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Home News ATANewsbriefs EnhancingShortTermMemoryforAccurateInterpreting

Enhancing Short-Term Memory for Accurate Interpreting

August1,2014

EnhancingShortTermMemoryforAccurateInterpreting

ByRodaP.Roberts

TheATAChronicle,VolumeXLIII,Number7,July2014

Goodmemoryhastobedevelopedgradually.

Ithasoftenbeensaidthataninterpreterneedstohaveagoodmemory.Thisstatement,whiletruetoalargeextent,issomewhatmisleading.Itseemsto
imply,amongotherthings,thataninterpretershouldbeabletorecallingreatdetailwhatheorshereadorexperiencedseveralyearsago.Whilethatkind
ofrecallwouldbeagreatassetforanybody,itiscertainlynotessentialforaninterpreter.Interpretersworkinthemoment,sowhattheyneedtoremember
andrecalliswhathasjustbeensaidbyotherparticipantsinthecommunicativesituationinwhichtheyareworkingthatday.Inotherwords,whattheyneed
isagoodshorttermmemory.

TypesofMemory

Since the 19th century, memory has been classied as either shortterm or longterm. This distinction was fully exploited in the 1968 AtkinsonShiffrin
model of memory (also known as the multistore model), developed by Richard Atkinson and Richard Shiffrin.1 They proposed that human memory
involvesasequenceofthreestages,outlinedbelow.

SensoryMemory:Thesenseorganshavealimitedabilitytostoreinformationabouttheworldinafairlyunprocessedwayforlessthanasecond.The
visual system possesses iconic memory for visual stimuli such as shape, size, color, and location (but not meaning), whereas the hearing system has
echoicmemoryforauditorystimuli.

ShortTermMemory:Ourshorttermmemoryiswheremuchofourinformationprocessingtakesplace.Itiswherewetrytomakesenseofwhatweseeor
hearandconvertthatintomeaningfulinformation,retrievingitemsfromlongtermmemorytollinthegapsasrequired.Information(rangingfromoneor
twotooversevenchunksofinformation)isretainedforbetween15and30seconds,whichisjustlongenoughforittobereused.

LongTermMemory:Our longterm memory provides for the lasting retention of information, from minutes to a lifetime. Longterm memory appears to
haveanalmostlimitlesscapacitytoretaininformation.

WhiletheAtkinsonShiffrinmodelofmemoryclearlyshowsthedifferencebetweenshorttermandlongtermmemory,theseresearchersalsousetheterm
workingmemorytorefertoanindividualsshorttermstore.Butarethesetwotermsreallysynonymous?

Therelationshipbetweenshorttermmemoryandworkingmemoryhasbeendescribeddifferentlybyvarioustheorists.Someresearchersfeelthatthetwo
concepts are distinct. They see working memory as a theoretical framework that refers to structures and processes used for manipulating information
temporarily, and shortterm memory as the shortterm storage of information that does not entail the manipulation or organization of material held in
memory.Otherresearchersdonotmakethesamedistinction.

According to Tran Thuy Duong, shortterm memory is a system for temporarily storing and managing information required to carry complex cognitive
memory.2WhileNelsonCowanbelievesthatworkingmemoryincludesshorttermmemoryandotherprocessingmechanismsthathelpmakeuseofshort
term memory, he feels that the shortterm memory/ working memory issue is not so much a debate about substance, but rather a slightly confusing
discrepancyintheusageofthetwoterms.3Whilemosttheoriststodayusetheconceptofworkingmemorytoreplaceorincludetheolderconceptofshort
termmemory,therebyplacingmoreemphasisonthenotionofthemanipulationofinformationinsteadofpassivemaintenance,thedistinctionbetweenthe
twoisnotclearcut.

ShortTermMemoryandInterpreting

The role of shortterm memory in interpreting has been discussed by several interpreting researchers. The AtkinsonShiffrin memory model formed the
basisofDanicaSeleskovitchsanalysisofconsecutiveinterpreting.4Seleskovitchproposedthatsuccessfulinterpretingisbasedonanunderstandingofthe
messageinthesourcelanguageandtherestatementofthatmessageinthetargetlanguage.Shefeltthatinterpretersdonotsimplytransferthewordsof
theoriginal,butratherthesenseofaspeechinagivencommunicativesituation,takingintoaccounteachwordsregisterandstyle.DanielGile,whose
performancemodelshavebeenadoptedhere,viewsinterpretingperformanceasasetofthreeeffortstheListeningandAnalysisEffort,theProduction
Effort,andtheShorttermMemoryEfforteachofwhichtakesuppartofalimitedsupplyofprocessingcapacity.5

