THE EFFECT OF TRANSLATOR CANDIDATES’ PSYCHOLOGICAL STATES DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON THEIR PROFESSIONAL OUTCOME EXPECTATIONS

Full text

International Journal of Language Academy
E-ISSN: 2342-0251
DOI Number: http://dx.doi.org/10.29228/ijla.48301
Research Article
Zeytinkaya, D. (2021). The effect of translator candidates’
psychological states during the covid-19 pandemic on their
professional outcome expectations. International Journal of Language
Academy, 9 (1), 27-40.
Volume 9/1 March 2021
p. 27/40
International Journal of Language Academy
Volume 9/1 March 2021 p. 27/40
THE EFFECT OF TRANSLATOR CANDIDATES’
PSYCHOLOGICAL STATES DURING THE
COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON THEIR
PROFESSIONAL OUTCOME EXPECTATIONS
Dilber ZEYTİNKAYA
1
Abstract
The Covid-19 pandemic in the twenty-first century made it necessary to conduct a study on psychology
in the translation profession. The study aims to determine whether there is a significant relationship
between translator candidates’ fear of Covid-19 and their professional outcome expectations. Within
the study's scope, the effect of the psychological conditions of the translator candidates studying at
the Department of Translation and Interpretation in French at Marmara University during pandemic
on the outcome expectations for the translation profession after graduation was tried to be examined.
Due to the pandemic, the questionnaire prepared on Google Forms, including the fear of Covid-19
scale and the professional outcome expectation scale and demographic questions, was sent online to
the translator candidates. A total of 56 translator candidates voluntarily participated in the research.
SPSS software was used for the analysis of the data. The study's hypothesis, which was created that
there is a relationship between fear of Covid-19 and expectation towards the translation profession,
has been confirmed. There is a statistically significant negative correlation between the fear of Covid-
19 and the expectation towards the translation profession. In this direction, as the translator
candidates’ fear of Covid-19 increases, the expectations of professional outcomes decrease. Again, as
the translator candidates’ fear of Covid-10 decreases, their expectations for professional outcomes
increase. A number of recommendations have been made to deal with the psychological repercussions
of the Covid-19 outbreak. This research, which was presented during the process of dealing with the
pandemic, is expected to shed light on other studies to be conducted.
Keywords: Translator, covid-19, psychology, professional outcome, expectation, fear
1
Res. Assist. Dr. Marmara University, Department of Translation and Interpreting,
dilber.zeytinkaya@marmara.edu.tr, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5163-655X
Article History:
Received
11/12/2020
Accepted
23/12/2020
Available online
20/03/2021

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INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this research is to determine whether the psychological state of translator
candidates during the Covid-19 pandemic process has an effect on their professional
outcome expectations. In this direction, it will be tried to put forward whether the fear of
translator candidates during the Covid-19 pandemic will change their attitudes towards
the translation profession and to what extent it will affect their behaviour and success while
performing their profession in the future. Translator candidates who are expected to have
professional competence should have a positive attitude towards their profession. It is
obvious that the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic process has psychological reflections on
people. It was assumed that the translator candidates participating in the study answered
the questions sincerely and correctly. The research is limited to the results obtained from
the survey and sample translator candidates studying at Marmara University, Department
of French Translation and Interpretation. The problem sentence of the study was formed
as “There is a significant relationship between the fear of Covid-19 and professional
outcome expectations of translator candidates”, based on the hypothesis that the fear of
Covid-19 affects the professional outcome expectations.
Translators represent bridges between two cultures. Communication is primordial and key
element. That’s why their psychology during Covid-19 pandemic is crucial for translation
sector. There isn’t enough research to investigate translator candidates’ psychological
states. The reason that translator candidates are chosen for the sample.
Covid-19 pandemic brings global experience with it, and deeply affects economic life and
psychosocial life. In the process of building social consciousness, personal responsibilities
increase and the society is fed by a deep change and development process. The social
impact of the pandemic has reached undeniable dimensions. Many employees lost their
jobs. Significant negative economic impact has already occurred across the globe. In this
direction, behavioural changes have been observed and various conspiracy theories have
been put forward. Necessary measures are taken to prevent social isolation and individuals’
perception of risk from turning into collective trauma. “The isolation is progressively
enhanced by anxiety, panic or collective hysteria. Cognitive functions and decision making
are firstly impaired by hyperarousal and anxiety and later by disabling feelings of
loneliness” (Serafini et al., 2020, p. 532). They emphasize that long periods of social
isolation or quarantine for specific illnesses may have detrimental effects on mental
wellbeing. Common attitude regarding the establishment of the ideal solidarity in crisis
management for the construction of the social order according to the new normal is of
paramount importance. Adopting a common identity in order to eliminate inequality,
polarization, prejudice and discrimination will strengthen intergroup relations. Social
relations have decreased, the feeling of loneliness has increased, and economic fluctuations
have been experienced due to compulsory isolation and street restrictions. In this context,
the negative mental effects of the pandemic have become inevitable. The psychological
effects of the process are predicted to be long term. The Covid-19 pandemic has opened the
door to a new era in all fields but especially in translation world.
Covid-19 Pandemic
The Covid-19 virus, which emerged in Wuhan, China on December 1st, 2019, was declared
by the World Health Organization as an “International Public Health Emergency” on
January 30, 2020, and as a “Global Outbreak (pandemic)” on March 11, 2020. Clinical
symptoms of the disease usually manifest as fever, cough, nasal congestion, fatigue and
other upper respiratory tract infections. “These viruses are named as Coronavirus (crowned

