is one of the most successful experiences during the lesson.　(II-5)

In addition，student 12 regards his/her overcoming or curbing“previous perfectionist compulsions”as a successful experience.

While most of the SmartClass+activities do not have a set time frame，it has allowed me to be more aware of the time factor when interpreting.As such，I have slowly but surely been able to curb previous perfectionist compulsions like looking up the exact adjective or terms or pausing the recording in order to ensure I am interpreting word-for-word.　(II-12)

There are other successful experiences reported by the students in their reflective journals，e.g.，they develop the ability to“critically observe the strengths and weaknesses of performers through role-playing”，for example，

I was able to critically observe the strengths and weaknesses of performers through role-playing，so that we could collect good methods or brainstorm possible solutions for problematic experiences.　(II-29)

Student 33 reported that he/she was particularly successful in one of the class activities，i.e.，role-playing.

The class role-playing part enables everyone to be engaged in the activity，and could immediately apply content in a relevant，real world context.What’s more，we could get a better idea of how the interpreting job works in real life through the practice as the scenarios chosen by the teacher are always very practical.　(II-33)

Students have also reported the relationship between peer learning or collaborative teamwork and their self-efficacy and confidence development as part of their successful experiences.For example:

Through preparing for this presentation，I have realised the power of teamwork....I would like to emphasise that it was a fascinating way for me to develop confidence as we all were successful in giving our best because of the contribution and help of all team members!　(III-27)

I feel more confident to do the real interpreting after the team presentation，and appreciate that I got a great team.　(III-28)

I had acquired the importance of cooperative teamwork in my learning experience.This is because teamwork makes better decisions than individuals.We figure out how different perspectives，constructive deliberation，questioning，and critical analysis can result in better solutions and performance.　(III-38)

When I was working with my teammates，I learnt about the ability of cooperation and team spirits through the whole process.　(III-51)

Even though a small number of students also reported some of their unsuccessful experiences in their reflective journal entries，they have shared positive views regarding those experiences，e.g.，through such experiences，they come to the realization that there is room to reflect upon their performances，and that they could enhance their skills and confidence if they overcome challenges，such as stress or lack of preparation，so that they could learn better.For example:

Although most of the time I do not have enough time to finish the conversation interpreting，as a learner this also provides me room to reflect upon my performance.　(II-2)

The week-two practice mentioned a lot of medical terms which Iam not really familiar with，so I missed many sentences.I think I will enhance my vocabulary and relevant knowledge on the medical field.　(II-3)

It is an unsuccessful experience but it helps me do my test better next time.　(II-4)

When interpreting from a timed recording，it can be quite stressful not knowing how to interpret a particular phrase but I have since been able to develop approaches to deal with these situations of uncertainty.　(II-5)

I remember when Iheard my recording the first time，it came literally as a shock，as the interpreting was broken，sound quality bad，vocabulary choice inappropriate.I see significant improvement on my performance after reflecting upon my mistakes and shortcomings and making corrections for the past few weeks.　(II-53)

Students’ Perceptions on How Their Interpreting Training in SmartClass+Relates to the Real-Life Interpreting Situations

A number of students commented on the connection between the SmartClass+activities and real-life interpreting situations，with various perspectives.Most students think the SmartClass+ activities help create real-life interpreting experiences，but there are also students who pointed out the differences.One student，i.e.，student 2，mentioned“the developmental stage”of interpreting and the“formative stage”of learning/training between the SmartClass+and real-life world.In addition，most students have the belief that practice makes perfect both in the SmartClass+and in real life situations.For example:

This new introduction of a video of a parallel interpretation going on at the same time as a sample，that helps me to kind of build my confidence about how an interpreter accurately operates in the industry....Having that unchanging aspect of it is really helpful，Isuppose in the developmental stage of interpreting，it’s only when you get to the real-life situation you realise that oh sure，it’s not quite the same，but ultimately，in the formative stage，it’s very important.　(S2)

Yes，it[SmartClass+]has improved my efficacy to learn，because as we always say，practice makes perfect，so the more I do the more I gain.So yeah it helps a lot.　(S14)

I did do interpreting for friends and family before，but it’s totally different.Because it’s the practice，it’s not only about what you learn，you have to practice in the reality，so the knowledge I learnt from the book is not really important，so it’s the mastery experience which makes the knowledge into real life.　(S48)

The above responses from both reflective journals and interviews show that students value their SmartClass+training experiences，as the activities can be challenging and they associate these challenging experiences with their real-life interpreting practices.As pointed out by Hatlevik et al.(2018:107)，“students’learning experiences are crucial for the development of self-efficacy beliefs，which may affect students’achievements”.This kind of relationship among students’learning experiences，self-efficacy beliefs and their achievements is aligned with Bandura’s initial observation that people with a strong sense of selfefficacy are more willing to set challenging goals for themselves while maintaining a strong commitment to accomplish these goals(Bandura，1994).This relationship also reflects the cognitive apprenticeship nature of interpreting training through SmartClass+in that，as pointed out by Sawyer(2004:76-77)that cognitive apprenticeship focuses on“authentic learning environments in which the cognitive demands in learning are qualitatively the same as the cognitive demands of the environment for which the instruction was preparatory”.

