Translator Training Research Articles

Cognitive Bias Modification of Interpretation training for youth with OCD: Who benefits? Examining the role of OCD severity, interpretation bias, and autism symptoms

Cognitive Bias Modification–Interpretation (CBM-I) training has been put forward as a promising new intervention for youth with psychopathology. A recent Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) showed that an online CBM-I training designed to reduce dysfunctional interpretations in youth with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) had therapeutic benefits on OCD symptoms. In addition, there are practical benefits as the online and automated nature of the training allows for 24/7 accessibility, is cheap and an easy to implement intervention. There is, however, significant variability in CBM-I training effects on symptoms. By conducting secondary analyses of the online CBM-I RCT, we aimed to examine whether baseline OCD severity, interpretation bias, and degree of autism symptoms are related to training effectiveness. In the RCT, 36 children with OCD (8–18 years) followed 12-sessions CBM-I training. Bayesian analyses showed no evidence for any of the three predictors being associated with CBM-I effects on OCD symptoms. These results offer no answer to the question for whom CBM-I training works best. However, there is also no evidence that CBM-I might work less well for these subgroups. Future research with larger samples is necessary to test the robustness of these findings.

The Track-by-Day Method for Monitoring the Rodent Estrous Cycle.

The exclusion of female subjects from preclinical neuroscience research has traditionally been justified in part by concerns about potential effects of cycling ovarian hormones on brain function. There is evidence that some behavioral and neurobiological measures do change over the estrous cycle and, as the use of female subjects becomes increasingly routine, there is a greater demand for accessible cycle-tracking methods. Conventional estrous cycle staging requires expert training in the qualitative interpretation of vaginal cytology smears, which serves as a barrier for novice researchers. In addition, definitions and reporting practices are not standardized across laboratories, which makes it difficult to compare results across studies and likely contributes to a false perception of the cycle as ephemeral and inconsistent. Here, we describe a streamlined method for monitoring the estrous cycle in rats, which we term Track-by-Day. It is simple to implement and inherently produces consistent reporting. Our protocol should serve to demystify and facilitate adoption of cycle tracking for those new to the practice. © 2023 Wiley Periodicals LLC. Basic Protocol 1: Collection and staining of vaginal smears Basic Protocol 2: Track-by-Day classification of vaginal smears Support Protocol: Preparation of gelatin-subbed slides.

Syysseminaarin satoa

This article is a report on the 14th Autumn Seminar of the Section for Teachers and Researchers of the Finnish Association of Translators and Interpreters (SKTL), which was held at the University of Helsinki in August 2022. The theme of this event was accessibility, a timely topic connected to discussions on how to enhance democracy by promoting inclusion. The theme of the seminar was first approached generally, through short accounts of how issues of accessibility are included and approached in the Finnish university-level translator training. Thereafter the discussion continued in three workshops. The first of them concentrated on the concepts of Easy Language and expertise by experience, the second on possible collaborative efforts in teaching accessibility to translators-and-interpreters-to-be, and the third gave the workshop participants an opportunity to learn how to adapt texts into Easy Language in practice. The present article describes the workshops as well as invited presentations and introductions, and summarises the discussions and outcomes.

The Epistolary Heritage of the Mongolist V. L. Kotvich (1872–1944) about Teaching the Mongolian Language in Russia at the Beginning of the 20th Century