The Effect of Translator Candidates’ Psychological States During The
Covid-19 Pandemic on Their Professional Outcome Expectations
International Journal of Language Academy
Volume 9/1 March 2021 p. 27/40
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virus), based on the Latin meaning of "corona", that is, "crown", due to the crown-like rod-
like extensions on their surfaces” (McIntosh et al., 1967 as cited by Hatun, Dicle, Demirci,
2020, p. 534). The new type of coronavirus (COVID-19) is the result of mutation of the
zoonotic coronavirus family, which specifically targets the respiratory system, causing
diseases ranging from colds to severe acute respiratory syndromes such as SARS (Severe
Acute Respiratory Syndrome) and MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) and is a new
subspecies (Brown & Wang, 2020, as cited by Akkuzu, Soft, Karaman, Ladikli, Türkkan,
Bahadır, 2020, p. 64).
First COVID-19 case in Turkey was seen in the March 11, 2020. However, the first studies
on this subject started on January 10, 2020. Necessary measures were taken in order to
fight the outbreak in accordance with the recommendations of the Scientific Advisory
Boards on January 22 (Republic of Turkey Ministry of Health, 2020).
With the circulars issued by the Presidency of the Republic of Turkey in line with the
recommendations of the Scientific Committee, flexibility such as working from home and
alternating shifts was introduced to the public and private sector, distance education was
initiated at all educational levels, and all kinds of meetings, events and activities were
postponed or canceled (Turkish Academy of Sciences, 2020).
There is no definitive treatment method on Covid-19 worldwide, so disease-related deaths
occur. Treatment continues with infection control and effective vaccination studies are
conducted. It can be stated that the Covid-19 virus not only threatens the physical health
of individuals, but also creates significant effects on their psychological conditions. In this
context, studies have begun to be conducted about how individuals experience the Covid-
19 outbreak process with the purpose of describing the psychosocial reflections of the
epidemic process. In this context, it is expected that the findings obtained from the research
will contribute to the literature and be a source for new researches on the subject.
During the process of meeting the coronavirus epidemic, it was understood that people
initially showed different reactions and these reactions have changed over time. At first, it
was understood that the coronavirus was not taken seriously, and after understanding the
seriousness of the incident, a feeling of panic emerged, and then people feared infection
and infect their family members or relatives (Hatun, Dicle, Demirci, 2020, p. 547).
The Ministry of Health Coronavirus Scientific Board was established on January 10, 2020
to combat the Covid-19 (coronavirus) pandemic. After the scientific council meetings, which
met at certain intervals and were sometimes convened by video conference due to the
pandemic, the Minister of Health held public information meetings. After Coronavirus
Scientific Committee, “Social Sciences Board” was established with reference to the view
that the long-term psychological effects of the epidemic are undeniable. The Ministry of
Health of the Republic of Turkey has prepared a “Covid-19 Information Page” to inform the
public on the internet. On the relevant page, the necessary information about Covid-19 is
provided, every day starting from March 11, 2020 information such as "total number of
tests, total number of patients, total number of deaths, rate of pneumonia in patients (%),
number of serious patients, total number of healing patients, daily number of patients, the
number of daily tests, the number of deaths per day, the number of daily healing” are
shared. The Ministry of Health has prepared a “Covid-19 Dictionary” from A to Z.
Frequently used words related to the epidemic, such as “fillation”, “antibody”, “isolation”,
“asymptomatic person”, “intubation”, were included in the dictionary. Turkey has begun to
take measures in every sector after the first case.