Listening and Analysis Effort: Involves all of the comprehensionoriented activities, from analysis of the acoustic features of incoming sounds, to the
recognitionofcertainsoundsequencesaswordsinthesourcelanguage,totheinterpretationofthemeaningofwordsandsentences.
ProductionEffort:The output part of interpreting, which involves all of the operations extending from the mental representation of the message to be
deliveredtospeechplanningandtheperformanceofthespeechplan.
ShortTermMemoryEffort:Involvesoperationsthatoccurcontinuouslywhileinterpreting.First,shorttermmemoryoperationsarerequiredbecauseof
thelagbetweenthemomentspeechsoundsareheardandthemomenttheyareanalyzed.Moreover,shorttermmemoryalsocomesintoplaybetween
thetimespeechsoundsareanalyzedandformulatedasideasandthetimeittakestoproducespeech.TheShorttermMemoryEffortcanbeintensied
duetosituationalissuesorlanguagespecicfactors(e.g.,thespeakersaccentisdifculttounderstand,thespeechisunclearduetopoorlogicorthe
sheerdensityoftheinformationpresented).Itisalsomoredifculttorememberinformationifthesourcelanguageissyntacticallydifferent,withembedded
structures,fromthetargetlanguage,causingtheinterpretertoreformulatespeechsegmentsearlierthannormal.
These three efforts, along with a Coordination Effort, which is required to coordinate the other three efforts, are found in both simultaneous and
consecutiveinterpreting.TheessenceoftheEffortModelsimpliesthatratherthananincreasedcapacity(i.e.,biggerstorage)oftheinterpretersmemory,
itistheefcientmanagementofinformationthatcontributestotheinterpreterssuccess.

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ConsequencesofInadequateShortTermMemory

Memoryplaysaroleateverystageoftheinterpretingprocess.Properfunctioningofshorttermmemoryinvolves:

Efcientprocessingofsoundsintorecognizedwordsandthenintochunksofinformation,callinguponlongtermmemoryasrequiredtollinanygaps.
Effectivestorageoftheseinformationchunks.
Timelyrecalloftheinformation.
Inadequateshorttermmemoryinevitablyhasnegativeconsequences,someofwhichmaynotbeobvious.Themostobviousconsequenceofpoorshort
termmemoryisomissionwhileinterpreting,including:

Omissionofaqualier(sayingpowerfulinsteadofextremelypowerful,oralongspeechinsteadofalong,boringspeech).
Omissionofasubordinateclause(thethiefwashelddownbystoresecurityinsteadofthethief,whowascaughtredhanded,washelddownbystore
security).
Omissionofasentence(s).
Theotherobviousconsequenceofpoorshorttermmemoryiswhatmaybetermedapproximateinterpreting.Forexample,theinterpreterrecallsthat
the speaker said that X had a powerful impact on Y, but does not remember the degree of intensity meant by the speaker when using powerful
(somewhat? fairly? very? extremely?). So, the interpreter may opt for fairly powerful as a safe bet, when the speaker had actually talked about an
extremelypowerfulimpact.Theinterpretercouldalsochooseaneutral(andsomewhatmeaningless)linkingword(e.g.,and)becauseheorshecannot
remember if the link between ideas was one of addition, opposition, or consequence! In the worstcase scenarios, poor shortterm memory leads the
interpretertototalinaccuracy,suchasdescribingasuspectaswearingabrownjacketinsteadofabluejacket.

Lessobviousbutneverthelessseriousconsequencescanresultwhenmemoryrequirementsaregreaterthanmemorycapacity.Forinstance,saturation
mayoccurwhenthesourceandtargetlanguagesaresyntacticallyverydifferentfromeachother,therebyforcingtheinterpretertostorealargeamountof
informationforlongperiodsbeforebeingabletoreformulateit.Thissaturationcanleadtotheinterpreternothavingenoughmemorycapacitytocomplete
thetask.Moreover,thehigherthedensityoftheinformationalcontentofthesourcelanguagespeech,theharderitisfortheinterpretertorememberallof
thechunksofinformation.Thisisparticularlytrueinthecaseofenumerations,whicharedense,astheyconsistofinformationelementsputnexttoeach
otherwithoutgrammaticalorotherlowdensitywordsinbetween.

To alleviate a number of these memory issues, as well as to retrieve more chunks of information from memory, interpreters can take notes during
consecutive or simultaneous interpreting. Names, numbers, and dates must be noted, since they are difficult, if not impossible, to retain in memory,
especially when there are several of them grouped together. The same is true, although for different reasons and to a different extent, of all lists and
difficulttechnicalterms.

