Exploring Cognitive Aspects of Competence in Sign Language Interpreting of Dialogues: First Impressions

Sign language interpreting of dialogues shares many features with the interpreting of dialogues between non-signed languages. We argue that from a cognitive perspective in dialogue interpreting, despite some differences between the two types of interpreting, sign language interpreters use many of the same processes and handle similar challenges as interpreters between non-signed languages. We report on a first exploration of process differences in sign language interpreting between three novice and three experienced Swedish Sign Language interpreters. The informants all interpreted the same dialogue and made a retrospection of their interpreting immediately after the task. Retrospections were analyzed using tools for identifying reported processing problems, instances of monitoring, and strategy use (see Ivanova 1999). Furthermore, the interpreting products (both into Swedish Sign Language and into Swedish) and their differences were qualitatively analyzed. The results indicate that there are differences between the two groups, both in terms of the retrospective reports and in terms of the interpreting product. As expected, monitoring seems to be a factor determined by experience. The experienced interpreters seemed to have more efficient ways of handling turn taking and the internalization of new vocabulary. The study also concludes that to use instruments devised for simultaneous conference interpreting (Ivanova 1999; Tiselius 2013), the instruments need to be adapted to the dialogue setting, even though in the case of sign language interpreting the simultaneous interpreting technique is used even in dialogue interpreting

Making the Most of Retrospective Process Tracing in Dialogue Interpreting Research

Abstract: Retrospective verbal process tracing is a popular research method in Interpreting Studies, employed by a growing number of scholars, particularly in studies of conference interpreting, but, to date, it has not been widely employed in studies of dialogue interpreting. This paper begins by introducing process-tracing methodologies, defining types of verbal process tracing, and presenting a brief critical review of publications employing this research methodology. The bulk of the article provides concrete, practical information and guidance for scholars of dialogue interpreting who are interested in employing retrospective process tracing in their research. We discuss the theoretical underpinnings of the method, methodological considerations that must be taken into account in the design and procedure of such studies, data analysis and reporting on the basis of retrospective process tracing, and recommendations for best practices.Resumen: El seguimiento retrospectivo verbal de procesos se utiliza cada vez más en los Estudios de Interpretación, sobre todo en la interpretación de conferencias. Con todo, este método se ha utilizado poco hasta la fecha en el campo de la interpretación bilateral. En la primera parte de este artículo, presentaremos los métodos de seguimiento de procesos, definiremos los tipos de seguimiento verbal de procesos y examinaremos brevemente algunos estudios que han empleado estos métodos. El objetivo principal es ofrecer recomendaciones concretas y prácticas que puedan resultar útiles para aquellos investigadores en interpretación bilateral que se interesen por estos métodos. Presentaremos las bases teóricas, las consideraciones metodológicas relevantes para el diseño y el procedimiento de tales estudios, el proceso de análisis y presentación de los datos obtenidos a través del seguimiento retrospectivo y algunas recomendaciones de buenas prácticas

Reflexiones y recomendaciones sobre el uso de métodos retrospectivos verbales en la investigación en interpretación bilateral

Retrospective verbal process tracing is a popular research method in Interpreting Studies, employed by a growing number of scholars, particularly in studies of conference interpreting, but, to date, it has not been widely employed in studies of dialogue interpreting. This paper begins by introducing process-tracing methodologies, defining types of verbal process tracing, and presenting a brief critical review of publications employing this research methodology. The bulk of the article provides concrete, practical information and guidance for scholars of dialogue interpreting who are interested in employing retrospective process tracing in their research. We discuss the theoretical underpinnings of the method, methodological considerations that must be taken into account in the design and procedure of such studies, data analysis and reporting on the basis of retrospective process tracing, and recommendations for best practices.El seguimiento retrospectivo verbal de procesos se utiliza cada vez más en los Estudios de Interpretación, sobre todo en lainterpretación de conferencias. Con todo, este método se hautilizado poco hasta la fecha en el campo de la interpretación bilateral. En la primera parte de este artículo,presentaremos los métodos de seguimiento de procesos, definiremos los tipos de seguimiento verbal de procesos y examinaremos brevemente algunos estudios que han empleado estos métodos. El objetivo principal es ofrecer recomendaciones concretas y prácticas que puedan resultar útiles para aquellos investigadores en interpretación bilateral que se interesen por estos métodos. Presentaremos las bases teóricas, las consideraciones metodológicas relevantes para el diseño y el procedimiento de tales estudios, el proceso de análisis y presentación de los datos obtenidos a través del seguimiento retrospectivo y algunas recomendaciones de buenas prácticas

Retrospection in interpreting and translation: explaining the process?