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Education Sector During Pandemic Process in Turkey
The Covid-19 pandemic has opened the door to a new era in education, as in many other
fields. Students studying at universities were subjected to distance education which was
planned to start on August 31, 2020, and face-to-face education was planned to continue
at certain levels on September 21. Many precautions have been taken in the classrooms for
the new education period, and while the desks are arranged according to social distance so
that each student can only sit on their own desks. While there are disinfectant points in
many parts of the school, warning labels are attached to the school and classroom entrance
points, where students may gather around, in order to comply with a social distance of 1.5
meters. Informative posters about the Covid-19 measures prepared by the Ministry of
Health were hung in the corridors, classrooms, toilets of the school, in the visible points of
many places such as teachers’ rooms and meeting rooms. Schools affiliated to the
Provincial Directorate of National Education worked diligently to obtain a “My School is
Clean” certificate before starting to face-to-face education within the scope of the
"Cooperation Protocol for Improvement of Hygiene Conditions in Educational Institutions
and Prevention of Infection" signed between the Ministry of National Education (MEB) and
the Turkish Standards Institute (TSI). Official kindergartens, nursery classes and practice
classes, which continued their activities in accordance with pandemic rules for a while,
started distance education with the increase in the number of cases.
The Higher Education Institution has decided to continue the spring semester 2019-2020
with distance education. The increasing number of cases has been effective in making the
decision to conduct education remotely in the fall semester of the 2020-2021 academic
year. It is necessary to say that the education in higher education and especially the
courses in the translation departments are given via distance education in that period.
Nowadays, translator candidates have some fear about their profession in the future
because they can’t practice some courses as required, such as simultaneous interpreting,
consecutive interpreting, whispered interpreting. It should be investigated further if there
is a negative psychology because of the Covid-19 pandemic about their profession.
Business Sector During Pandemic Process in Turkey
Employees of workplaces are offered the opportunity to work from home. In the first months
of the pandemic, sports competitions started to be played without an audience. Overseas
visits of public officials were subject to permission. Those coming from abroad were also
asked to keep themselves in quarantine for 14 days. With the increase in the number of
people with the disease, street restrictions started to be applied and some professional
groups and institutions were exempted from the restriction. Health institutions,
pharmacies, workplaces where all health products and medical supplies are produced,
public institutions and organizations necessary for the maintenance of mandatory public
services, people who will perform the burial of their first-degree relatives, PTT, cargo and
water distribution company, workplaces operating in iron and steel and glass sectors,
bakeries where bread production is made and/or licensed bakery workplaces, vehicles and
employees in the distribution of bread produced in bakeries, fuel stations and veterinary
clinics to be determined by governorates/prefectures, one for each population of 50,000,
those who are responsible for maintaining supply systems such as electricity, water,
natural gas, telecommunication that should not be interrupted and repairing their failures,
animal shelters, farm and care centers, those who have an appointment for blood and
plasma donation, and places that are required to work such as cold stores are excluded
from the lockdown.

