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Abstract Interpreting aptitude tests serve an important purpose of screening and selecting candidates for institutionalized interpreter training, the predictive validity of which is the key to effective training of trainees. This study explores, in the Chinese context of interpreter training at the post¬graduate level, the predictive validity of an interpreting aptitude test battery, composed of the Logical Memory Test, the Language Anxiety Scale and the Achievement Motivation Test. The aptitude test battery was conducted in the beginning of the first semester for post-graduate level interpreting trainees. At the end of the semester, the trainees were invited to take both English- Chinese (E-C) and Chinese-English (C-E) consecutive interpreting (CI) proficiency tests. A cor¬relation and regression analysis of the aptitude and proficiency tests results indicated that the Logical Memory Test enjoyed significant predictive validity for both C-E and E-C CI tests, with its predictive power being stronger for the former than the latter. However, neither the results of the language anxiety scale nor those of the achievement motivation test had any significant pre¬dictive power for E-C or C-E CI performance. Based on the statistical results, this research pro¬posed that intra-lingual recall be further employed in both aptitude tests and in-class training and a more prudent approach be taken in addressing learners' psychological and affective disposi¬tions.
Key words: interpreting aptitude testing; logical memory test; language anxiety scale; achieve¬ment motivation test
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