Sinceunderstandingisnecessaryforinformationtobestoredinshorttermmemoryefciently,anythingthatisstrangeornewtotheinterpreterneedsto
benotedbeforeitcanbeanalyzed.However,themorenotesaninterpretertakes,thelesshisorherfocusisontheListeningandAnalysisEffort,whichis
essentialforgoodinterpreting.Hencetheimportanceforinterpreterstoenhancetheirshorttermmemorybyallpossiblemeans.

GeneralGuidelinesforExercisesforEnhancingShortTermMemory

Asmentionedearlier,properfunctioningofshorttermmemoryinvolves:1)efcientprocessingofsoundsintorecognizedwordsandthenintochunksof
information,2)effectivestorageofthesechunks,and3)timelyrecallofthechunksofinformation.Whileitwouldbegoodtoworkoneachoftheseaspects
separately,thisisunfortunatelynotpossible,sincetheonlywaytoverifyefficientprocessingofsoundsintowordsandunitsofmeaning,aswellastheir
effectivestorageinshorttermmemory,isthroughrecallinoneformoranother.So,theexercisesproposedinthefollowingsectionswillinvolveallofthese
aspects,althoughthelengthofthespeechspanprocessedandstored,aswellasthetimingofrecall(howquicklyrecalltakesplace),willvary.

Memory exercises should simulate actual interpreting as closely as possible, since the specic goal is to enhance memory for interpreting purposes.
However,memoryexercisesshouldnotinvolvebilingualtransfer,sincethelatterleadstodifferentproblemsthatmaytakethefocusoffmemory.Thesame
exercisesmaybedonealternatelyinbothoftheinterpreterslanguagesinfact,doingsoishighlyrecommended.

Memoryininterpretingcannotbeconsideredinavacuum.Itisrelatedtolisteningtoandanalyzingatextontheonehand,andtoproducingitinanother
languageontheother.Memoryininterpretingdealswithtext,whichisgenerallymadeupofmorethanawordoraseriesofunrelatedwords.Therefore,
numbersandwordsinlistsarenotgoodcandidatesforshorttermmemoryretentionexercises.Thisisevenmoretrueforletters,sincerecallofagroupof
unrelatedlettersisnotanormalmentalactivity.Forrealisticdevelopmentofshorttermmemoryweneedtouseshorttexts,whereindividualwordscanbe
analyzedincontextandretainedaschunksofinformation,ratherthanmerelyasacousticunitsorvisuospatialunits.

Theexercisesdiscussedherewillnotbepromotingmnemonictechniques,althoughatrstsighttheyseemparticularlysuitedforinterpretersseekingto
improve their memory. Mnemonics are memory techniques for remembering information that is otherwise quite difficult to recall. Mnemonic techniques
showyouhowtocodeinformationvividly,usingstories,strongmentalimages,familiarjourneys,andsoon.Thekeyideaofmnemonicsisthatbycoding
informationpresentedthroughlanguageusingvividmentalimages,youcanreliablycodeboththeinformationandhowitisstructured.Andbecausethe
imagesarevivid,theyareeasytorecallwhenyouneedthem.

Thesetechniqueswouldnodoubtworkwellifyouweretryingtomemorizealistofcountiesforanexam,butifyouheardthislistinaspeechyouwere
interpretingyouwouldcertainlynothavethetimetothinkofsuitableimagesorconcoctarelevantstorywhileyoucontinuedtolistentoandanalyzethe
nextsegment,ortoreproduceaprevioussegmentinthetargetlanguage.

Imagesstayinyourheadlongerthanabstractinformation.

SuggestedExercises

All of the exercises suggested here can be used by a single interpreter, by a group of interpreters working together, or by an instructor teaching an
interpretingcourse.

Exercise1:Shadowing

Shadowinginvolvesrepeatingwhataspeakersays,wordforword,inthesamelanguage.Itgenerallyinvolvesstayingawordortwobehindthespeakeras
one repeats what has been said. This lag can be increased slowly as the one doing the shadowing becomes more comfortable with the exercise.
Shadowingisanexercisethatisusuallypracticedinpreparationforsimultaneousinterpreting,sinceitteachestheinterpretertolistenandspeakatthe
sametime.Forexample:

Speaker:Thesuspectwashandcuffedandplacedinthepolicecar.

Interpreter:[Lag]Thesuspect[Lag]washandcuffed[Lag]andplacedinthepolicecar.