The Effect of Translator Candidates’ Psychological States During The
Covid-19 Pandemic on Their Professional Outcome Expectations
International Journal of Language Academy
Volume 9/1 March 2021 p. 27/40
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Restaurants were allowed to serve with takeaway service. The pandemic process has
accelerated the online shopping period and increased the burden of cargo employees. In
addition to businesses such as hairdressers and barbers, which were closed for a while,
shopping centers stopped their activities and then started to continue their activities again
with the necessary measures.
New restrictions have been implemented as of December 1, 2020 by the Turkish Ministry
of the Interior: stopping the activities of swimming pools, baths, saunas, massage parlors
and amusement parks, restricting the use of public transport in the city by citizens aged
65 and over and under 20, performing funeral prayers with a total of 30 people, including
relatives of deceased people, arranging weddings in the form of weddings and wedding
ceremonies with a total of 30 people, including the bride and groom’s relatives, not allowing
events where communities gather such as gold day, ceremonies, condolences and New
Year’s Eve celebrations, the number of customers that can be accepted at the same time
for each shopping mall and district market to be determined separately by the decision of
the provincial district public health boards, the requirement of HES
2
(Hayat Eve Sığar –
Life Fits Into Home) code for employees and customers at the entrance to the malls,
determining the number of people who can enter the crowded streets and squares if
necessary by the provincial/district sanitation boards (based on square meters and area
size), fully taking the necessary physical measures and other measures related to this,
suspending the activities of kindergartens, inspecting the application of epidemic measures
under the supervision of a workplace physician in workplaces with 50 or more employees,
by an existing occupational safety specialist or a staff who will be assigned to replace
him/her if he is not present (Turkish Ministry of the Interior, 2020).
Translator Psychology and Cognitive Approach
Translation is one of the most ancient professions in human history. It is of great
importance in providing communication and has a significant place in human social
relations. In the world of informatics, developments in “artificial intelligence” have come to
a situation that can affect the perception on translation. It would be correct to re-evaluate
the place of the human within the borders of the translation profession. “According to
Kautz, the features that a translator should have and are expected to be in every translator
as psychic and physical characteristics are listed as 'ability to focus on the text, endurance,
calmness, motivation and emotional acumen'.” (Kautz, 2000, p. 23, as cited in Arı, 2018,
p. 36). In the translation profession, universities that provide translation education are the
source of the professionals.
The expectations of the employees in their professional lives are also in line with Maslow’s
ranking. According to Maslow, human needs can be met, but it is unlikely that the needs
will be completely finished. According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory, the needs for
self-actualization of the individual are listed as; physiological needs, security, love, dignity.
The person who possesses them ultimately meets the need for self-realization.
Career opportunities affect employees’ high job satisfaction, remuneration, motivation and
psychology. Pricing is important in determining the status of professions in society. The
prestige of a profession is determined by the reputation the society shows for that
2
The HES (Hayat Eve Sığar – Life Fits Into Home) Code is a personal code implemented by the Ministry
of Health to share Covid-19 risk status with institutions and individuals for activities like
transportation or visit.

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profession. Among the factors that affect the professional outcome expectation, there are
factors such as exhaustion, helplessness and anxiety. “Mood” is defined as “One’s inner
readiness to show a joyous, troubled, or emotional response; emotional condition or
attitude that sometimes takes a short and sometimes a long time” in Turkish Language
Association Dictionary. “Mood is the dominant and continuous emotional tone that is
experienced internally and changes one’s behavior and perception of the world. Sensation
is the expression of mood. The mood may be normal, high or depressed”
(Karamustafalıoğlu, Yumrukçal, 2011). Mood is spiritual processes that fluctuate according
to internal-external factors that people are in. The long-term and unusual severity of these
processes is called mood disorders. There are roughly two types of mood disorders. For
example; while long-term and severe emotions such as unwillingness, pessimism, not being
able to enjoy life, and the desire to cry bring to mind the psychological breakdown called
depression; excessive cheerfulness, too much talking, increased energy bring to mind the
manic period (Atasoy, Kösle, 2019, p. 132).
There are a limited number of empirical studies in the translator’s job expectation
literature. At this point, it is useful to mention the definition of the concept of stress. It is
defined as “spiritual tension” in the dictionary of the Turkish Language Association. It is
observed that stress is encountered most frequently in the work environment. It is known
that the panic situation experienced causes stress in individuals. It is seen that high levels
of stress cause various psychological and behavioral damages on individuals, disrupt
people’s physical system and affect their mental processes. As a result of extreme stress,
decrease in job performance, communication problems, lack of organization, decrease in
problem solving skills, difficulty in decision making and imbalance in behavior are
observed. According to Aşkın, Bozkurt, Zeybek (2019), stress is a normal human reaction
to strain, its prolongation and concentration can adversely affect our health. In this difficult
pandemic period, fear and anxiety, tension, getting tired more quickly than usual are
natural reactions, and spiritual support should not be avoided if these reactions are
excessive and disturb our daily life significantly. It is argued that stress has an effect on
the individual’s work efficiency and “performance”, which is defined as the level of success
achieved by the individual in the face of all the efforts he or she spends to fulfill his/her
job. Along with stress, anxiety problem is known to deeply affect factors such as
achievement, productivity, performance, trust, desire, eating, sleeping, resting, learning,
and establishing mutual relationships.
Covid-19 virus not only threatens the physical health of individuals, but also seriously
affects their psychological health. It is known in psychology that hormones, heredity, time
and environment affect a person’s development. Social events affect social psychology.
Because social psychology is formed as a result of individual-society interaction. Translator
psychology takes shape in the light of social events.
Psychology is a scientific field of study that studies human beings and the structures and
formations in their minds, perceiving the outside world and self, thinking, regulating
thought, as well as giving them visibility through sound and behavior, recognizing and
defining the world in which a person lives, positioning it in the environment in which
he/she is located, intelligence, hidden powers and abilities, memory, the levels and causes
of remembering and forgetting, ways of learning, emotions and reactions to various
situations using visible scientific methods. It is important to evaluate the translator
profession in terms of individual-society interaction within the scope of social psychology
of the individual and society. It can be emphasized that the social environment is
determinative on the translator psychology. In the end, it is possible to state that the mood
in the society deeply affects the translators, who are the important actors in socio-political

