Abstract/Summary

This research focused on evaluating the impact of the Young Interpreter Scheme on the metalinguistic awareness, empathy, and intercultural competence of the children involved. The study employed a longitudinal design with quantitative and qualitative data collection. Participants were 30 Young Interpreters (YIs) and 29 control students from four primary schools in England. The YIs received training as part of the YIS program, while the control students served as the control group. The age range of the participants was 7-11 years. Data collection occurred at three time points: before YI training, immediately after training, and at a 6-month follow-up. The study evaluated the Young Interpreters development in empathy, awareness, intercultural competence, and metalinguistic awareness. Baseline assessments included quantitative measures of non-verbal IQ, and vocabulary breadth and depth. Empathy levels were measured using a questionnaire. Qualitative data were obtained through content analysis of children's responses to questions about intercultural awareness based on cultural intelligence dimensions proposed by Earley and Ang (2003). Metalinguistic awareness was measured using a word re-ordering task to assess syntactic awareness, based on work by Nation and Snowling (2000) and an explaining words task to measure morphological awareness. The analysis compared the outcomes of the YI group with the control group, examining changes over time and potential differences between the two groups. Mixed effects models were utilised to assess the impact of YI training on metalinguistic awareness and empathy. The findings revealed that while there were no immediate effects on metalinguistic awareness, cognitive abilities and vocabulary showed positive associations with performance over time. The qualitative analysis highlighted the YIs' application of learned strategies to create supportive environments for new students and their developing intercultural awareness. In terms of empathy, no immediate increase was observed post-training, but significant improvements in affective empathy were seen at the six-month follow-up. This research fills a literature gap by providing insights into the implementation of formal interpreter schemes in schools, emphasising the potential of the YIS in creating an inclusive and supportive educational environment for EAL learners.