itcdland.csumb.eduitcdland.csumb.edu/~slee/portfolio/doc/capstone proposal_lee.docxweb viewin 2008,...
TRANSCRIPT
1
CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITYMONTEREY BAY
Consecutive Interpretation Training Module
CAPSTONE PROPOSAL
Submitted in partial satisfaction of requirements of the degree of
MASTER OF SCIENCE in
Instructional Science and Technology
Sieun Lee
April 5, 2011
Capstone Approvals: (At least one advisor and capstone instructor should approve)
___________________________ ___________________________ _____________Advisor Name Signature Date
___________________________ ___________________________ _____________Capstone Instructor Name Signature Date
2
Table of Contents
1. Executive Summary-------------------------------------------------------------------------3
2. Introduction----------------------------------------------------------------------------------4
a. Background------------------------------------------------------------------------------4
b. Problem Description--------------------------------------------------------------------4
c. Target Audience------------------------------------------------------------------------5
d. Literature Review-----------------------------------------------------------------------6
3. Solution Description------------------------------------------------------------------------7
a. Goals--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------7
b. Solution to Fill the Gap----------------------------------------------------------------8
c. Media Components---------------------------------------------------------------------9
d. Anticipated Challenges---------------------------------------------------------------10
4. Methods/Procedure------------------------------------------------------------------------11
a. Instructional Strategy-----------------------------------------------------------------11
b. Steps to Finish the Project------------------------------------------------------------12
5. Resources-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------12
6. Timeline-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------13
7. Evaluation/Testing Plan-------------------------------------------------------------------13
a. Formative Assessment Plan----------------------------------------------------------14
b. Summative Assessment Plan--------------------------------------------------------14
8. References----------------------------------------------------------------------------------16
3
Executive Summary
The Capstone project is intended to serve as a self-paced interpreting learning
module for military linguists at the Defense Language Institute (DLI). The project will
replace the existing Translation and Interpretation (T&I) training curriculum that was
designed two years ago for instructor-mediated traditional classroom environment. As
self-paced learning modules, the project is expected to solve the issues including limited
budget and resources, which have delayed the implementation of T&I training at the DLI.
The project will comprise four mini-modules which will cover basic concepts of
interpreting, memory retention, paraphrasing, and note-taking skills. The mini-modules
will heavily include verbal and auditory exercises which are the key characteristics of
interpreting. The modules will be created mainly by Adobe Captivate, and will actively
incorporate various multi-media elements to keep learners engaged.
The goals of the projects are to provide learners with basic knowledge of
interpreting, assist DLI instructors in teaching a course with contents unfamiliar to them,
and to provide flexibility in learning and an alternative method to a human interpreting
practice partner. By using the modules, learners will not have to depend entirely on
instructors, which will in turn lower physiological burden on instructors. Shy learners, in
particular, are expected to benefit greatly from these modules as they can build their
skills by exercising repeatedly using the modules on their own until they feel confident
about performing verbal tasks in front of other people.
Upon completion of the prototype, it will be tried out by selected test users. Pre-
and post-tests will also be administered as a part of the tryout to measure learning gains.
Tryout will also include individual observation to understand how learners interact with
the module. Online survey will be used to measure learners’ reaction to the instruction.
Based on findings from formative assessment, revisions will be made to the module as
well as to the subsequent ones.
Since interpreting performance cannot be measured on a written test format,
summative evaluation will be conducted live individually by human evaluators. Learners
may perform interpreting live, or record their performance and submit the audio for
evaluation. A grading rubric that lays out scoring categories and criteria in detail will be
used by evaluators to ensure inter-rater reliability.
4
1. Introduction
a. Background
In 2008, the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center (DLIFLC)
initiated a test project of developing Translation and Interpretation (T&I) training
curriculum for its language students. The purpose of the project was to tap into the
possibility of launching T&I training programs to selected military linguists to enable
them to perform basic interpretation and translation tasks between English and the
foreign language of their study. The DLI was hoping to have T&I curriculum developed
with the help of outside sources and use their existing language instructors, who were
mostly not familiar with translation or interpretation, to deliver T&I instruction
internally. Due to the lack of T&I expertise at the DLI’s end, the entire curriculum
development and pilot course delivery were outsourced to the faculty of the Graduate
School of Translation, Interpretation, and Language Education (GSTILE) at the Monterey
Institute of International Studies. The MIIS faculty in four language programs – Korean,
Spanish, Chinese, and Arabic – participated in the 1-year project of developing T&I
training courses and delivered them to the DLI in May 2009. The courses were designed
to be delivered in the instructor-mediated traditional classroom environment.
b. Problem Description
More than a year has passed since the T&I training courses were delivered to the
DLI, but the DLI has not yet implemented the T&I training or taken any action to follow
up the project. According to email communications with then project manager at the DLI,
the institute does not have specific plan to implement the training in the near future.