The Effect of Translator Candidates’ Psychological States During The
Covid-19 Pandemic on Their Professional Outcome Expectations
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environment. As stated by Serafini et al. (2020, p. 533) the psychological impact of fear and
anxiety induced by the rapid spread of pandemic needs to be clearly recognized as a public
health priority for both authorities and policy makers who should rapidly adopt clear
behavioral strategies to reduce the burden of disease and the dramatic mental health
consequences of this outbreak.
Translation is a complex fact. As a consequence of the complexity of translation fact‚
translation has been associated with psychology since the 90s. The researches oriented on
the attitude and psychological state on which translator based while producing translation.
Cognitive psychology translation is a complex task. With this in mind, it is important to
concentrate on the following problems: translation quality, translation process structure,
translation as a cognitive process. Translation engages in numerous disciplines of
linguistics, psycholinguistics, psychology and cognitive science. Translation is a higher-
order cognitive task. According to Hansen (2010), cognitive translatologies need to be based
on scientific, empirical research. “In addition to the translating mind working alone or in
interaction with others, translation psychology can also be seen to extend to other minds
in the form of reader responses to translated texts, therefore reception studies are of
interest from the point of view of translation psychology” (Jaaskelainen, 2012, p. 192).
“Studying cognitive processes in translation, involves many findings based on highly
qualitative data, including subjective observations of very complex psycho-social events”
(Hansen, 2010, p. 189).
Cognitive approach is related to psycholinguistics; cognitive science deals with mental
processes. Cognitive process of translation concerns comprehension, interpretation,
reformulation, memorization. Cognitive approach concerns the communicational,
functional and psycholinguistic approach. The focus here is on socio-cognitive concepts
currently in use within Translation Studies, more specifically Bourdieu’s habitus.
Jaaskelainen (2012) states that the interpretive approach by the Paris School has its origins
in Piaget’s developmental psychology. Research into (or search for) translation universals
is also partly based on the assumption that there may be psychological mechanisms
involved in translating which result in features shared by all (or most) translations
irrespective of the language-pair in question.
In a cognitive approach, we will tend to formulate the hypothesis that the degree of
translational difficulty should in principle depend on the difficulty of develop the mental
representation of the statement, the difficulty of its processing and the mental load required
by the translator in order to carry out his work. This load should not depend only on the
explicit or implicit information contained in the text, but also on cognitive factors, such as
processing skills the translator’s working memory, his cognitive background, his experience
in matter, etc. (Politis, 2007, p. 161).
It becomes evident that psycholinguistics and translatology are interconnected.
Psycholinguistics has dealt with the cognitive aspects of language-use. Hatzidaki (2013, p.
397) indicates that psycholinguistics has developed a wide range of experimental methods
borrowed from Cognitive Psychology to study the structures of cognition and the mental
processes. According to Hatzidaki (2013) psycholinguistic methods are ideal for the study
of theoretical concepts of Cognitive Linguistics (e.g. embodiment; influence of language on
thought; conceptual organization) and translation (e.g. equivalence; interculturalism; text-
typology), and certainly of paramount importance for the investigation of translation
practice. Hatzidaki (2007) mentions that psycholinguistic factors such as frequency,
preference, memory load, and so on have been found to play a crucial role as well. It can