Shadowingisalsoagoodexerciseformemorydevelopment,sinceitforcestheinterpretertostoreandrecallsmallgroupsofsounds,words,andchunks
ofinformationinarelativelyshortperiodoftime.However,thisexerciseiscomplicatedbythefactthatthespeakercontinuestospeakwhiletheinterpreter
isrecallingaprevioussegment.Sincethisforcestheinterpretertolistenandspeakatthesametime,whichincreasesthelevelofdifcultyoftheexercise,
he or she may not derive full benet from this exercise for memory development purposesat least not at the start of memory training. This is where
shadowingwithatwistcomesintoplay(seeExercise2).

MaterialforExercise:Anytypeoftextwouldbesuitable.Theinitialtextsshouldnotbemorethanabout100words,althoughtheycangetprogressively
longer.Hereisasampletext:

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ThemorningofOctober17wewereonroutinepatrolintown.At1:15a.m.weweredispatchedtothePolecatBartoinvestigateanassaultcall.Whenwe
arrivedatthebarapproximatelyveminuteslater,anambulancewasparkedinfront.Weproceededdirectlyintotheestablishmentandobservedactivity
behind the bar in the kitchen. When we entered the kitchen, we observed a female subject lying on the floor. The two ambulance attendants said the
womanhadsufferedaknifewound,butwasstillalive.Weinstructedthemtogethertothehospitalrightaway.

Preparation:Ifyouarepracticingonyourown,youwillneedtoprerecordtheselectedtextsusinganormalrateofspeech.However,ifyouarepressed
for time, you could practice shadowing using short spans of speech (preferably news items) heard on the radio or television. If you are working with a
group,youcouldhaveonepersonreadouttheselectedtextwhileanothershadowsit.

Exercise2:ShadowingwithaTwist

Shadowingwithatwist,likeconventionalshadowing,involvesrepeatingexactlywhataspeakersaysinthesamelanguage.However,inshadowingwitha
twist, this repetition is done after a short pause following the speakers utterance, which makes the shadowing more like consecutive interpreting. This
adjustment to conventional shadowing eliminates the difculties related to listening and speaking at the same time and allows the interpreter to focus
specicallyonmemory.Forexample:

Speaker:Thesuspect[Pause]washandcuffed[Pause]andplacedinthepolicecar.

Interpreter:[Lag]Thesuspect[Lag]washandcuffed[Lag]andplacedinthepolicecar.

Additionaltwistscanbeaddedtoshadowingbymakingtherepeatedutterancespanlongerandlongeruntilitreachesafullsentence.

MaterialforExercise:ThesameasforExercise1

Preparation: You will rst need to divide the selected texts into short speaking segments. Next, you must prerecord the texts using a normal rate of
speech,butpausingbetweenthespeechsegments.

Exercise3:FreerShadowingwithaTwist

Thisexerciseshouldbedoneoncetheinterpreterhaspracticedshadowingwithatwistandcanrepeatlongerutteranceswithoutaproblem.Thisiswhere
theinterpretershouldtestnotonlyacousticmemory(memoryofsounds),butalsohisorhermemoryofmeaning.Inthisexercisetheinterpreterdoesnot
justrepeatblindlywhathasbeensaid,but,wherepossible,saysthesamethingusingotherwords.Forexample:

Speaker:Thesuspectwashandcuffed[Pause]andplacedinthepolicecar.

Interpreter:[Lag]Thesuspectwasputinhandcuffs[Lag]andputinthepolicecar.

Oreven:

Interpreter:[Lag]Handcuffswereputonthesuspect[Lag]andhewasplacedinthepolicecar.

Thistypeofslightlyfreerrenderingorparaphrasingoftheoriginalisoftenfrowneduponincourtinterpretertraining,whereitisconsideredadangerous
rst step toward free translation, which is a nono in the legal environment. However, this practice is harmless enough as one element of a memory
exercise.

MaterialandPreparation:ThesameasforExercise2.

Exercise4:AttentiveListeningforKeyElements

Careful listening is an important element of memory recall. If you have not listened attentively to something, it is impossible to recall it later. First and
foremost,attentivelisteninginvolvesidentifyingthekeypointsofanutterance.Forexample,youshouldbeabletolistentoashortnarrativeordescriptive
text (about 100 words) and answer the key questions Who? What? When? Where? Why? How? (or as many of these questions as applicable). For
example:

Itwasabouteightoclock.IwaswatchingTV,CNN.ThenIwenttothekitchentogetadrinkofwater.Atthattimethefourmencameinfromthebackdoor,
whichwasopentoletinsomefreshair.Theyhadsomethingcoveringtheirfaces.Likeskimasksbalaclavas.Theycamerightintothekitchen.Then,one
ofthemsaidthattheywantedmoneyandjewelry.Andatoncetheytoldmetoturnaroundandnotlookatthemandthentoliedownonthefloor,soIdid,
becauseIknewthatIdidnthaveanychoice.

