scholarly journals A Direct Application of Simultaneous Interpreting Training without Prior Consecutive Interpreting Work in a University Course

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 353
Author(s):  
Hiroko Yamada

There is a general consensus that novice interpreters should begin their training with consecutive interpreting (CI) and only move on to simultaneous interpreting (SI) after they have mastered CI. However, working memory (WM) capacity plays a central role in developing professional SI skills, and may even be more important than extended practice. As there is great variability in the innate cognitive abilities of individual people, some novice interpreters may have the potential to perform SI reasonably well. The present study has tested this hypothesis by offering SI training to novice interpreters in a university course, without administering prior CI training during the semester. Midterm and final examinations were conducted to analyze the learners’ SI performances. The findings suggest that student interpreters can perform SI quite well, subject to certain conditions such as preparation time, input rates, and source-text intelligibility. This study explores the pedagogical implications of introducing student interpreters directly to SI training, as well as the curricular arrangements involved.

2009 ◽  
Vol 54 (3) ◽  
pp. 401-416 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guangjun Wu ◽  
Kefei Wang

Abstract In reality, expert interpreters from time to time do successfully tide over the gap between the capacity required and capacity available in dealing with extraordinarily large segments in consecutive interpretation. These exceptional cases imply that Gile’s Effort Model does not always hold and requires to be supplemented. This paper attempts to: 1) advance a solution to the dilemma that, in processing large segments in consecutive interpreting, the working memory capacity available is more often than not smaller than the capacity required, hence supplementing Gile’s Effort Model; 2) specify the rules of discourse transformation in consecutive interpretation; based upon the features of memory and consecutive interpretation, we deem that each segment, be it large or small, shall be processed as a discourse, the transformation of which is presumed to be the said solution; 3) and subsequently identify the optimal discourse transformation model, which is both capable of embodying the source text to the largest extent possible and achievable in terms of memory load. In addition, the author, through an observational study, justified the hypothesis. The validity of this theory, however, still requires further experimental evidence.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 343
Author(s):  
Hiroko Yamada

A special type of simultaneous interpreting, sight translation has been a topic of particular interest as a variant of written and oral translation. The association of sight translation and simultaneous interpreting has been discussed for many pedagogical and professional purposes. However, few studies based on empirical evaluation have investigated the efficacy of sight translation as a comprehension component in relation to consecutive interpreting. This study examined the effectiveness of intensive sight translation activities for the subsequent training in consecutive interpreting of students registered on an English-Japanese interpreting course at a university in Japan. Data analysis revealed the efficacy of sight translation practice but showed that it had no significant impact on consecutive interpreting. Several exploratory analyses were conducted that may provide insight into the characteristics of the two distinct modalities by presenting the differences in processing capacities needed by the two respective modes.


2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (6) ◽  
pp. 47-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey J. DiGiovanni ◽  
Travis L. Riffle

The search for best practices in hearing aid fittings and aural rehabilitation has generally used the audiogram and function stemming from peripheral sensitivity. In recent years, however, we have learned that individuals respond differently to various hearing aid and aural rehabilitation techniques based on cognitive abilities. In this paper, we review basic concepts of working memory and the literature driving our knowledge in newer concepts of hearing aid fitting and aural rehabilitation.


2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chandramallika Basak ◽  
Debshila Basu Mallick ◽  
Fernanda Pierre

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 5
Author(s):  
André Kretzschmar ◽  
Stephan Nebe

In order to investigate the nature of complex problem solving (CPS) within the nomological network of cognitive abilities, few studies have simultantiously considered working memory and intelligence, and results are inconsistent. The Brunswik symmetry principle was recently discussed as a possible explanation for the inconsistent findings because the operationalizations differed greatly between the studies. Following this assumption, 16 different combinations of operationalizations of working memory and fluid reasoning were examined in the present study (N = 152). Based on structural equation modeling with single-indicator latent variables (i.e., corrected for measurement error), it was found that working memory incrementally explained CPS variance above and beyond fluid reasoning in only 2 of 16 conditions. However, according to the Brunswik symmetry principle, both conditions can be interpreted as an asymmetrical (unfair) comparison, in which working memory was artificially favored over fluid reasoning. We conclude that there is little evidence that working memory plays a unique role in solving complex problems independent of fluid reasoning. Furthermore, the impact of the Brunswik symmetry principle was clearly demonstrated as the explained variance in CPS varied between 4 and 31%, depending on which operationalizations of working memory and fluid reasoning were considered. We argue that future studies investigating the interplay of cognitive abilities will benefit if the Brunswik principle is taken into account.