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be used to heighten future translators’ awareness of comprehension pitfalls so that they
can translate accurately and avoid nurturing misinterpretations.
According to Hatzidaki (2007), taking into account the information on language
comprehension provided from a psycholinguistic approach, the following questions can be
raised: In what ways can a psycholinguistic perspective contribute to the field of
translation? How can knowledge from a different field be used in instructing future
translators? We argue that an interdisciplinary approach to translation is imperative since
the contribution of psycholinguistics can offer insight into cognitive processes translation
is not able to tap into on its own. In this way, translation theories can be enriched by
including variables that have not been considered until now (p. 19).
The cooperation of translation specialists and specialists in cognitive psychology enters a
new phase of maturity of this cooperation. Educational psychology and a social
constructivism learning theory have a great deal to offer to Translation Studies. “Hence, as
we shall see, more appropriate paradigms, better experimentally controlled methods, and
more objective and reliable measures can be used from the field of psycholinguistics to
shed light on cognitive processes that underlie translation” (Hatzidaki, 2013, p. 396). It
becomes clear that an interdisciplinary approach to translation is critical and much needed
to advance language and its relationship to the human mind.
METHOD
The data collection tools used within the scope of this research conducted during the Covid-
19 pandemic process were applied to the participants only via the online system due to the
pandemic conditions, and the sample was limited to Marmara University.
Research Model
Quantitative research is preferred in order to measure the behaviour patterns of individuals
through questionnaires and to explain the measurements made with numerical data.
Generalizable results are produced within the scope of quantitative research. In this study,
correlational research model has been adopted which is effective in determining the level
of relationships between variables.
Population and Sample
The sample of the study is composed of translator candidates who are students in the
undergraduate program of Marmara University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Department
of French Translation and Interpretation in the fall semester of the 2020-2021 academic
year.
Data Gathering Tools
The Covid-19 scale and the professional outcome expectation scale were created in two
separate parts with a single survey link as data collection tools in the study.
In the first part, “Covid-19 fear scale” developed by Satici, Gocet-Tekin, Deniz, Satici (2020)
was used. Approval was obtained from Begüm Satici for the use of the Covid-19 fear scale,
whose validity and reliability analyses were completed. The intervals of this measuring
instrument, which consists of 7 items and prepared in the five-point Likert type. The scale
consists of one dimension and there is no reverse item.

The Effect of Translator Candidates’ Psychological States During The
Covid-19 Pandemic on Their Professional Outcome Expectations
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In the second part, “professional outcome expectation scale” adapted to Turkish by Işık
(2010) was used. Approval was obtained from Erkan Işık to use the professional outcome
expectation scale, whose validity and reliability analyses were completed. The intervals of
this measuring instrument, which consists of 12 items and prepared in the five-point Likert
type. There is no reverse item in the scale. Stating that professional outcome expectation
scale (McWhirter, Rasheed, & Crothers, 2000; Metheny & McWhirter, 2013) is a 12-item
scale developed to measure people’s beliefs about the long-term consequences of
achievement as a result of certain educational or career decision-making behaviours, Işık
(2013) emphasized “The value obtained in the study for the reliability of the Turkish
professional outcome expectation scale form was higher than the application of the original
form.” This situation proved the reliability of the vocational result expectation scale adapted
to Turkish.
Collection of Data
The data collection tool was applied online via Google Forms in order to reach the largest
possible sample under current pandemic conditions. The questionnaire titled Covid-19
Scale and Vocational Outcome Expectation Scale was sent online via Google Forms to
Marmara University, Department of French Translation and Interpretation students in the
fall semester of the 2020-2021 academic year. Participants were assured that the
information obtained from the survey will be used solely for research purposes and that
the identity information of the participants will be kept confidential, and the principle of
voluntarism has been respected. In order to reveal the gender, class level and success levels
of the sample, demographic questions were also included in the survey. A total of 56
translator candidates voluntarily participated in the research.
Data Analysis
IBM SPSS Statistics program was used to analyse the collected data. The professional
expectation scale consists of 12 items; The Covid-19 fear scale consists of 7 items. Point
equivalents of items were arranged as; Strongly Disagree (1), Disagree (2), Undecided (3),
Agree (4), and Strongly Agree (5). During the data analysis process, the items were listed
from 1 to 5. In Likert-type questions, the options, which are ranked in order from “highest
to lowest”, are assigned a numerical value according to their degrees, and are coded and
analysed. In quantitative studies, parametric tests are preferred when the sample size is
over 50. The fact that the number of samples participating in the study was more than 50
made it necessary to use parametric tests in the study. For this reason, correlation analysis
from parametric tests was used in the analysis phase.