Retrospection is one of the few research methods equally suitable for studying the processes involved in both translation and interpreting. At the first workshop on research methods in process-oriented research (Graz 2009), we presented the results of a pilot study of retrospection as a research method, published as Englund Dimitrova & Tiselius (2009). The study involved data from two groups (15 years of professional experience vs. no professional experience), each with 3+3 subjects (interpreter subjects vs. translator subjects, all with Swedish as their L1). The source text was a 10-minute plenary speech in English from the European Parliament, interpreted simultaneously into Swedish. For the translation data, the translator subjects translated the original European Parliament transcript of the speech, 1,093 words, using Translog. After the task, subjects did immediate retrospection. The first analysis of the data indicated that a challenge when using retrospection is that subjects tend to report having forgotten about some of their processes. In this paper we report an analysis of the process data in relation to the retrospective protocols. Our focus is on reported problems and the occurrences of problem indicators in the process. It was found that most reported problems are confirmed by the presence of problem indicators in the process. However, the majority of problem indicators found in the process do not correspond to any reported problem. Hence, the subjects’ problem reports can only explain a limited number of the potential problems in the process. The need for further research into retrospection as a research method in Translation Studies is pointed out.La retrospección es uno de los pocos métodos de investigación igualmente adecuados para estudiar los procesos de traducción y de interpretación. En el primer taller sobre métodos de investigación de procesos (Graz 2009), se presentaron los resultados de un estudio piloto sobre la retrospección como método de investigación, publicado como Englund Dimitrova & Tiselius ( 2009) . El estudio incluía datos de dos grupos (15 años de experiencia profesional frente a inexperiencia profesional), cada uno con 3+3 sujetos (intérpretes y traductores, todos con sueco como L1). El texto original era un discurso de 10 minutos en inglés del Parlamento Europeo, interpretado simultáneamente al sueco. Para la traducción, los sujetos traductores usaron la transcripción original del discurso, de 1.093 palabras, usando Translog. Tras la tarea, los sujetos efectuaron retrospección inmediata. El primer análisis de los datos indicó que un reto al usar la retrospección es que los sujetos tienden a informar que han olvidado algunos de sus procesos. Este trabajo presenta un análisis de los datos del proceso en relación con los protocolos retrospectivos. Nuestra atención se ha centrado en contrastar los problemas declarados con las ocurrencias de indicadores de problemas en el proceso. Encontramos que la mayoría de los problemas declarados se confirman por la presencia de indicadores de problemas en el proceso. No obstante, la mayoría de los indicadores de problemas que se encontraron en el proceso no se corresponden con ningún problema declarado. Por lo tanto, los informes de problemas de los sujetos sólo pueden explicar un número limitado de los problemas potenciales del proceso. Ello apunta a la necesidad de seguir investigando la retrospección como método de investigación en los estudios de traducción

Re-examining “Practice” in Interpreter Education

In this commentary, the authors explore “practice” in interpreter education. They outline differences in meaning and usage of the term, including the notions of “reflective practice” and “deliberate practice,” discuss the importance of high-quality skill development-focused practice (SDFP) in skill acquisition, and call for a systematic program of research into SDFP in interpreter education, particularly within the context of dialogue interpreting

Expertise without Deliberate Practice? The Case of Simultaneous Interpreters

Deliberate practice (Ericsson 2007) is a type of focused, goal-oriented practice that is part of the process of developing expertise. A less explored area in interpreting research, deliberate practice is a construct that is not easily investigated using an experimental research design. This article reports on in-depth interviews with three interpreters. By exploring their background, training, views on interpreting, and perceptions of core areas of deliberate practice (such as practice, setting clear goals and being open to feedback), an impression of their practice habits emerges. The article concludes that deliberate practice as defined by Ericsson is not consciously employed by these interpreters. Some of the implications of these findings for the application of expertise theory in interpreting are outlined in the discussion

Deliberate practice : The unicorn of interpreting studies

Deliberate practice, as described in expertise theory of cognitive psychology, stems, at least in part, from Ericsson, Krampe and Tesch-Römer’s seminal 1993 study of violin students from the Music Academy of West Berlin. In their article, Ericsson et al. take issue with the belief that truly exceptional performers are unique because they possess different types of innate giftedness. They say such reasoning is oversimplified and suggest that a truly scientific account of such skills would have to describe the development leading up to exceptional performance, as well as the “genetic and acquired characteristics that mediate it” (1993: 363, italics added). Furthermore, they argue that a scientific mapping of exceptional performance must identify critical differences between exceptional and ordinary performers. And, finally, they suggest that when researchers argue that there are genetic differences, those differences must be proven to be genetically heritable as being hereditary. Because it would be difficult for researchers to provide this evidence, Ericsson et al. recommend researchers investigate environmental factors that could “selectively promote and facilitate the achievement of such performance” instead (1993: 363). Based on their research, Ericsson et al. suggest one crucial environmental factor is deliberate practice. Of course, the issue of deliberate practice is not without controversy. One of the main counterarguments to Ericsson et al.’s proposal is that even if practice is important, researchers cannot rule out the contribution of ability factors. Some have suggested it is unfair to less able individuals to claim that hard work is enough to achieve excellence (Detterman 2014). Furthermore, several studies have shown that deliberate practice is a weak explanation of the variance in performance in many areas (Macnamara, Hambrick and Oswald 2014; Menz and Hambrick, 2010). Ericsson counters these studies by stating that the structure of expert performance is so unique it “cannot be extrapolated from the performance–ability relations observed in the general adult population” (Ericsson 2014: 81). Deliberate practice in interpreting poses another challenge for the researcher because the few studies done on the construct in this field have failed to show the mere occurrence (let alone the effect) of deliberate practice in interpreting (Tiselius 2013; Albl-Mikasa 2013). It is possible that interpreting researchers cannot find an effect for deliberate practice because they have incorrectly defined the construct. Alternatively, deliberate practice in interpreting may be a unicorn: a noble creature with the power to redeem novice interpreters be they only pure, which unfortunately exists only in fairy tales. With only two studies in the field, we do not have sufficient evidence to decide whether deliberate practice is an unproven fact or only a fiction. This article describes the theoretical foundations of deliberate practice, differences between practice and deliberate practice, and how the construct has been studied in the fields of cognitive psychology broadly and interpreting specifically. It will also investigate criticisms of deliberate practice in the field