2022 marked the 150th anniversary of the birth of an outstanding orientalist and teacher Vladislav Lyudvigovich Kotvich. His early days took place at St. Petersburg University, and his further fruitful activity (until 1923) was associated with scientific and educational institutions of the northern capital of Russia. The article aims to introduce into scientific circulation a previously unknown letter from the teacher of Chita Teachers’ Seminary Innokenty Porfiryevich Malkov to Vladislav Ludwigovich, which reflects the development of teaching the Mongolian language in Transbaikalia. The letter reveals the name of the unfairly forgotten teacher of the Mongolian language Innokenty Malkov, who was competent, responsible, understood the essence of teaching methodology, its features, the importance of knowledge and ability to teach not only the written language of the Mongols but also the variety of its dialects. This document can clarify little-known facts in the biography of V. L. Kotvich – an organizer of oriental education in Russia. Thus, the letter under consideration is a source on the history of Mongolian studies in Russia of the early 20th century, reflecting the development and state of Oriental education in one of the border regions of Russia, where the teaching of the Mongolian language was of practical importance – it was necessary to train translators for maintaining relations with China and Mongolia. The author of the letter also emphasized the problems in training teachers of the Mongolian-Buryat language, such as the lack of teaching staff and teaching aids. At the same time, the information presented in the letter proves the continuity of the traditions of the Russian school of Mongolian studies established by O. M. Kovalevsky, which can be traced in the description of teaching methods by I. Malkov. He described such methods as reading practical documents, using materials of the Society of Oriental Studies in St. Petersburg. The Oriental Academy was founded under the leadership of A. M. Pozdneev, an adherent of practical Oriental studies, whose teaching methods were introduced by Malkov in the seminary: he taught the fundamentals of history, geography, literature simultaneously with the study of the language and practiced reading business papers. Despite the remoteness of the region, the seminary teacher strived to acquire textbooks from reputable mongolists in order to achieve success in teaching the language.

Building Translation Competence Through Diary Studies: at the Crossroads of Students' Reflection and Imagination

"Building Translation Competence through Diary Studies: at the Crossroads of Students’ Reflection and Imagination. Our paper tackles a more practical aspect of the translation training process in the context of translation competence acquisition (TCA) by focusing on a group of students of the Applied Modern Languages Programme, who were in the first year when our research was initiated. This study represents the second part of a small-scale qualitative research, which used diaries as a research instrument to investigate the strategies and tools employed by students as they tried to overcome challenges in translation and to develop good practices for their future career as translators. Participants were asked to reflect on register related issues encountered during the process of learning about and doing translation, since in our teaching experience this is one of the most prominent challenges to overcome. By employing this open-ended tool, we wanted to see whether diary keeping increased students’ awareness of register related problems and, moreover, whether students integrated reflection as one of the strategies to develop competence in translation. As a follow-up to our initial research, participants (now graduates) were asked to reflect on their study and translation practices and instruments so as to discuss which of these they retained (compared to the first year), what strategies they make use of now both for learning and for doing translation work, and whether they have discovered any new ones that make translator training more effective. Keywords: translation competence (acquisition), diary studies, instruments, challenges, good practices "

Back Translation as a Tool for Achieving Equivalence of Literary Texts in the Conditions of the Lezgin-Russian Bilingualism

The topicality of the given article is due to the fact that up to the present there has not been a generally accepted classification in the theory of translation that determines the successfulness of the interlingual recoding of the literary text and the level of its correspondence to the original. In modern domestic research, in achieving the equivalence of the original and translating literary texts, more and more attention is paid to experimental methods, but they have not so far received sufficient development. Our article, carried out within the framework of the problem raised, describes an experiment based on the use of back translation in secondary literary text formation in the conditions of Lezgin-Russian bilingualism. The relevance of such a study is also determined by the fact that the organization and staging of translation experiments in order to analyze translation as a process and as a result can act as a tool to improve the quality of translation and professional training of translators, which is especially important for the preservation of the languages and cultures of indigenous minorities of the Russian Federation. The results of the proposed work may be of interest to researchers in the fields of both particular and general translation studies in their various aspects, as well as be used in the development of the translation direction of research in the Dagestani linguistics. The materials of the study are poems by the Lezgin poet Ibraghim Huseynov, their translations into Russian by a professional translator L. Mil and variants of back translation into the original language performed by students and teachers of the Department of the Lezgin Language and Literature of the Faculty of Dagestani Philology of the Dagestan State Pedagogical University, as well as a wider range of people interested in the Lezgin poetry. The work uses a set of methods: methods of comparative analysis, linguistic interviewing, translation experiment.