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FINDINGS
Findings obtained within the scope of the research are presented in this section.
Findings Regarding the Gender and Age Variable
Table 1. Distribution of Participants by Gender Variable
N
%
Female
43
76,8%
Male
13
23,2%
76.8% of the translator candidates participating in the research are female; 23.2% are male.
Table 2. Distribution of Participants by Age Variable
N
%
18-25 ages
56
100,0%
Translator candidates participating in the research are between the ages of 18 and 25.
Findings Regarding Grade Level
Table 3. Distribution of Participants by Class Variable
N
%
2.grade
29
51,8%
3.grade
19
33,9%
4.grade
8
14,3%
51.8% of the translator candidates participating in the study are second grade; 33.9% are
third grade; 14.3% are fourth grade students.
Findings Regarding Type of Education
Table 4. Distribution of Participants by Education Variable
N
%
distance education
35
62,5%
face-to-face education
6
10,7%
mixed education (distance and face-to-face)
15
26,8%
During the Covid-19 pandemic, 62.5% of the translator candidates participating in the
study support distance education, 26.8% support mixed education and 10.7% support
face-to-face education.
Table 5. Descriptive Statistics
Descriptive Statistics
N
Minimum
Maximum
Mean
Std.
Deviation

The Effect of Translator Candidates’ Psychological States During The
Covid-19 Pandemic on Their Professional Outcome Expectations
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1- I am very afraid of the
coronavirus.
56
1,00
5,00
3,5000
1,17551
2- Thinking about the coronavirus
bothers me.
56
1,00
5,00
3,7500
1,17937
3- My hands sweat when I think of
the coronavirus.
56
1,00
5,00
2,0893
1,33861
4- I am very afraid of losing my life
by contracting coronavirus.
56
1,00
5,00
3,0714
1,42519
5- When I watch news and stories
about the coronavirus on social
media, I am concerned and
worried.
56
1,00
5,00
3,5714
1,27717
6- My sleep is running out because
of my anxiety about getting
coronavirus.
56
1,00
5,00
1,9464
1,24199
7- My heart rate accelerates when I
think I have coronavirus.
56
1,00
5,00
2,4821
1,43958
1. My career plan will lead me to a
satisfactory result.
56
1,00
5,00
3,5357
,89370
2. I will be successful in my chosen
career/profession.
56
1,00
5,00
3,9286
,96967
3. My future will be fine.
56
1,00
5,00
3,4643
,97168
4. I will be able to use my skills in
my chosen career.
56
1,00
5,00
3,8393
,82631
5. I am in control of the decisions I
make about my career.
56
1,00
5,00
3,8750
1,04555
6. I will be able to build a good
future for myself.
56
1,00
5,00
3,5893
,98676
7. I will be able to get the job I
want in line with the career I
choose.
56
1,00
5,00
3,3929
1,05621
8. The career I choose will provide
me the income I need.
56
1,00
5,00
3,1429
1,15095
9. I will have a career/profession
respected in our society.
56
1,00
5,00
3,5893
1,00502
10. I will achieve my
career/professional goals.
56
1,00
5,00
3,6429
1,01674
11. My family will confirm my
career/career choice.
56
1,00
5,00
4,5000
,89443
12. The career/profession I choose
will enable me to continue the
lifestyle I want.
56
1,00
5,00
3,6786
1,01098
Valid N (listwise)
56
Table 5 shows descriptive statistics of a professional outcome expectation scale and Covid-
19 fear scale.

