Liaison Interpreting: Can Technology Make the Classroom Work Better?

Liaison interpreting is better known in the West, especially in countries with large immigrant populations such as North America and the Nordic countries, as community interpreting. It is carried out mainly in public hospitals and immigration settings. My question is simple: could we train it better if technology were part of the curriculum?

Why Interpreting Belongs in My Research

Although my research focus is translator education, it is difficult to leave interpreter training out of the equation. As Munday (2004, 2008, 2012) points out, translation and interpreting studies are complementary fields that are hard to split in research, with some differences of course. I also trained student interpreters for two years while teaching in higher education in Morocco, which makes the question even more compelling. My MA in Translation and Interpreting at Heriot-Watt University, completed while Prof. Basil Hatim was still there, was a rewarding experience.

What Worked in My Classroom (2008–2010)

Here are some tips from my earlier teaching in liaison and consecutive interpreting:

• Active pedagogies work well for organising group work, in teams of three.
• Scenario-based learning. I first prepared a case, a story or event, built around a thematic problem: immigration, a hospital, a trade centre, an airport. Then, in groups, we brainstormed and discussed the problem critically in class.
• Role play. Students formed groups of three (doctor/patient/interpreter, or buyer/seller/interpreter) and, following instructions I designed for the purpose, prepared a substantial dialogue and performed it in class as a real-time simulation.
• Peer assessment. In the next session, when they performed, I gave their classmates an evaluation grid. I added my own evaluation of the professional aspects: verbal and non-verbal behaviour, terminology, voice and articulation, and public speaking.

The Turning Point

Things went much better when I brought two YouTube videos of interpreter interventions into the classroom, one by a professional and one by a non-professional. This streamed video, as a learning object, had a great impact on students. I realised they needed a different type of learning environment: one enhanced by technology and multimedia.

I then designed further activities that combined media-enhanced technology with active pedagogies. The outcomes were striking, not only in learning but in students' self-esteem. They felt they could do it on the ground. For me, that is an educational outcome: if the learning objective was that the student could intervene in a given situation, the job is done.

What Comes Next

For interpreter training, integrating technology is a vital element in the learning curve. But which tools should we use, which pedagogical principles should guide course design and delivery, and how do we design a learning environment for this specific type of training? That is what I am working on in my current project. There is abundant research in educational technology, e-learning, educational studies and psycho-education that can help us design such courses for translators and interpreters.

Takeaway: educational studies can inform translator and interpreter training.