Context-embedded phonological memory in interpreters

Abstract This pilot study examines the hypothesis that the phonological memory of interpreters is superior to that of non-interpreters when embedded in a context. Context-embedded phonological memory (CEPM) is a product of the interaction between semantic and phonological memory, and becomes a component of interpreters’ professional expertise because of their attentional control. Four groups with different years of interpretation experience were asked to recall texts with distinct CEPM features. CEPM and its retrieval process were measured using WordSmith 6.0 and My Screen Recorder. Professional interpreters retrieved a high amount of CEPM (39.6 %), but were outperformed by interpreter trainees (40.52 %), roughly 15 years younger on average. Group difference was statistically significant only between the groups with interpretation experience and the teacher group. Only professionals’ performance in retrieving highly abstract information and the proper names and numbers in a context suggests that professionals are skilled at exploiting phonological information to create an elaborate semantic network.

Translation Technology and Ethical Competence: An Analysis and Proposal for Translators’ Training

The practice of translation today is inextricably linked to the use of technology, and this is reflected in how translator training is conceptualized, with technologies present in every area of such training. More and more authors have begun to voice their concerns about the ethical issues posed by the use of technology and artificial intelligence systems, and our focus here is to ask whether such concerns are being reflected in pedagogical models and teaching programs in the field of translation. To this end, we analyze a variety of translation and translation technology (TT) competence models, together with a review of the literature on ethics, and a corpus analysis of TT syllabi to explore the different sub-competences addressed in these. The analysis reveals that ethical competence is not specifically addressed in TT classes, or at least it is not reflected in our corpus. The literature review also illustrates a dearth of specific competence models for TT classes, as well as a lack of pedagogical interventions to develop ethical sub-competence, something we aim to address by developing a series of new models and tools. We conclude that the inclusion of ethical issues in the TT classroom is still far from widespread, despite it being a necessary step towards enabling new generations to act critically and professionally.

Optoacoustic Imaging With Decision Support for Differentiation of Benign and Malignant Breast Masses: A 15-Reader Retrospective Study.

BACKGROUND. Overlap in ultrasound features of benign and malignant breast masses yields high rates of false-positive interpretations and benign biopsy results. Optoacoustic imaging is an ultrasound-based functional imaging technique that can increase specificity. OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this study was to compare specificity at fixed sensitivity of ultrasound images alone and of fused ultrasound and optoacoustic images evaluated with machine learning-based decision support tool (DST) assistance. METHODS. This retrospective Reader-02 study included 480 patients (mean age, 49.9 years) with 480 breast masses (180 malignant, 300 benign) that had been classified as BI-RADS category 3-5 on the basis of conventional gray-scale ultrasound findings. The patients were selected by stratified random sampling from the earlier prospective 16-site Pioneer-01 study. For that study, masses were further evaluated by ultrasound alone followed by fused ultrasound and optoacoustic imaging between December 2012 and September 2015. For the current study, 15 readers independently reviewed the previously acquired images after training in optoacoustic imaging interpretation. Readers first assigned probability of malignancy (POM) on the basis of clinical history, mammographic findings, and conventional ultrasound findings. Readers then evaluated fused ultrasound and optoacoustic images, assigned scores for ultrasound and optoacoustic imaging features, and viewed a POM prediction score derived by a machine learning-based DST before issuing final POM. Individual and mean specificities at fixed sensitivity of 98% and partial AUC (pAUC) (95-100% sensitivity) were calculated. RESULTS. Averaged across all readers, specificity at fixed sensitivity of 98% was significantly higher for fused ultrasound and optoacoustic imaging with DST assistance than for ultrasound alone (47.2% vs 38.2%; p = .03). Across all readers, pAUC was higher (p < .001) for fused ultrasound and optoacoustic imaging with DST assistance (0.024 [95% CI, 0.023-0.026]) than for ultrasound alone (0.021 [95% CI, 0.019-0.022]). Better performance using fused ultrasound and optoacoustic imaging with DST assistance than using ultrasound alone was observed for 14 of 15 readers for specificity at fixed sensitivity and for 15 of 15 readers for pAUC. CONCLUSION. Fused ultrasound and optoacoustic imaging with DST assistance had significantly higher specificity at fixed sensitivity than did conventional ultrasound alone. CLINICAL IMPACT. Optoacoustic imaging, integrated with reader training and DST assistance, may help reduce the frequency of biopsy of benign breast masses.