Afterlisteningtothistext,youshouldbeabletoidentifythefollowingkeypoints:

Who?Speaker+fourrobbers
What?Homeinvasion
Where?Inspeakershome
When?Aroundeightp.m.
Why?Robbery
How?Robbersusingbalaclavas,askingspeakertolieonthefloorandnotlookatthem
Whilenotallofthesequestionswouldnecessarilybepertinentineverycase,theabilitytoanswermostofthemwouldindicateattentivelisteningforkey
points.

MaterialforExercise:Anynarrativetextordescriptivetextwouldbesuitable.Ifyouareacourtinterpreter,youcanextractasuitablenarrativefromthe
openingaddressofatrialorfromwitnesstestimony.Theinitialtextsshouldnotbemorethanabout100words,althoughtheycangetprogressivelylonger.

Preparation:If you are practicing on your own, you will need to prerecord the selected texts using a normal rate of speech. If you are working with a
group,youcouldhaveonepersonreadouttheselectedtextwhileanotheridentiesthekeyelements.

Exercise5:ProgressiveExpansionofRecall

Goodmemoryhastobedevelopedgradually.Onecannotmovefromforgettingabouthalfofwhatonehearstorememberingitall.Thefollowingexercise
hasbeencreatedbearingthisinmind.Itisbasedona5060wordspeechutteranceandinvolvesrecallingrstthemainideasandthen,duringasecond
oreventhirdpass,recallingprogressivelymoredetails.Hereisasampletext:

Myhusband,PeterThomas,waskilledbyayoungmandrivingastolencar.Hehadphonedmeatnoontotellmehewasgoingtothebankduringhis
lunchhour,andveminuteslaterhewascrossingthestreetwhenhewasstruckdown.Hewaskilledinstantly.IwasdevastatedwhenIheardthenews.

First,theinterpretermustlistentothetextonceandidentifythemainideas,suchas:

1.Myhusbandwasrunoverbyacar.
2.Hewaskilledinstantly.
3.Iwasdevastated.

Next,theinterpretermustlistenonceagaintothetextandthenaddmoredetailstothemainideas.Forexample:

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1.Myhusbandwasrunoverbyastolencarashewascrossingthestreet.
2.Hewaskilledinstantly.
3.Iwasdevastatedbythenews.

Finally,theinterpretershouldlistenonemoretimeandthenrecallallofthedetails(includingthenameofthehusband).

Notbeingexpectedtorecallallofthedetailsfromthestartallowstheinterpretertobemorerelaxedandtoremembermorethanheorshewouldiftense.
Astheinterpreterbecomesmoreprocientatrecall,thenumberoftimesheorshelistenstothetextcanbereducedfromthreetotwo.Thesizeofthe
practicetextcanalsobeincreasedto70,80,oreven100words.Theultimategoalistobeabletoreproduce,afterlisteningjustonce,allofthedetails
foundinanutterancethatisaround50words.

MaterialforExercise:Anynarrativetextwouldbesuitable.Ifyouareacourtinterpreter,youcanextractasuitablenarrativefromwitnesstestimony.The
initialtextsshouldnotbemorethanabout50words,althoughtheycangetprogressivelylonger.

Preparation:If you are practicing on your own, you will need to prerecord the selected texts using a normal rate of speech. If you are working with a
group,youcouldhaveonepersonreadouttheselectedtextwhileanotherdoestheexercise.

The higher the density of the informational content of the sourcelanguage speech, the harder it is for the interpreter to remember all of the chunks of
information.

Exercise6:Visualization

Mostpeoplearevisuallearners,meaningthattheyrememberthingstheysee(images)betterthansomethingtheyaretoldorseeonpaper.Anexample
wouldbepicturingthehomesyouhavelivedinoveryourlifetime.Youcanseetheimagesofthehousesorapartmentsinyourhead,eventhoughyoumay
notrememberthehousenumbersorstreets.Imagesstayinyourheadlongerthanabstractinformation.Forthisreason,mnemonicssuggestthatyouuse
visualizationtoretaindifferenttypesofinformation,therebyarticiallycreatingmentalimages.Forinstance,onewaytorememberthetermstratovolcano
(atypeofvolcano)istovisualizeamountainwithastraightside(strat=straight)withaseriesofosclimbingupit.However,giventhatthistypeofimageis
articial,ittakestimetocreate.Suchvisualizationisthereforenotpracticalforaninterpreter.

However,thereareutterancesthatlendthemselvesnaturallytovisualization,andtheinterpretershouldrecognizethemandusevisualizationtoretainand
recallthem.

