1.1 Introduction 1.1.1 Translator and interpreter training in higher education in the greater Chinese‑speaking region In the past two decades, there has been a substantial increase in the number of postgraduate translation and interpreting (T&I) programs throughout the Chinese‑ speaking region (Setton 2011; Tao 2016; Zhong 2017). A number of universities in this region have also begun to offer tertiary T&I training courses1 as optional subjects for students enrolled in English‑major programs at an undergraduate level (cf. Cai and Dong 2015; Kumar 2017; Zhan 2014). This trend in higher education (HE) is evidence of a growing recognition of the importance of language skills in the greater Chinese‑speaking region (Kramsch 2014). There are several reasons for this (Wang and Lei 2009). First, as the world economy has become increasingly globalized, successful corporations need indi viduals with excellent inter‑lingual and cross‑cultural communication skills (see Biel and Sosoni 2017; Lin 2015; Liu et al. 2024). Second, students themselves desire to improve their foreign language proficiency for social reasons (Pym and Ayvazyan 2017; Pym et al. 2013). Finally, these courses equip students for careers as translators and interpreters (Lee and Liao 2010). 1.1.2 Tertiary trainee interpreters as an under‑researched population Research in the field of T&I studies has seen a dramatic surge over the past two dec ades (cf. Yan et al. 2017), including a wide range of topics related to T&I programs DOI: 10.4324/9781003597711-2 6 Technology and Interpreting in HE (Kelly and Martin 2019). The majority of these academic endeavors involve T&I “postgraduate students” or “professional trainees” (Yan et al. 2017, 6) as par ticipants and study a variety of T&I issues classified within the various “maps” of T&I studies (for examples of different maps, see Chesterman 2009; Holmes 2021; Toury 1995; Van Doorslaer 2007; Williams and Chesterman 2002; Zanettin et al. 2015). However, this research has long overlooked undergraduate or tertiary T&I learners. In particular, little is known about the metacognitive learning strategies they employ and the typical difficulties they encounter (Chang and Chen 2023; Yan et al. 2017, 5). There are at least two reasons for this neglect. One is that tertiary interpreter trainees are often a hidden population within university communities as they are not typically enrolled in conventional academic programs (Xu 2005). Additionally, unlike postgraduate MA programs, tertiary interpreter training is often seen as a mere add‑on component to undergraduate foreign language degree programs that primarily aim to help their students master the language and litera ture of a foreign culture, rather than T&I skills specifically (Pym and Ayvazyan 2017; Pym et al. 2013). Tertiary trainee interpreters are, therefore, a significantly under‑researched pop ulation. A number of scholars (e.g., Laviosa 2014; Leonardi 2010; Malmkjær 2010) have suggested that this represents a serious omission, given the growing global importance of T&I skills and the obvious popularity of one‑year T&I modules among undergraduate language majors (Liu 2020, 43).