The Status of Interpreting in the Training of Interpreters, Types and Modalities

Interpreting is the profession that facilitates communication in conferences. Its acquisition necessitates high training. Yet, in undergraduate studies, training is considered a prerequisite to further courses. The objective of the present study is to show the methods used in training interpreters, regardless of their academic level. The study develops the types and modes of interpreting and their ability to shift from type to modality or vis-à-vis the interpreter and the operational status, such as being 'retour' or 'cheval' interpreter. The academic programs must consider this changing ability and prepare the interpreters for them. The discussion progresses by looking at the interpreting processes and techniques. It also aims to clarify interpreting methods and types and their link to training status; examples of Qassim University (QU) training sessions will be given. The contrast between modes and types reveals the challenges and their changing ability, which is to be overcome by the trainers and trainees to meet the needs of the clients and the era. The findings confirm the importance of training. The conclusion suggests solutions such as adopting high training sessions.

Stances toward translation training and the discipline

Abstract Increased attention to professionalism and realism in translation classes at university has resulted in the development of a wide range of approaches to foster future translators’ construction of knowledge and identity pertaining to their upcoming professional career and community. This paper centres on a professionalizing seminar that shared these aims. Employing corpus, stance and discourse analysis, it examines the retrospective reports written by the future translators who participated in the seminar to unveil beliefs on their experience of the seminar, their university training, their perceived competence, and their present and future identities as translators. The results of the study suggest, on the one hand, that participants perceived that the seminar fostered awareness of the professional domain of translators, heightened cognizance of their skills, and gave them authentic practice as translators and, on the other, participants perceived lacunae in their training and gaps in their competences, with potential implications on their (perceived) employability.

Digital politeness in online translator and interpreter training: The lessons of the pandemic

Digital politeness in online translator and interpreter training: The lessons of the pandemic

Est-il possible de réduire en sécurité l’utilisation du pH in utero en salle de naissance ? Analyse des pratiques

ObjectiveTo evaluate our clinical practices since the implementation of different tools to reduce the use of pH in utero (pHiu) in the delivery room. MethodsA single-centre retrospective study was conducted in our university maternity hospital of Lille from October 2016 to March 2021. All patients in labour with a vaginal delivery agreement, a fetus in cephalic presentation and no contraindication to perform a pHiu were included. Since 2019, team training in fetal heart rate interpretation and a change in birth room practices with the introduction of fetal scalp pacing have been implemented to reduce the use of pH in utero. In order to evaluate the impact on clinical practices, the rate of pHiu, the number of pHiu performed per patient, the rates of instrumental deliveries, caesarean sections and pH at birth below 7.0 were studied and compared over time. ResultsIn total, 1515 patients had one or more pHiu during our study period, i.e. 7.3% (1515/20,562). The rate of pHiu decreased significantly from 2016 to 2021: in 2016, 12.1% (142/1171) of our sample had a pHiu during their labour, compared to 3.4% (33/963) in 2021. pH < 7.0 remained stable, ranging from 1.6 to 2.2%. Similarly, the rates of instrumental deliveries and caesarean sections remained stable, ranging from 17.7% to 21% and from 9.8% to 11.6%, respectively. ConclusionImproved knowledge of fetal physiology, awareness of teams of the limits of pHiu and introduction of fetal scalp stimulation have led to a decrease in the number of pHiu, without an increase in the rates of neonatal acidosis, instrumental deliveries and caesarean sections.