Courtinterpretersareoftenrequiredtointerpretdescriptionsofwhatawitnesssaw(aplace,asuspect,etc.).Thesedescriptionsareidealfortheuseof
visualization for memorization. Lets use the following example, taken from a pretrial detention hearing (United States vs. Leopoldo Suarez and Manuel
Lopez).ThegovernmentattorneyisquestioningaU.S.customsofceraboutstoppingavesselandsearchingit.Thisiswhattheofcerhadtosay:

The vessel was listing to the starboard side as it went up the river and looked suspicious. The customs patrol brought the vessel back to the customs
houseandconductedasearch.Whentheyopenedthehatch,theycouldsmellfreshpaintandthepaintwasstillwet,sotheyopenedtheareaandthere
were350packagesofcocaineconcealedinahiddencompartment.

Theentirescenecanbevisualizedinasequenceoffourimages:

1.Thevesselgoingupriver,tiltingtostarboard.
2.Thecustomspatrolstoppingthevehicle,bringingitbacktothecustomshouse.
3.Thecustomspatrolopeningthehatchandsmellingandseeingfreshpaint.
4.Thecustomspatrolsearchingandfindingahiddencompartmentcontainingalargenumberofpackagesofcocaine.

Thisstepbystepvisualizationwouldhelptheinterpreterreconstructtheentirescene.Theonlyelementthatishardtovisualizeisthenumberofpackages
(350),buteventhatcanberememberedthroughassociation(anothermnemonictechnique).Forexample,350isalmostequivalenttoafullyear.

Visualizationexercisescanbecompletedbyoralrecallor,insomecases,bydrawingtheimagesinvolved.Inotherwords,memoryrecalldoesnothaveto
bethroughwordsineverycase.

MaterialforExercise:Anynarrativeordescriptivetextwouldbesuitable.

Ifyouareacourtinterpreter,youcanextractasuitablenarrativefromtheopeningaddressofatrialoradescriptionfromwitnesstestimony.Theinitial
textsshouldnotbemorethanabout5060words,althoughtheycangetprogressivelylonger.

Preparation:If you are practicing on your own, you will need to prerecord the selected texts using a normal rate of speech. If you are working with a
group,youcouldhaveonepersonreadouttheselectedtextwhileanotheridentiesthekeyelements.

Exercise7:Segmentation

This exercise is based on the concept that it is easier to retain a number of limited chunks of information than one or two larger dense chunks.
Segmentationinvolvesbreakingupalargerchunkofinformationintotwoormoresmallerchunks.Forinstance,thefollowingsentencecanbesegmented
asindicated:

IwasatthelocalbarwhenImetapersonbythenameofRicardo,whomInowknowtobeasergeantinthepolicedepartmentworkingwiththeDrug
EnforcementAdministration.

1.Iwasatthelocalbar.
2.ThereImetsomebodycalledRicardo.
3.NowIknowheisapolicesergeant.
4.HeisworkingwiththeDrugEnforcementAdministration.

This exercise can be performed using both written texts and oral texts, preferably starting with the former and ending with the latter. The segmentation
itselfcanbedoneeitherinwritingororally.

MaterialforExercise:Anylongsentenceswouldbesuitableforthisexercise,althoughthedensertheinformationtheycontainthemorechallengingthey
willbe.Thesentencesshouldcontainatleastthreeseparablechunksofinformation.Ifyouareacourtinterpreter,youcanextractsuitablesentencesfrom
courttranscripts(e.g.,theopeningaddressofatrialorevenwitnesstestimony).

Preparation:Ifyouaredoingthisexerciseusingwrittenmaterial(i.e.,readingthesentences),youwillnotneedtodoanyfurtherpreparation.However,
while doing the exercise, you will have to be disciplined enough to read the sentence only once before doing the segmentation. If you are doing this
exercise using oral material while practicing on your own, you will need to prerecord the selected sentences using a normal rate of speech. If you are
workingwithagroup,youcouldhaveonepersonreadouttheselectedsentencewhileanothersegmentsit.

Exercise8:RecognizingIncoherentorAmbiguousMessages

Speakersareoftenunclear.Theymayspeakincoherently(i.e.,inadisjointed,illogicalway).Theirspeechcanalsobeambiguous(i.e.,usingwordswithan
obscuremeaningoradoublemeaning).Incoherentorambiguousspeechisgenerallyhardtorememberandrecall.Thisexerciseisintendedtohelpyou
recognizeincoherenceorambiguityinspeech,whichisonewayofrememberingandrecallingit.Afterlisteningtoarelativelyincoherentorambiguoustext
youshouldbeabletoidentifywhataspectisincoherentorambiguousandwhatmakesitso.Herearetwoexamples:

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Flyingplanescanbedangerous.