Students’Perceptions of How the Major Sources of Self-Efficacy，Including Mastery Experience，Vicarious Experience，Verbal Persuasion，and Physiological State，Relate to Their Interpreting Performance

One of the self-reflective journal entries of the students，i.e.，the fifth entry，was directly related to students’perceptions of how the four major sources of self-efficacy relate to them.In addition，the semi-structured individual and focus group interviews also focused on the four major sources of self-efficacy.The students understood the sources and they related them to their own learning experiences respectively as well as their self-efficacy beliefs.

In terms of“mastery experience”，the students reported that it affects their self-efficacy beliefs in various ways，acting as a double-edged sword.For example，in the reflective journal，student 5 reflected that:

I feel that I am aware of what I can do，and I make sure to remind myself of my potential rather than my limitations，which is why I have placed mastery experience first.There is always an opportunity to learn and while having external validation and learning through imitation is helpful，the most important factors for my learning experience must be through my own dedication and discovery of skills.　(V-5)

In the semi-structured interview，the same student，(S5)，responded that in a more elaborate manner:

I have no experiencein helping friends and family with interpreting tasks before，but I do it occasionally on placements.It’s a huge benefit，as you get to see the ethics in real life，well because I get to work alongside professional interpreters in my workplace setting，and I see what I do and what they do，I learn from them.Iimprove my own skills and its very much the fact that I can do what those professional interpreters do;sure，not as well as them at this stage，but it takes time，and they’ve had years of experience，and their accreditation，so no surprises there! But hey，I’ve got youth，I’ve got passion，and I really think that’s what keeps me going and allows me to get ahead with it，and in addition to that，I’ve got the benefit of having a workplace that is particularly multicultural and multilingual，and the fact that I’m put on the spot，at the time when professional interpreters are there，means that I can actually get an experience that I would not have otherwise got，and I think that inspires me，it motivates me and feels me very invigorated in the sense that this is something else that very few would have the opportunity to do，and I’m getting to do it in a placement of all places，and it’s an exciting opportunity that I do not regret in the slightest!(S5)

Student 33 also shared his/her opinion on mastery experience.

Successful experience is very important for making progress as it could help to build up my confidence and efficacy beliefs.On the other hand，failures would undermine one’s efficacy.However，failures could also be seen as an opportunity to make self-reflection，summarizing reasons of why I have failed and preventing making the same mistake again.　(V-33)

Student 53 shared his/her views on master experience in his/her reflective journal.

The most important is mastery experience by 55%，and psychological state is 45%，so they are quite similar in terms of importance，but I would still think mastery experience is the most important one，because if it’s something that I’ve experienced in the past，I would know what to expect，and how to handle it，and different situations，so nobody feels nervous about the stuff that they’re familiar with，so I would put mastery experience.(S53)

In the follow-up semi-structured interview，student 53，shared similar views regarding mastery experience.He/She also mentioned how the link between the SmartClass+and the real world has affected positively his/her confidence.

Say，90%of the time，Iam quite confident.Yeah as Isaid，I’ve had the experience in working for more than 5 years in interpreting，it’s a long time and I’ve learnt things from a real job，so what’s been learnt in class is not something that’s purely made up，it’s similar to the real job situation，and it’s something that you do every day，so I don’t feel nervous about it that much，as you know how to handle different situations in life，otherwise you wouldn’t survive the everyday job.　(S53)

In terms of“vicarious experience”，student 49 ranked it as the most important source，and he/she listed his/her specific reasons.For example:

The most important source of self-efficacy to me is the vicarious experience.That is，to learn from observing others’performance.This is because Iam not a creative person，I do not have the ability to succeed at the first time，but my strength is in stimulation.I did not have much mastery experience in theinterpreting field，the only thing I can do is to observe more and more examples and learn from them，not only to imitate their success，but also to gain experience from their failure，so that I will avoid making the same mistakes on my own.　(V-49)

In addition，student 51 reported that“vicarious experience”helped him/her“build recognition of noticing the details and professional behaviours”.