Business Interpreter Training in the 3D Virtual Reality Environment: A Pilot Study in China

As virtual technology develops, it holds greater potential of application in different educational sectors, and computer-assisted interpreter training is no exception. While the last decade has witnessed development and implementation of VR-mediated interpreter education projects, more empirical evidence is still lacking and therefore warrants the academia’s attention. This pilot study intends to find out users’ experience, opinions about the affordances and challenges of a desktop VR training platform in the context of business interpreting. A mixed-methods approach was used integrating data from both close-ended and open-ended questions. Results showed that users held largely positive and converging views about the VR interpreting experience, in terms of the ingenuity, sense of presence, and the effectiveness of the platform in improving a variety of interpreters’ competence. Users also pointed out several challenges, such as equipment, design, physiological effects but the opinions were quite diverging.

Using Machine Translation Error Identification to Improve Translation Students’ Post-Editing Skills

Attempts to investigate challenges facing translation students in post-editing remain limited in literature. This research investigates a common challenge observed during post-editing training using SDL Trados 2021 which is deciding whether to post-edit MT output or translate from scratch. Making such decisions by translation students may need more focused procedures and criteria to improve this decision-making capability. The current research suggests integrating MT error identification proposed by Daems J, Vandepitte S, Hartsuiker RJ and Macken L (2016) as a basic criterion to undertake post-editing process and tested its effects on improving their performance in post-editing process regarding decision making and time consumed. A quasi- experimental approach was adopted, and the experiment was applied on thirty (30) translation students at university level divided into a control group and an experimental group. A pre-test was given to both groups to identify both performance and time consumed in the post-editing process. MT error identification techniques and Statistical MT error types were introduced in a five-day workshop using a task-based approach to instruct the experimental group. The control group received traditional post-editing training with no focus on MT error types. A post-test was administered to both groups to test the improvement in post-editing skills. The findings showed the significant improvement in students’ post-editing skills. This research would contribute to enhancing translation training courses provided to cope with the continuous advancement in translation technologies and market needs.

Competence Development Strategies after COVID-19: Using PBL in Translation Courses

The 2019 pandemic had a direct impact on all educational stakeholders. While many teachers and trainers regarded the changes with some scepticism, others embraced the opportunity to integrate technology into their teaching-and-learning methods and resources. As translation trainers, it is essential to follow and understand the translation market. Translators require vast competencies, amongst which is the flexibility to adapt. In translation training, project-based learning (PBL) has been established as an essential teaching-and-learning method, as it has proven to foster the development of essential competencies, since it simulates the translator’s work environment. Thus, the need to implement new strategies within a short timeframe reinforced the practice of PBL. PBL reflects the work of a freelance translator, because it places the student at the centre of the learning process. In these situations, student self-regulation becomes essential, as it is necessary to analyse the market/situation/project received and be flexible enough to adapt to the specific context. As of 2018–2019, ISCAP implemented PBL as the main teaching-and-learning method in its Technical Translation courses. At the same time, on these courses, an ongoing qualitative quasi-experimental study on student self-regulated learning (SRL) began. The purpose is to understand student perception of their self-regulation competence and its development, or lack thereof, after using PBL to complete translation assignments. The study presented in this article aims to examine the possible effects an online-PBL approach may have on a student’s SRL during the pandemic. Students enrolled in the translation courses voluntarily answered a survey on SRL two times: at the beginning and then at the end of the course. The purpose was to analyse and compare each student’s responses before and after using PBL strategies, identifying changes in student perception over a six-month period. Additionally, we compare each group’s results over a period of three years, which includes the lockdown. Statistical analysis showed that a higher level of self confidence in autonomous learning was achieved, but a lower level of belief in the importance and usefulness of the course contents was noted. Additionally, the study revealed that, with the exception of time-management, student SRL increased. Results indicate that PBL is a useful simulation of the translation labour market and that it does enhance essential competencies, amongst which is student SRL.