Although it was not DLI’s official opinion, the project manager stated two major reasons
for non-action: 1) lack of budget, and 2) lack of resources, especially adequate teaching
staff that has enough expertise to teach translation and interpretation. Initially, the DLI
planned to utilize its own instructors to deliver T&I training using the courses developed
by the MIIS faculty. However, most instructors, especially senior members, felt
uncomfortable about the idea of teaching translation and interpretation skills with which
they were unfamiliar. The courses developed by the MIIS faculty were designed for
instructor-mediated learning environment, and thus, they required instructors to
demonstrate significant knowledge and skills during instruction. While the institute
5
understands this limitation, due to budget constraints, it cannot hire new instructors who
are capable of teaching translation and interpretation.
The capstone project was envisioned as a potential solution to the above
mentioned problems that make implementing T&I training difficult at the DLI.
Consecutive interpreting learning modules to be developed as the capstone project are
self-paced learning modules which are intended to replace or supplement the existing
instructor-mediated interpretation training courses. The web-based online modules which
include various interactive multimedia components are designed to assist learners step by
step through the process of acquiring necessary skills for interpreting. As compared to
traditional classroom instruction, the online modules provide more flexibility allowing
students to learn where and when they desire and to repeat as many times as they want.
As a result, the modules will minimize instructor intervention in the learning process,
which will contribute significantly to lowering burden on instructors. Also, the institute
will be able to bypass budgeting issue since providing instruction through online modules
will cost significantly less than conducting training through existing instructors or hiring
new teaching staff for the purpose.
c. Target Audience
The target audience is active members of the US Armed Forces military linguists
who have completed the basic course in their choice of foreign language at the Defense
Language Institute Foreign Language Center at the Presidio of Monterey. Students are
taught by highly educated instructors who are native speakers of each language.
Language classes are given five days a week, seven hours a day. All learners have
received high school education, some with a college degree, and are fluent in English.
Age varies among learners, but most are between 25 and 35 years of age. The majority of
learners are men and there is no significant cultural diversity present among them.
Not all students at the DLIFLC are eligible for T&I training. In order for a person
to be able to interpret efficiently between two languages, he/she should demonstrate a
certain degree of mastery in both languages. Therefore, the proposed project will be
targeted specifically at qualified linguists who have achieved a minimum foreign
language proficiency level of 3 or higher (listening and reading) on the Defense
Language Proficiency Tests (DLPT) based on the guidelines of the Interagency Language
6
Roundtable (ILR). Although qualified target audience will demonstrates a certain level of
proficiency in speaking, listening, reading and writing, they have not had any systematic
interpretation education and are not familiar with the interpreting mechanism. A
significant imbalance in language proficiency between their A (native) and B (foreign)
languages usually makes it hard for them to perform interpretation from A to B language.
d. Literature Review
Unlike in other areas, the use of advanced technological tools has not been
actively pursued in the field of interpreter education, mainly because of the fact that
interpreting comprises auditory and verbal activities which require heavy human
intervention for guidance and assessment. As a result, most interpreter education
curriculums still rely on a traditional, instructor-centered approach where expert
instructors, as the source of expertise and authority, play the major role of judging and
assessing trainee interpreters’ performance (Hartley et al. 2003).
According to the same authors, however, the acquisition of interpreting skills by
students requires not only such professional guidance during classes, but also extensive
practice hours outside these classroom instructions. Students cannot attain the required
performance standards simply by sitting in classes. To enhance their interpreting
performance, students typically engage in intensive group practice and seek feedback
from their peers. Sandrelli and Hawkinsi (2006) point out that while interpreter training
curriculums unanimously emphasize the importance of students’ autonomous practice as
the key to improving interpreting performance, students, especially beginners, do not
always have access to adequate study support or practice materials. Thus, a number of
researchers including Sandrelli (2005) have examined more extensive use of
technological tools and the development of dedicated computer software for the purpose
of supplementing traditional teaching methods and assisting trainees in making
unsupervised group- and self-practice sessions more productive and useful.
However, the development of such software tools have not shown much progress.
A couple of CAIT(Computer Assisted Interpreter Training) tools have been designed so
far, and one of them was a dedicated interpreter training module called Black Box which
was developed by Melissi Multimedia Ltd (U.K.) in 2002 for the University of Hull.
