Immediacy and Feedback in Instructional Communication in Shaping Translation Anxiety and Cognitive Engagement Among EFL Learners

Authors

  • Sujarwo Sujarwo Universitas Megarezky, Indonesia
  • Nurdevi Bte Abdul Universitas Muhammadiyah Makassar, Indonesia
  • Asdar Asdar Universitas Bosowa, Indonesia
  • Asia M Asia M Universitas Negeri Makassar, Indonesia
  • Fadilah Binti Zakaria Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.33394/jollt.v14i3.18220

Keywords:

Instructional Communication, Translation Anxiety, Cognitive Engagement, Communicative Immediacy

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the complex interplay between instructional communication, translation anxiety, and cognitive engagement among EFL university students participating in a translation course. The study employed an interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) design, involving 11 participants who contributed data via semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, and reflective journals. The findings demonstrate that communicative immediacy fosters emotional safety, thereby alleviating learners' translation anxiety and augmenting their cognitive engagement. When communication is dialogic and helpful, students feel empowered to articulate interpretations, justify linguistic choices, and engage in critical reflection on meaning production. On the other hand, limited or evaluative communication tends to make anxiety worse and make it harder for people to think about things. These results underscore the need to incorporate communication training into translator education to develop emotionally responsive and cognitively engaged learners. Overall, the results show that communication is an important part of translation pedagogy because it turns worry into contemplation and involvement into comprehension. This study concludes that effective instructional communication prioritizes immediacy, empathy, and dialogic interaction and is essential for alleviating translation anxiety and fostering cognitive engagement among EFL learners. The implications currently impact translator education by emphasizing the necessity for communication-focused training to assist teachers in developing more adaptive, reflective, and intellectually engaging translation sessions.

Author Biographies

Sujarwo Sujarwo, Universitas Megarezky

English Education Department, Universitas Megarezky, Makassar, Indonesia

Nurdevi Bte Abdul, Universitas Muhammadiyah Makassar

English Education Department, Universitas Muhammadiyah Makassar, Indonesia

Asdar Asdar, Universitas Bosowa

Indonesian Language Education and Literature, Universitas Bosowa, Makassar, Indonesia

Asia M Asia M, Universitas Negeri Makassar

Regional Language and Literature Education, Universitas Negeri Makassar, Indonesia

Fadilah Binti Zakaria, Universiti Sains Malaysia

English Language Section, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kelantan, Malaysia

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Published

2026-07-17

How to Cite

Sujarwo, S., Abdul, N. B., Asdar, A., Asia M, A. M., & Zakaria, F. B. (2026). Immediacy and Feedback in Instructional Communication in Shaping Translation Anxiety and Cognitive Engagement Among EFL Learners. JOLLT Journal of Languages and Language Teaching, 14(3), 878–891. https://doi.org/10.33394/jollt.v14i3.18220

Issue

Vol. 14 No. 3 (2026): July

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Articles

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