Empowering Metacognitive Interpreter Training: How Standards‐Based Self‐Assessment Affects Metacognitive Strategy Use and Interpreting Performance

ABSTRACT Despite garnering increasing scholarly attention in educational research, metacognitive training remains an underexplored topic in interpreting studies. This study aimed to investigate the impact of standards‐based self‐assessment on student interpreters’ metacognitive strategy use and interpreting performance. Their perceptions of the metacognitive self‐assessment practice were also explored. A total of 43 Chinese undergraduate interpreting students participated in the study. Of these, 22 were assigned to the experimental group, which received metacognitive intervention [i.e., self‐assessment based on the China's Standards of English Language Ability (CSE) metacognitive interpreting descriptors], while the control group (n = 21) did not receive such intervention. A pretest‐posttest design was adopted, and both quantitative and qualitative data from the metacognitive questionnaire, interpreting test, and written reports were analyzed. The results showed that the metacognitive intervention exerted a positive effect on students’ metacognitive strategy use and interpreting performance. Furthermore, students generally expressed positive perceptions of the intervention, although they also suggested that further adjustments to the self‐assessment tool were needed. The study concluded that the standards‐based self‐assessment was an effective pedagogical technique for metacognitive interpreter training.