Unfortunately, Black Box software has not been widely adopted for its limitations. In
7
software evaluation sessions organized by the Schools for Interpreters and Translators of
the Universities of Trieste and Bologna, trainees who tested the software suggested
‘improved degree of interactivity’ and ‘inclusion of more extensive resources’ for
improvement (Sandrelli, 2005).
Based on these research, it has become clear that computer assisted interpreter
training tools have great potential to contribute significantly to student learning of
interpreting skills. The remaining task is to enhance the degree of interactivity between
the user and the software as well as among users. Also, it is important for such tools to
include resources of sufficient quantity in order for them to be useful to learners.
2. Solution
a. Goals
The proposed capstone project is expected to serve three key purposes:
1) Provide basic knowledge about interpreting
The project will introduce learners to interpreting. Even without much help from
instructors, learners will grasp the nature of interpreting as a mechanism different than
simple learning of languages, and will have opportunities to practice interpreting between
English and Korean using the modules. Learners will acquire basic interpreting skills that
will help them perform simple interpreting tasks assigned to them in the field.
2) Assist DLIFLC instructors in teaching a course with contents unfamiliar to
them
The DLI plans to utilize its own Korean language instructors to deliver the
interpretation training course to the students. Even though these instructors are competent
language teachers, the vast majority of them have not had formal T&I education, and
therefore, they do not have sufficient knowledge or understanding about the mechanism
of interpreting. Especially in a situation where instructors have to deliver instruction as
non-SMEs, the role of well designed learning modules becomes even more critical to the
success of instruction. Instead of taking full responsibilities of teaching each learning
content themselves, instructors will rather function as facilitators. Relying on useful
resources of self-guided learning modules, they would feel strongly supported through
the course with specific techniques and guidance provided in detail by the modules.
8
3) Provide flexibility in learning and an alternative to a human interpreting
practice partner
The project is designed to provide flexibility in learning through the use of
computer-based multimedia platform that is not confined to the instructor-delivered
classroom instruction setting. Unlike the trainer-centered course developed two years
ago, the new web-based modules are designed to help learners exercise enhanced control
of their own learning. Learners can access the modules wherever – either in or out of
classroom- , how much they want, and at times convenient to them. It creates a student-
centered learning environment where learners can pace their own learning depending on
their differing needs and capabilities.
b. Solution to Fill the Gap
The interpreting modules will also provide a solution to a common limitation
experienced by all students who study interpretation; in interpreting, group practice is
very important to improving interpreting performance, and such practices cannot be done
efficiently without a study partner. In general, interpreter trainees are strongly
encouraged to form a small study group in which members take turn to become a
designated speaker to read a text or deliver a speech in the source language for the other
members to practice interpreting into the target language. A significant number of hours
spent on practicing are the key to the success of a student as an interpreter. While practice
partner(s) play such a critical role in improving one’s interpreting skills, in reality, it is
not always easy to find a partner, and even if a student has one, finding a mutually
convenient practice time between the two is often limited. The interactive multimedia
interpreting modules will supplement the role of a human practice partner especially for
learners who do not have a practice partner or those who want to practice more on their
own.
The modules are especially useful for less proficient or shy learners who feel
uncomfortable about performing interpretation in front of other people. Interpreting
almost always involves speaking in front of the audience and the practice items will
provide ample opportunities for them to feel comfortable about speaking in public and
build confidence. Until they build confidence, learners will be able to exercise
interpreting repeatedly on their own using these modules.
9
The capstone project will focus mainly on helping learners acquire basic skills
required for performing consecutive interpreting that involves auditory and verbal
activities. It will comprise four modules that cover; 1) basic concepts of interpreting, 2)
memory building exercise, 3) paraphrasing exercise, and 4) note-taking exercise. Three of
the four modules (except for the basic interpreting concept module) will include
demonstrations and multiple practice items in varying topics, which will introduce
learners to key skills they need to master to be able to perform interpreting. Learners will
be guided through the process of acquiring these skills in a scaffold manner. Each module
will begin with a relatively easier task with sufficient guidance and support, and progress
gradually toward more challenging tasks. In the process, scaffolding will be removed
gradually and students will be asked to complete exercise items on their own.
In typical interpreter training curriculums, instructions begin with mono-lingual
exercises especially in the stage of teaching key skills described above. Accordingly, the
scope of the capstone project will be limited to mono-lingual exercises that will ask
learners to perform activities within the same language of English. Learners will listen to
an audio in English and perform required verbal tasks in English.
Each module will include a selection of carefully chosen audio or video materials
that will adequately and effectively assist learners in achieving each learning objective.