Thissentenceisambiguousbecauseflyingplanescandescribeeither:1)planesthatareinflight,or2)beingapilot.

JohnaskedMatttobequiet.Thenhegotangry.

The second sentence is incoherent because the referent he is not clear. If he refers to John, the sentence is illogical because there is nothing to
indicatethatMattturneddownhisrequesttobequiet.

Oncetheincoherenceorambiguityhasbeenrecognized,itcanberecalledanddealtwithattheproductionstageofinterpreting.Thewaythatincoherence
and ambiguity are dealt with varies according to the interpreting situation. In a conference setting, for example, the interpreter claries the ambiguity in
mostcasesandcertainlyremovesanyobviousincoherence.Inacourtroomsetting,however,theinterpreterisboundtoreproducetheambiguityorthe
incoherenceasbestheorshecan,sincethoseelementsmayreflectthespeakerseducationalbackgroundorintentionsorcharacter.Thepurposeofthis
specicexerciseismerelytoidentifythesegmentthatisambiguousorincoherentinanattempttorememberit,andnottodealwithitinanyparticularway.

Material for Exercise: You will need to nd sentences or passages that are ambiguous or incoherent. You should start collecting such material as you
comeacrossit.

Preparation: If you are doing this exercise using written material (i.e., reading the sentences you have selected), you will not need to do any further
preparation. However, in doing the exercise, you will have to be disciplined enough to read the sentence only once before attempting to identify the
ambiguityorincoherence.Ifyouaredoingthisexerciseusingoralmaterialwhilepracticingonyourown,youwillneedtoprerecordtheselectedsentences
using a normal rate of speech. If you are working with a group, you could have one person read out the selected sentence while another identies the
ambiguityorincoherence.

Exercise9:RememberingMessageswithWhichYouDisagreeorWhichYouFindOffensive

Conrmationbias(alsocalledconrmatorybiasormysidebias)describesatendencytofavorinformationthatconrmsapersonalbelieforhypothesis.
People display this bias when they gather or remember information selectively, or when they interpret it in a biased way. The effect is stronger for
emotionally charged issues and for deeply entrenched beliefs. Even if people have sought to interpret evidence in a neutral manner, they may still
rememberitselectivelytoreinforcetheirexpectations.Thiseffectiscalledselectiverecall,conrmatorymemory,oraccessbiasedmemory.Inshort,it
ishardertorememberinformationthatiscontrarytowhatwebelieve.

One way of dealing with such information is to put yourself in the speakers place. In other words, take yourself out of the picture and identify with the
speaker. In so doing, you are temporarily denying your personal beliefs and prejudices and assuming those of the speaker. To practice this, start by
summarizingacontroversialtextandthenmoveontofreershadowingwithatwistonthesametext.

MaterialforExercise:Anycontroversialtextwouldbesuitable,althoughwhatiscontroversialforonepersonmaynotbesoforanother.Thefollowingtext
onthehijabcouldbeconsideredcontroversial:

Theburkhaistheultimatevisualsymboloffemaleoppression.ItistheweaponofradicalMuslimmenwhowanttoseeSharialawbroughtworldwide,and
would love women to be hidden, unseen, and unheard. It is totally out of place in a civilized country. Precisely because it is impossible to distinguish
between the woman who is choosing to wear a burkha and the girl who has been forced to cover herself and live behind a veil, I believe it should be
banned. The burkha is not a religious sign, its a sign of subservience ... we cannot accept that women be prisoners behind a screen, deprived of all
identity.

Theinitialpracticetextsshouldnotbemorethanabout100words,althoughtheycangetprogressivelylonger.

Preparation:Ifpracticingonyourown,youwillneedtoprerecordtheselectedtextsusinganormalrateofspeech.Ifyouareworkingwithagroup,you
couldhaveonepersonreadouttheselectedtextwhileanotherdoesthesummarizingorshadowing.

Aproblemariseswhennotetakingtakesawayfromattentivelistening,becausetheinterpreteristoobusytakingnotestoanalyzewhatisbeingsaid.

Exercise10:UsingNotestoJogMemory

Interpretersmustalwaysbepreparedtotakenoteswheninterpretingbecausejottingdownkeyremindersaidsmemory.However,aproblemariseswhen
notetakingtakesawayfromattentivelistening,becausetheinterpreteristoobusytakingnotestoanalyzewhatisbeingsaid.