2021 ◽  
pp. 095745652110307
Author(s):  
Massimiliano Masullo ◽  
Gennaro Ruggiero ◽  
Daniel Alvarez Fernandez ◽  
Tina Iachini ◽  
Luigi Maffei

Previous evidence has shown that exposure to urban noise negatively influences some cognitive abilities (i.e. verbal fluency and delayed recall of prose memory) of people in indoor spaces. However, long-standing literature in the cognitive domain has reported that men and women can show different performance on cognitive tasks. Here, we aimed to investigate if and how different patterns of perceived urban noises in indoor environments could affect male and female participants’ cognitive abilities. Ambisonic sound recordings representing scenarios with varying noise patterns (low, medium and high variability) were acquired with an open window at three dwellings in a southern Italian city. As a control condition, the recordings were caught inside a quiet room. While exposed to theses four auditory conditions, participants had to perform cognitive tasks assessing free verbal memory recall, auditory–verbal recognition and working memory. The results show that male and female participants have a different tolerance to noise patterns. Women overperform men on verbal tasks, while the contrary effect emerges with men outperforming women on visuospatial working memory tasks.


Author(s):  
Satoshi Tsujimoto ◽  
Mariko Kuwajima ◽  
Toshiyuki Sawaguchi

Abstract. The lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC) plays a major role in both working memory (WM) and response inhibition (RI), which are fundamental for various cognitive abilities. We explored the relationship between these LPFC functions during childhood development by examining the performance of two groups of children in visuospatial and auditory WM tasks and a go/no-go RI task. In the younger children (59 5- and 6-year-olds), performance on the visuospatial WM task correlated significantly with that in the auditory WM task. Furthermore, accuracy in these tasks correlated significantly with performance on the RI task, particularly in the no-go trials. In contrast, there were no significant correlations among those tasks in older children (92 8- and 9-year-olds). These results suggest that functional neural systems for visuospatial WM, auditory WM, and RI, especially those in the LPFC, become fractionated during childhood, thereby enabling more efficient processing of these critical cognitive functions.


Author(s):  
. Annu ◽  
Bimla Dhanda

The twin research has provided a deep understanding of the influence of genetic and the environment on cognitive functions. The contribution of genetic material accounted for 50-65% in the variations of working memory cognitive functions of twins. To conduct twin study 100 pairs of twins from two districts, namely: Bhiwani (N = 90) and Hisar (N = 110) of Haryana State, were taken. The working memory cognitive functions of twins were measured using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children- Revised (WISC-R). Heritability estimate was used to examine the genes that contributed to shaping the cognitive functions of twins. The result of heritability estimates revealed that the heritability estimates of working memory cognitive functions namely: digit span (62%), maze (58%) and arithmetic (58%) in Bhiwani district and Hisar district, were 57%, 51% and 54% for digit span, maze, and arithmetic respectively. The findings elucidated that the working memory cognitive functions were more influenced by genetic architecture than the environmental factors. The monozygotic twins were more correlated in their general cognitive abilities than the dizygotic twins.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Derek Ellis ◽  
Gene Arnold Brewer ◽  
Matthew Kyle Robison

An individual encounters problem of varying difficulty every day. Each problem may include a different number of constraints. Multiply-constrained problems, such as the compound remote associates, are commonly used to study problem solving. Since their development, multiply-constrained problems have been related to creativity and insight. Moreover, research has investigated the cognitive abilities underlying problem solving abilities. In the present study we sought to fully evaluate a range of cognitive abilities (i.e., working memory, attention control, episodic and semantic memory, and fluid and crystallized intelligence) previously associated with multiply-constrained problem solving. Additionally, we sought to determine whether problem solving ability and strategies (analytical or insightful) were task specific or domain general through the use of novel problem solving tasks (TriBond and Location Bond). Multiply-constrained problem solving abilities were shown to be domain general, solutions derived through insightful strategies were more often correct than those derived through analytical strategies, and crystallized intelligence was the only cognitive ability that provided unique predictive value after accounting for all other abilities.


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