This approach is useful especially for beginner interpreters, who usually do not have
much knowledge with regards to what type of materials are really useful for them to
enhance their skills. The target audience of the capstone project is beginner interpreter
trainees who have not had interpreter education before, and thus, this methodology is
expected to prove useful.
c. Media Components
The modules will incorporate various interactive multimedia elements. Upon
clicking of buttons, source texts will be delivered verbally for learners to listen and
perform required tasks. For lower-level tasks at the beginning, relevant visual images or
videos will be presented as the audio plays to assist learners remember key information of
the source text they are listening to. Whenever needed, learners will be able to click
buttons to go back to the previous page, move on to the next page, or return to the main
10
menu to choose another exercise. Below is the detailed list of all media element to be
used in the instruction:
Audio
- Background audio
- Voice recordings of the texts
- Audio recording/editing software
Video
- Useful video clips to assist instruction (Either retrieved from the web or created
by the designer using a camcorder)
Images
- Images retrieved from the web (with appropriate acknowledgement) to be used
across the modules, especially for visualization.
- Photos of the designer (or an animated character) to be used for creating a virtual
instructor.
Human Instructor
- Minimum intervention. The role of an instructor is a facilitator throughout the
instruction.
Text
- Written texts prepared for translation exercises and transcripts.
Handwriting simulation
- Livescribe Smartpen and Livescribe Desktop applications to display handwritten
notes on the screen along with audio.
The delivery of the course is completely web-based. The interpreting modules
will be created using Adobe Captivate 5, and the completed modules will be uploaded to
a webpage created exclusively for the interpreting course. For the purpose of the capstone
project, the webpage will be hosted by the CSUMB server. The course webpage will be
created by using Adobe Dreamweaver. Once on the web, the learners will have easy
access to the course and assume learning anytime, anywhere and at their own pace.
d. Anticipated Challenges
One of the biggest challenges anticipated for the project derives from the nature
of interpreting; it involves auditory and verbal activities, and thus, it is hard to assess
11
learner performance or give feedback solely within the module without human
intervention. Verbal interpreting performance cannot be measured on written assessment.
Throughout the modules, learners will be asked to perform tasks verbally, but they will
not be able to get instant feedback on how well or poorly they performed. Continuing to
complete practice items without exactly knowing whether or not they are progressing in
the right direction will likely to frustrate learners.
As a solution to this problem, learners will be asked before each practice item to
have a recording device ready and have their performance recorded. Learners will then
listen to their own performance and provide self-assessment to themselves. The recorded
audio can also be sent electronically to instructors who will then provide valuable
feedback and comments electronically. To enhance self-assessment process, learners will
also be provided after each exercise an example of best practice demonstrated by a
professional interpreter in a text or audio format. Learners will then be able to compare
their own audio to the example and make more constructive and detailed assessment of
their own performance. For learning to be successful for students, it is necessary for the
learning modules to make sure that students record their performance. The chance of
using an audio recording device will increase if a recording function is seamlessly
incorporated into the modules, but within the current scope of the project and limited
resources and skills, such a solution is unattainable. Instead, learners will be constantly
reminded for each practice item to record their own performance.
3. Methods/Procedure
a. Instructional Strategy
The key instructional strategy employed in designing this course is to keep the
modules dynamic and interesting, while avoiding the overuse of multimedia decorations.
For example, various images will be presented on the screen while a source text is being
played, so that learners can easily associate and recall the contents of the text they hear.
For voice recording, multiple native speakers of English will be used to read the texts to
add variations and liveliness to the modules.
The practice items will be carefully arranged in a manner that transitions
progressively from very easy to more difficult tasks, so that every learner will experience
12
a sense of achievement at the beginning. The purpose of this approach is to stimulate
learners’ interest in interpreting and make them want to challenge further.
Throughout the course, special attention will be paid to encourage learners to
actively engage in verbal activities of interpreting. While learners hardly need to speak or
talk in many self-learning web modules, the proposed interpreting modules require
learners’ active participation in verbal activities. In case the modules are used within the
classroom under the supervision of an instructor, the instructor will work as a facilitator
who will make sure that learners complete activities verbally. Some passive learners will
choose not to attempt their own interpretation when given a chance to practice on their
own. Instead, they will simply listen to the texts and think about possible interpretation
only to themselves without verbalizing it. The key to the successful learning of
interpretation depends heavily on how much learners practice verbalizing interpretation.
b. Steps to Finish the Project
As of March 30, 2011, two of the four modules have been developed. They are
still in their prototype phase, and will be subject to usability testing between April and
May. Based on information and tester feedback gathered through the usability testing,
revisions will be made to these modules and the remaining modules will be developed
accordingly in a format consistent to the previous module.