Vicarious experience really helps me a lot while watching others’performances， and it builds my recognition of noticing the details and professional behaviours.

(V-51)

In terms of“verbal persuasion”，students find it highly relevant and helpful as far as their interpreting training and activities are concerned.For example:

In terms of self-efficacy in my own interpreting experience，I have found that verbal persuasion improves my sense of self-efficacy the most.The fact that I am being validated improves my confidence dramatically，whether it is constructive criticism or appraisals，and I tend to work harder on areas that I am not familiar with or try to learn from my mistakes，as others may notice on areas that I am weaker at and I am not aware of them.　(V-9)

Personally，I feel that verbal persuasion is the greatest source of selfefficacy as it forms the foundation of my outlook towards a set task.My confidence primarily comes from the feedback and comments of others(particularly that of an authority figure such as a teacher or professional)as I would trust their objective judgement of my performance.　(V-12)

For myself，I lack confidence and always think Ican’t do a good job，and it was not until I got positive feedback from [name of the lecturer]that I knew I can do it well.　(V-13)

Verbal persuasion resonated with me most as the best source of selfefficacy.Reflecting on my own interpreting learning experiences，valuable appraisals were often received via evaluative feedback from [name of the lecturer].For instance，the way she highlighted my linguistic competence at the beginning of the semester was a great affirmation for me and really raised my efficacy beliefs.　(V-27)

For me，it’s the verbal persuasion，because I’m very easily influenced by other people’s language，if the teacher encourages me to do something，I’ll probably think that I will do it.　(S30)

I think that honest feedback is really working for me，because it’s limited for me to watch other people’s performance and acting in my class，and I need someone to give me some advice or critical advice for me，so I can just gain a lot of experience or learn a lot of little things from there，like feedback.I agree that verbal persuasion is confidence boosting，and it is important for me.　(S51)

Interpreting training is largely activity and context based，so“physiological state”also plays a significant role as a factor for students’self-efficacy.Students 9，13 and 25 reported through either their reflective journal entry or interview that:

I do usually get very nervous at times，and when I make mistakes，I usually become more anxious which causes me to make even more mistakes.(V-9)

For me，I would say I’m always super nervous when doing the timed test，but somehow it doesn’t affect my performance，I don’t know why.I think that I can control it pretty well because even if I’m nervous，I can just believe that I can do it well.　(S13)

I think the physiological state is the most important source as it directly affects an individual’s performance while translating.If I feel anxiety or not feeling well，I cannot focus on my translation task which will affect my performance.Therefore，it is the most important factor for me.　(V-25)

However，students 29 and 51 had slightly different perspectives.For example:

Um，I would control my emotions before going to the interpreting performance，if the nerves happen during the interpreting，I may speak slowly，create some space for myself to think more confidently.　(S29)

I think I’m confident in emotional control，so I put the physiological state at the last position in this table.It doesn’t mean it’s not important，just because I can overcome my emotional situation well in the process of interpreting.　(V-51)

To cope with potential setback of the physiological state，student 46 developed a strategy that would work for him/her:

Um，if I know that I am weak in vocabulary and I don’t really have confidence for the test，what I do is that 10 minutes before the exam，I will not read anything，I will just sit there，calm myself down.If I do not do so，I will feel very nervous during the exam，and when listening to one sentence，I would already forget it the next second，so that’s what I really do.(S46)

A number of students reflected comprehensively on all the four major sources in relation to their interpreting training experiences.Student 5 commented on the four sources，and he/she also mentioned the notion of“growth mindset”，which was relevant to his/her self-efficacy.

I highly value the concept of a growth mindset— while I may not be able to achieve a particular standard at the present moment，it does not preclude from achieving it at a later stage with sufficient hard work and motivation.That is why I have persisted with continuing my Chinese studies and pursued translation/interpreting as a way to extend myself to push the boundaries and challenge myself intellectually and linguistically.　(V-5)

In addition，student 28 arranged the four sources and elaborated on his/her own reasons as follows:

1.mastery experience;2.vicarious experience;3.verbal persuasion;4.psychological state.As I arranged，I think the most important source for self-efficacy is mastery experience.Ialways believe that my own experience is the first hand of source and only the personal involvement can build up my confidence，also it helps me to realise my shortcomings.Of course，observing others’task can also help，but lack of personal perception and experience，it’s kind of like second-hand resource.Sometimes the others can see the weakness which I’m not able to recognise myself.Physiological state might affect during the test or the exam，but this is the issue that all students need to overcome.　(V-28)

It can be noted that the four major sources of self-efficacy may serve as interlocking factors among some of the students，e.g.，S37’s response involves mastery experience，verbal persuasion and physiological state as interlocking factors:

Yes，because every time after the exam，I would feel very upset，I think I am not doing well，and I’m afraid I’m not being perfect.But after the mark is received and feedback has been given by the teacher，it’s not so bad.So，I would keep telling myself that if you can do it good this time，you can do it even better next time，and you will gain more confidence.A good performance or experience will change your mental state immediately and would reduce your level of nerves.　(S37)

Students’Reflections on Other Factors，Apart from the Four Major Sources，that Affect Their Self-Efficacy

During the semi-structured interviews，in particular，students have also raised other factors，apart from the four major sources that affect their selfefficacy beliefs.These include their language proficiency，particularly topicrelated vocabulary，in the source and target languages as far as their interpreting performance is concerned.They have also explicitly mentioned their familiarity with the topics of the interpreting tasks as an influencing factor.In addition，they have mentioned cultural background knowledge as another factor.In relation to the physiological state source of self-efficacy，the students have also commented on“stress”management with regards to the SmartClass+activities.

In terms of the factor of language proficiency，students 27 and 51 responded that:

For me，I feel like it is a language problem，because English is not my mother language，and the sentence structure is hard，so you have to swap from Chinese to English in each sentence and consider the grammar，so it is hard for me to consider it.　(S27)

In my experience in interpreting，I think it’s my vocabulary.Because English is not my mother tongue，I feel like my vocab is not fluent for many of my practical interpreting tasks.　(S51)

In terms of the topic familiarity as an influencing factor for the interpreting tasks，student 9 responded that:

Mainly it’s just the topics that I am not familiar with.There are some topics like legal or business，sometimes like in taxation and finance/investments，and there are other topics，and it’s not possible for me to know them all，especially in export/import，simply because everyone is exporting or importing different stuff，so I think you can’t get the gist of everything.

(S9)

In terms of cultural background knowledge as an influencing factor，student 48 responded in a focus group interview that:

I think maybe the culture background is a factor，because when we do the interpreting，it comes from a culture different from mine，...if you don’t know the environment of it，it’s difficult to interpret，because you just know the vocab，just know the meaning，and sometimes it’s difficult for me if I don’t know the cultural background.　(S48)

A last but not necessarily the least factor in relation to student self-efficacy beliefs was the students’perceptions and coping strategies of the “stress”associated with the interpreting tasks and tests，and the SmartClass+learning environment.Student 5 believed that interpreting in stressful situations was an“opportunity to learn”and a source of“enjoyment”，and students 14 and 31 shared similar beliefs that“doing things under pressure will make you learn more”(S14)and“challenging topics/context actually help improve his/her confidence”(S31).

Regarding “stress”associated with the SmartClass+ environment in contrast with more traditional interpreting training scenarios，students had slightly different views.For example，student 29 reported that

I think that SmartClass+ can be less stressful because it is more student-centered rather than teacher-transmissive，and students can have more alternatives to decide what，because students know themselves a lot，and then students can decide what aspects they need to get improved，and what aspects they not do well in.　(S29)

The semi-structured interview data analysis shows that most students，like student 29，feel less stressed，due to the following major reasons，including:being able to manage learning at the students’own pace so that self-learning with student-centredness takes place;the flexibility of the SmartClass+environment;and the multi-activity nature of the class，such as roleplay and games.A number of students pointed out that their stress levels would depend on other contingent factors，e.g.，the time limit factor and the “operating technology”factor.However，the“technology”factor was regarded as a doubleedged sword，i.e.，both positively and negatively by the students.

To sum up students’perceptions of their interpreting training in relation to their self-efficacy beliefs discussed in this section，we understand that the students take the Chinese-English interpreting training unit for reasons that are closely associated with their motivation，and resources and actions in relation to self-efficacy beliefs，from their awareness that interpreting is an important and“practical”life skill，to their career aspirations and planning，to the students’needs and desires to improve themselves in their self-efficacy and interpreting competence.We also understand how students relate their most successful and unsuccessful experiences to their self-efficacy beliefs in relation to their interpreting training.Most students think that the SmartClass+activities help create real-life interpreting experiences，and that practice makes perfect both in the SmartClass+and in real life situations.Regarding the four major sources of self-efficacy，we understand that the students develop a variety of views regarding mastery experience，vicarious experience，verbal persuasion and physiological state，based on their first-hand experiences with the SmartClass+activities and real-life experiences.In addition，we understand that students have also raised other factors，apart from the four major sources，that affect their self-efficacy beliefs，including their language proficiency in the target language in particular;their familiarity with the topics of the interpreting tasks;cultural background knowledge;and their stress management and coping strategies.