Márta Lesznyák: A longitudinal investigation of translation trainees’ translation and post-editing competence development I
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3 Results and Discussion
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3.1 Novices (1st year students at the beginning of their studies)
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3.1.1 English language competence

3.1.1 English language competence

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Table 9 shows first-year students’ mean test scores on C1 level reading and grammar tests. The maximum scores for the reading and the grammar tests were 12 and 29, respectively. Test results indicate that students’ language proficiency level was relatively low, approximately 31% in reading and 44% in grammar. Table 9 also shows the mean values for human translators and post-editors. At first glance, there seems to be a difference in mean grammar scores between HT and PE students, but the independent samples t-test showed that the difference was not significant (reading: HT: M = 3.75, SD = 2.67; PE: M = 3.77, SD = 1.88, t(23) = –0.21, p = .98; grammar HT: M = 13.90, SD = 5.47; PE: M = 11.83, SD = 6.56, t(20) = 0.79, p = .44), suggesting that it is a potential measurement error. As a result, the two groups (HT and PE) can be regarded as similar in terms of English language competence.
 

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Table 9 Mean Values, Standard Deviation, Minimum and Maximum Values on English Language Tests in the First Data Collection Wave
 
Reading
Use of English (grammar)
 
M
SD
min
max
M
SD
min
max
HT
3.75
(n = 12)
2.67
0
8
13.90
(n = 10)
5.47
1
19
PE
3.77
(n = 13)
1.88
2
7
11.83
(n = 12)
6.56
4
23
Total
3.76
(n = 25)
2.24
0
8
12.74
(n = 22)
6.04
1
23
Note. M = mean, SD = standard deviation, n = number of participants
 

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As already indicated above, students in the training program have two working languages, one of which is English. For some students, English is their B language, for others, it is their C language. Theoretically, students with English as a C language have lower proficiency in English than students with English as a B language. To test this hypothesis, an independent samples t-test was performed, and, although C English students tended to score generally lower, no significant differences were found between the two groups either on reading (B English (n = 8): M = 4.63, SD = 2.13; C English (n = 17): M = 3.35, SD = 2.23, t(23) = 1.36, p = .19) or on grammar (B English (n = 8): M = 15.50, SD = 4.84; C English (n = 14): M = 11.21, SD = 6.25, t(20) = 1.67, p = .11). As language competence is considered to be a critical background variable in translation and post-editing performance, this result is important as it shows that the groups are comparable, and it is not English language competencies that cause any potential differences between the two groups. Nevertheless, it must be noted that a small sample size may have contributed to the lack of statistically significant differences.
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