Dilber ZEYTİNKAYA
International Journal of Language Academy
Volume 9/1 March 2021 p. 27/40
38
Findings Regarding Correlation Analysis
7 items of a “Covid-19 fear scale” are as follows: “I am very afraid of the coronavirus.
Thinking about the coronavirus bothers me. My hands sweat when I think of the
coronavirus. I am very afraid of losing my life by contracting coronavirus. When I watch
news and stories about the Coronavirus on social media, I am concerned and worried. My
sleep is running out because of my anxiety about getting coronavirus. My heart rate
accelerates when I think I have coronavirus”. The results indicated that the Turkish version
of the scale had satisfactory reliability coefficients.
12 items of a “professional outcome expectation scale” are as follows: “My career plan will
lead me to a satisfactory result. I will be successful in my chosen career/profession. My
future will be fine. I will be able to use my skills in my chosen career/occupation. I am in
control of the decisions I make about my career. I will be able to build a good future for
myself. I will be able to get the job I want in line with the career I choose. The
career/occupation I choose will provide me the income I need. I will have a
career/profession respected in our society. I will achieve my career/professional goals. My
family will confirm my career/career choice. The career/profession I choose will enable me
to continue the lifestyle I want”. Item Response Theory revealed that all items were coherent
and fit with the model.
The direction and degree of the relationship between two or more variables are analysed
with Correlation Analysis. “The Pearson correlation coefficient is used to measure the
degree of linear relationship of two continuous variables. The answer to the question of
whether there is a significant relationship between the two variables is obtained” (Kalaycı,
2010, p. 116). There is a positive relationship if the variables are increasing or decreasing
together, and a negative relationship if one of the variables is increasing and the other
decreases. A positive correlation coefficient indicates that when an increase occurs in one
variable, there is an increase in the other variable; a negative coefficient indicates that while
an increase is observed in one variable, a decrease occurs in the other.
Table 6. Correlation Table
covidfear
professional
expectations
Covidfear
Pearson Correlation
1
-,210
Sig. (2-tailed)
,121
N
56
56
Professional
expectations
Pearson Correlation
-,210
1
Sig. (2-tailed)
,121
N
56
56
As can be seen in Table 6, the Pearson Correlation coefficient between fear of Covid-19 and
professional expectation was calculated as -0.210. The negative sign indicates that the
relationship between them is negative. Since the obtained Pearson Correlation value (-
0.210) is negative, as the fear of Covid-19 increases, the expectation for the translator
profession decreases.

The Effect of Translator Candidates’ Psychological States During The
Covid-19 Pandemic on Their Professional Outcome Expectations
International Journal of Language Academy
Volume 9/1 March 2021 p. 27/40
39
CONCLUSION
As revealed in this recent research, it is obvious that the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic
process has psychological reflections on translator candidates. In this context, it is
expected that the findings obtained from the research will contribute to the literature and
be a source for new researches on the subject. Due to the Covid-19 outbreak, people’s
social life, close relationships, economic life have been negatively affected, and their life
routines has changed. Social isolation, loneliness, economic difficulties and changing
working conditions; these factors caused the emergence of different emotional states by
triggering emotions such as fear, stress and anxiety. In fact, during Covid-19 prevention
methods such as social isolation and remote working have already deprived many
employees. The fear of sudden death, stress-anxiety reaction and traumatic experiences
caused by the Covid-19 pandemic made it necessary to examine the effect on the
professional outcome expectation during the epidemic process and to address the issue in
a psychological context. The fact that the Covid-19 virus carries the risk of death for all
individuals in the society and that it cannot be controlled, prepares the ground for the
epidemic to turn into a global trauma. This situation reveals that it will be beneficial for
individuals to receive psychological support during and after the epidemic. Subsequently
the whole world started vaccination. Turkey launched on January 14, 2021 the mass
vaccination program against Covid-19 with the vaccines developed by China’s Sinovac
company. The Covid-19 vaccines bring hope in fight against virus.
The hypothesis of the study, which was created that there is a relationship between fear of
Covid-19 and expectation towards the translation profession, has been confirmed. There is
a statistically significant negative correlation between the fear of Covid-19 and the
expectation towards the translation profession. In this direction, as the translator
candidates’ fear of Covid-19 increases, the expectations of professional outcome decrease.
Again, as the translator candidates’ fear of Covid-19 decreases, their expectations for
professional outcome increase.
Individual attitudes of individuals during the Covid-19 epidemic process will contribute to
the fight against the epidemic by strengthening the spirit of solidarity of societies. It is
predicted that the Covid-19 epidemic process which causes uncertainty, fear and anxiety
today, partially changes the working conditions, economy, education process, and will
transform the way of life of societies, social relations of individuals, and one-to-one
interaction between people until the development of appropriate treatment methods. It is
important to be aware that this transformation will start a new digital era. Examining the
effect of the psychological situation that occurs during the fight against the epidemic on
the expectations for the professions will be the source of the researches to be carried out
in this field.

Dilber ZEYTİNKAYA
International Journal of Language Academy
Volume 9/1 March 2021 p. 27/40
40
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