Experience and Expertise in Conference Interpreting: An Investigation of Swedish Conference Interpreters

This dissertation investigates the process and product of interpreters with different levels of experience and explores the expertise approach (cf. Ericsson, Charness and Hoffman 2007) as applied to interpreters. The expertise approach claims that highly skilled performers, regardless of their chosen field, use the same type of strategies in order to reach the top levels of their profession. An important feature of the expertise approach is deliberate practice, a specific type of practice that highly skilled performers engage in so as to improve their performance. The dissertation is based on four different studies featuring two different sets of participants. Two data sets – a cross-sectional material with nine participants on three different levels of interpreting experience (none, short and long), and a long-term material with three interpreters recorded at two different points in time – were analysed in terms of both processing and product data. The interpreting process was studied by retrospectively analysing and categorizing processing problems, monitoring and strategies, while the interpreting product was analysed by using holistic rating scales for intelligibility and level of information transfer of the interpreting product. In-depth interviews were also conducted with the long-term participants in order to investigate their perception of deliberate practice and their own view of their skill development. An important and integral part of the dissertation, apart from the results, was the development of the holistic rating scales (adapted from Carroll 1966), and the development of an in-depth interview study. The conclusions of the dissertation are that there are measurable differences of interpreting skill between performers with little or no interpreting experience and performers with long interpreting experience, but this finding could not be supported by the long-term (intra-individual) study. Differences between the groups in the cross-sectional material could also be observed from the process data. Experienced interpreters encountered fewer processing problems than less experienced interpreters and had more strategies at hand to solve problems. There were also clear differences in terms of instances of monitoring (i.e. controlling the interpreting process and output) between experienced interpreters and other subjects. Monitoring seemed to be a dividing line between experienced and inexperienced interpreters, and experienced interpreters had more processing capacity available to monitor themselves. This was also to a certain extent supported in the in-depth interviews, where the participants reported how they constantly evaluate themselves in terms of improving performance. A key assumption established in the beginning of the project – that experienced interpreters would claim, in the in-depth interviews, that they practise a great deal – was not supported, to our surprise. The interpreters recounted many practice-like activities but stated that they did not actually practise. The dissertation concludes by calling for more studies on deliberate practice in interpreting, suggesting that the term “interpreter expert” should only be used with caution in scientific studies and that the particular features of expertise and deliberate practice in interpreting should be discussed

Informed Consent : an overlooked part of ethical research in Interpreting Studies

This article discusses the concept of informed consent in interpreting studies. Informed consent implies that a person must be given enough information to be able to consent to participate voluntarily in a research project. The article first gives an overview and background of the origins of informed consent, and its place in ethical research. The article then points to different areas where informed consent in interpreting studies may be delicate, and what to think about in order to obtain truly informed consent; examples are given from different research studies. The article also discusses the research participants’ right to their data and what happens when informed consent is revoked. I argue in the article that research students should be taught and trained in truly informed consent, and that the informed consent process should be piloted before the initiation of a study.I artikeln diskuteras informerat samtycke i tolkstudier. Informerat samtycke innebär att en person som rekryteras som deltagare i en forskningsstudie måste ges tillräckligt med information för att ha möjlighet att samtycka till att frivilligt delta i ett forskningsprojekt. Artikeln ger först en översikt av och bakgrund till informerat samtycke, dess ursprunget och dess plats i etisk forskning. Artikeln pekar sedan på olika områden där informerat samtycke i tolkstudier kan vara känsligt, och vad forskaren bör tänka på för att erhålla verkligt informerat samtycke, exempel ges också från andra forskningsstudier. Artikeln diskuterar vidare forskningsdeltagarnas rätt till sina data och vad som händer när ett informerat samtycke återkallas. Jag argumenterar för att forskningsstudenter ska undervisas i och öva på verkligt informerat samtycke, att informerat samtycke ska ses som en process samt att processen för att inhämta informerat samtycke ska göras som pilot innan en studie påbörjas