Putting the exam to the test

Clifford, Andrew

doi:10.1075/intp.7.1.06cli

Cited by 45 publications

(11 citation statements)

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“…We refer to contributions by Moser-Mercer (2000), Bernstein and Barbier (2000), Clifford (2005) and Schweda Nicholson (2005).…”

Section: Proposals For Aptitude Test Designsmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…All tests have always been targeted either to individual skills (for instance, memory capacity) or multiple skills (for instance, interlinguistic recall which implies both foreign language control and memory). The first tests were inspired by intuition and common sense and presented what Clifford (2005) called "face validity", that is, they resembled tasks that interpreters would perform (for instance, listening and speaking at the same time or sight translation) or skills they displayed (general culture tests). Gradually, trainers and scholars in the field recognized the need to administer validated and reliable testing procedures.…”

Section: How To Measure Interpreter Candidates' Skills?mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To develop this complex but promising project, however, a large interpreting population (between professionals and trainees) and considerable funding are required, which renders it impracticable for individual training institutions. Clifford (2005) has suggested a psychometric aptitude test, which measures mental operations on the basis of exercises and questionnaires targeted at single operations (e.g. comprehension).…”

Section: Proposals For Aptitude Test Designsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Aptitude testing over the years

Russo

2011

INTP

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In the present paper I review the existing literature on aptitude testing with a view to highlighting the main emerging themes: which qualities indicate an aptitude in a prospective interpreter, how these qualities may be measured and which types of test should be administered, the issue of valid and reliable testing, proposals for test designs, and, finally, description of aptitude tests which have identified statistically significant predictors. The focus is on spoken language, but signed-language aptitude testing is also partially covered. Available results so far appear to show that interpreting-related cognitive skills and verbal fluency may be measured and may be predictive both for spoken-language and for signedlanguage interpreting candidates. In particular, the production of synonyms appears to be a strong aptitude predictor from several independent research projects.

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“…We refer to contributions by Moser-Mercer (2000), Bernstein and Barbier (2000), Clifford (2005) and Schweda Nicholson (2005).…”

Section: Proposals For Aptitude Test Designsmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: How To Measure Interpreter Candidates' Skills?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Proposals For Aptitude Test Designsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Aptitude testing over the years

Russo

2011

INTP

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“…Arjona-Tseng psychometrics (e.g. Arjona-Tseng 994, Clifford 2005) and the cognitive sciences (e.g. Darò 995, MoserMercer 2000) have become more and more frequent.…”

Section: Downloaded By [Florida International University] At 03:08 27mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Quest for ‘Perfection’

Zannirato

2013

The Interpreter and Translator Trainer

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This paper explores the hypothetical construct of interpreting aptitude, with particular reference to its current operationalization for student selection purposes. The idea that there is a universal 'ideal' student profile, identifiable through a yet to-be-developed 'perfect' screening examination, is a recurrent theme in the interpreting literature. Indeed, the debate over interpreting aptitude has recently concentrated on personality-related traits of successful interpreters, and on potential interventions to test such traits in order to screen suitable candidates. After providing a brief theoretical overview of the research on interpreting aptitude and personality, this article describes some conceptual and practical challenges posed by the above-mentioned views, and presents reflections on alternative conceptualizations of interpreting aptitude that may inform not only student selection, but also training practices.

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“…Overall, our current screening and testing for interpreting aptitude is relatively poor: we do not collect and publish evidence on the processes and outcomes, and there is little evidence to suggest that there is any (predictive) validity in what we are doing (Clifford, 2005). Yet, interpreter educators at least, would agree that we need and want screening of this nature to justify student recruitment and selection within our institutions, as evidenced by the papers presented at an international symposium on interpreting aptitude that formed the basis of a special volume on the topic in the journal Interpreting (Bontempo & Napier, 2011;Macnamara et al, 2011;Pöchhacker, 2011;Russo, 2011;Shlesinger & Pöchhacker, 2011;Timarová & Salaets, 2011).…”

Section: Personality and Aptitudementioning

confidence: 99%

Does personality matter? An international study of sign language interpreter disposition.

et al. 2014

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This article describes the results of an international research collaboration. The aim of the study was to identify the dispositional traits of interpreters that may be predictive of occupational performance. Empirically, general cognitive ability has been shown to be highly predictive of job performance across most occupations and is considerably more predictive than non-cognitive factors. The cognitive complexity of the task of interpreting is irrefutable, and it is likely there is a strong link between an interpreter's level of competence and his or her general cognitive ability across a number of important cognitive domains. The personalityperformance link is more ambiguous in an organisational context however, although intuitively dispositional traits are likely to play a role in interpreter education and training, and in interpreting practice. Drawing on literature from organisational psychology, personality psychology, interpreting and translation, and applied linguistics, an online survey methodology was developed to explore interpreter disposition and competence. The questionnaire incorporated reliable and valid tests of personality constructs including 'The Big Five' (openness to experience; conscientiousness; extraversion; agreeableness; and neuroticism), as well as constructs of perfectionism and self-esteem. The survey received 2193 responses from interpreters residing in 38 different countries, and is the largest international study of sign language interpreter personality ever undertaken. The results reveal clear patterns in regard to personality factors that predict interpreter performance. Based on the data collected in this global study, and the growing body of scholarly work in this area, the personality factors that appear to have predictive value for interpreters will be outlined, addressing possible implications for both pedagogy and practice in the profession.

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Putting the exam to the test

Cited by 45 publications

References 0 publications

Aptitude testing over the years

Aptitude testing over the years

The Quest for ‘Perfection’

Does personality matter? An international study of sign language interpreter disposition.

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