Thereisconsensusontheitemsthatcannotbereadilyrememberedwithoutnotes,includingpropernames,numbers,dates,andlists.Howmuchother
informationrequiresnotetakingseemstovaryaccordingtoanumberoffactors:thelengthofthespeech,thedensityoftheinformation,and,ofcourse,
theinterpretersmemoryskills.

Thisexerciseisintendedtotraintheinterpretertotakenotes,startingwithonlypropernames,numbers,dates,andlists,andthenprogressingtoideas.
Thegoalisfortheinterpretertodiscoverhowmuchnotetakingheorsherequirestobeabletoreproduceasourcemessageaccuratelyandcompletely.
Thesampletexthereshowshowtousethistechnique:

WestVirginiawillbeoneofsevenstatespartneringwiththefederalgovernmentinasubsidizedhealthplanthatallowsconsumerswhodontqualifyfor
Medicaid or employerprovided insurance to buy private care on a sliding scale. As part of the Affordable Care Act, the state also will expand Medicaid
eligibility.Afamilyoffourthatnowearnsmorethan$8,240isineligible,butnextyearthecutoffwillriseto$32,499.About133,500morepeoplewillqualify,
accordingtorecentstateestimates.

During the rst goaround, the interpreter listens to this dense text and notes down, at most, the seven elements underlined above. After this, the
interpreter should try to reproduce the content he or she heard in the same language. After this rst attempt, the interpreter listens again to the text to
identifywhatwasmissed.Thentherecordingisplayedagain,withtheinterpreteraddingtohisorhernotesanyotherelementsconsideredessential.At
theendofthissecondroundofnotetaking,theinterpreterwillagainreproducethecontentoftheoriginalinthesamelanguage.Finally,theinterpreter
listenstotheoriginaltextoncemoretoseehowcompletelyandaccuratelyheorshehasbeenabletoreproducethetext.

MaterialforExercise:Anytextcontainingnames,numbers,and/ordateswouldbesuitable.Thetextsshouldnotbemorethanabout100words.

Preparation:If you are practicing on your own, you will need to prerecord the selected texts using a normal rate of speech. If you are working with a
group,youcouldhaveonepersonreadouttheselectedtextwhileanotherdoesthenotetakingandthesubsequentreproductionofthesourcetext.

MakeYourPracticeaRoutine

Practicingexercisesformemoryimprovementissimilartodoingphysicalexerciseforweightlossfromseveraldifferentviewpoints:

Bothtypesofexerciseneedtobedoneregularlytobeeffective.
Bothtypesofexercisecanbeusednotonlyforimprovementinmemoryorweight,butalsoformaintenanceatahighlevel.
Bothtypesofexerciserequirevarietytobemosteffective.Inotherwords,doingthesameexerciseeveryday(andevenworse,withthesamematerial)will
notbeofgreatvalue.
Bothtypesofexercisetakesometimefortheireffecttobefelt.
Theeffectofbothtypesofexercisecanbemeasuredtosomeextentusingscalesforweightlossexerciseandtheearvoicespanformemoryexercise.
Bothtypesofexerciserequireeffortonthepartoftheirusers.

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The effort required on the part of interpreters using memory exercises involves identifying suitable exercises, nding appropriate practice material, and
preparing the material for use. While there are some prepared exercises and material available, they are not all equally effective. Perhaps some of the
more innovative exercises that have been proposed here could be done using available recordings. This would save interpreters the time and effort
requiredtondmaterialfromscratchandpreparethemforuse.Itwouldalsoencouragethemtogetstartedrightawayonapersonalprogramformemory
enhancement.

Notes

1.Atkinson,Richard,andRichardShiffrin.HumanMemory:AProposedSystemandItsControlProcesses.InSpence,K.W.,andJ.T.Spence.The
PsychologyofLearningandMotivation,Volume2(NewYork:AcademicPress,1968),89195,http://bit.ly/humanmemory.
2.Duong,TranThuy.HowtoImproveShortTermMemoryinInterpreting(HanoiUniversityofForeignStudies,2006),http://bit.ly/Duongshortterm.
3.Cowan, Nelson. What Are the Differences Between LongTerm, ShortTerm, and Working Memory? Progress in Brain Research, Volume
169(Elsevier,2008),323338,http://bit.ly/Cowanmemory.
4.Seleskovitch, Danica. Linterprte dans les confrences internationales problmes de langage et de communication (Paris: Lettres Modernes
Minard,1968),http://bit.ly/AmazonSeleskovitch.
5.Gile, Daniel. Basic Concepts and Models for Interpreter and Translator Training (Amsterdam/ Philadelphia: John Benjamins,
1995),http://bit.ly/BenjaminsDanielGile.

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