CAIT Tools Beyond Technology: The Challenge of Incorporating New Teaching Methods

This paper provides an overview of how Computer Assisted Interpreter Training (CAIT) has evolved within the field of conference interpreting and its contribution to modernising both teaching and learning this profession. After summarising what other authors have studied in depth, it goes on to critically analyse to what extent technological and pedagogical innovations have shared a common evolution and the challenges that interpreter training will have to face in the future.

Using NICTs for Media Interpreting Training: Bringing Interpreter-Mediated TV News and Radio Interviews to the Classroom

This paper discusses how the impact of the revolution of NICTs on interpreters' work in the media can be transposed to the interpreting classroom. This article focuses on the use of sound and video editing software by interpreters for producing pre-recorded interpreter-mediated news features for TV and live dialogue radio interpreting. The main purpose is two-fold: 1) to acknowledge the potential of NICTs for interpreter training in a practical context; and 2) to build a pedagogical model based on the pioneering practice of media outlets such as ARTE, the French-German broadcasting company, and RTVE, the Spanish public broadcaster.

Utility of dual read in the setting of prostate MRI interpretation.

The purpose of this study is to assess the utility of dual reader interpretation of prostate MRI in the evaluation/detection of prostate cancer, using the PI-RADS v2.1 scoring system. We performed a retrospective study to assess the utility of dual reader interpretation for prostate MRI. All MRI cases compiled for analysis were accompanied with prostate biopsy pathology reports that included Gleason scores to correlate to the MRI PI-RADS v2.1 score, tissue findings and location of pathology within the prostate gland. To assess for dual reader utility, two fellowship trained abdominal imagers (each with > 5years of experience) provided independent and concurrent PI-RADS v2.1 scores on all included MRI examinations, which were then compared to the biopsy proven Gleason scores. After application of inclusion criteria, 131 cases were used for analysis. The mean age of the cohort was 63.6years. Sensitivity, specificity and positive/negative predictive values were calculated for each reader and concurrent scores. Reader 1 demonstrated 71.43% sensitivity, 85.39% specificity, 69.77% PPV and 86.36% NPV. Reader 2 demonstrated 83.33% sensitivity, 78.65% specificity, 64.81% PPV and 90.91% NPV. Concurrent reads demonstrated 78.57% sensitivity, 80.9% specificity, 66% PPV and 88.89% NPV. There was no statistically significant difference between the individual readers or concurrent reads (p = 0.79). Our results highlight that dual reader interpretation in prostate MRI is not needed to detect clinically relevant tumor and that radiologists with experience and training in prostate MRI interpretation establish acceptable sensitivity and specificity marks on PI-RADS v2.1 assessment.

Трансформация переводческого образования как важный этап его модернизации в условиях новой эпохи Китая

Introduction. This article examined the main tasks of Chinese translation education in the new era, analyzed the problems it faces, put forward ideas about the need to transform translation education for the training of qualified personnel. The relevance of the research was determined by the importance of forming the image of China as a state with a centuries-old history, outstanding culture and science, possessing powerful resources, which could not be done without the development of intercultural communication, which was facilitated by a developed system of translation education.&#x0D; Aim. The goal is to analyze the current state of translation education in China and outline ways to develop this industry.&#x0D; Methodology and research methods. The authors are based on the analysis and generalization of the experience of teaching foreign languages in China, as well as by the method of included observation and systematic description of methodological processes.&#x0D; Results. The authors come to the conclusion that the transformation of translation education should provide for a change in the goals of training translation personnel (it is necessary to move from the model of training universal translators to the model of training specialists of a narrow professional orientation) and requirements for the training of translation personnel (it is advisable to subordinate the requirements to the logic of competence-based training); transformation of the model of teaching translation (it is important to move from teacher orientation to the integrated development of translation technologies and translation education) and the transformation of the teaching staff (it is necessary to develop a system of continuous professional development, more actively introduce technological advances in teaching practice).&#x0D; Practical significance. The implementation of the provisions of this study will make it possible to bring translation education in China to a level that meets the challenges of the time and is characterized by close and intensive social interaction in various fields of activity.