4. Resources
Resources needed to complete the project are listed below. Most hardware
equipments and software applications including Adobe Captivate 5, the main tool to be
used to create modules, have been either purchased already or available freely online.
The only device that is needed at present is Livescribe Smartpen and specially designed
dot paper to be used along with the Smartpen. Instead of purchasing it, this costly device
($200 +) can be rented from the CSUMB’s TechRent store at $5 per week.
Other financial costs will include monthly subscription fee of $25 for Lynda.com,
the website that provide extensive tutorials and technical supports for various software
applications including Captivate and Dreamweaver. Although there are many free
software tutorials available online, Lynda’s tutorials are of much more superior quality
and provide more extensive knowledge about software in a systematic manner. The total
subscription fee needed for completing the project is estimated at about $75. Also needed
13
are gift items, such as chocolate candies, to be given to testers as a token of appreciation
for their time. A total of six testers have been currently contacted and arranged, and the
costs for the gifts will be about $60. The total costs for the completion of the project are
estimated at $145.
Hardware
Computer
Camcorder
Tripod
Livescribe Smartpen
Dot paper for Smartpen
High performance headset
Introduction to Conference Interpretation (Reference book, by Jeonghwa
Choi)
Software
Adobe Captivate 5
Adobe Dreamweaver
Microsoft Word 2007
Microsoft Excel 2007
Microsoft Windows Moviemaker 7
Livescribe Desktop Application for handwriting recognition
File format converter software
Native speakers of English (for voice recording of English texts)
5. Timeline
14
Gather bilingual texts/content materials
Write transcript /storyboarding
Develop website organization scheme
Develop minimodule on Captivate
Design a webpage and load module
Conduct alpha testing/expert review
Revision
Conduct beta testing/revision
1/15/11 2/4/11 2/24/11 3/16/11 4/5/11 4/25/11 5/15/11 6/4/11 6/24/11 7/14/11
Start DateDuration
6. Evaluation/Testing Plan
The assessments for this course will be delivered pre- and post-course in varying
formats. The participant’s assessment results will be carefully analyzed and used to
improve the current and future courses.
a. Formative Assessment Plan
Formative assessment will be performed throughout the entire project period to
identify potential problems and make adequate and timely revisions accordingly. To
understand learners’ language proficiency, readiness, and entry skills for interpreting, a
pre-test will be administered to a group of potential learners. The pre-test will be in the
form of a verbal test during which an audio is played and then the learners are asked to
perform the required task. The pre-test will comprise multiple items to measure all the
skills to be covered by the project. After instruction is delivered, a post-test in the format
identical to the pre-test will be administered to make comparisons between pre- and post-
test scores and measure learning gains.
Also, as soon as the prototype is ready, it will be tried by selected test users who
will test-use the module. The tryout will be conducted on an individual basis during
which the developer will closely observe how learners are using and interacting with the
module. In the process, the designer will be able to detect problems in the modules;
anything that is missing, unclear, inscrutable, inconsistent or boring to the learner, as well
as any implementational issues. Observation checklist will be utilized to make
observation as objective as possible. Upon completion of testing, each learner will be
asked to fill out an online survey which is designed to measure learners’ reaction to the
15
module. Revisions will be made to the modules based on findings from pre- & post-test
score analysis, observations, and questionnaire.
b. Summative Assessment Plan
Because of the nature of the subject – interpretation - which is performed verbally
and thus cannot be evaluated by a written test format, evaluation will be conducted
separately from the learning modules. After the course is delivered to the target audience,
summative assessment will be performed in the form of observing learners’ performance
in simulated situations. Learners will be asked to perform as real interpreters in situations
created by the instructional designer. Final performance assessment will be administered
by the DLIFLC language instructors. To ensure maximum validity and reliability in
evaluation, the instructors will use a grading rubric that lays out expected skill levels in
detail for each evaluation point. The results of summative assessment will be used to
measure the efficacy of the current modules, and to remediate on the subsequent modules
to follow.
References
16
Hartley, A., Mason, I., Peng, G., & Perez, I. (2003). Peer and self-assessment in
conference interpreter training. Retrieved from:
http://www.lang.ltsn.ac.uk/prf.aspx#lang1
Sandrelli, A. (2005). Designing CAIT(Computer-Assisted Interpreter Training) tools:
Black Box. Paper presented at MuTra Conference on Challenges of
Multidimensional Translation. Saarbrücken, Germany.
Sandrelli, A., & Hawkins, J. (2006). From Black Box to the Virtual Interpreting
Environment (VIE): Another step in the development of Computer Assisted
Interpreter Training. Paper presented at the Conference on the Future of
Conference Interpreting: Training, Technology and Research. London, UK.