LON GITUDINAL STUDIES OF WORKING MEMORY CAPACITY IN SIMULTANEOUS INTERPRETING STUDENTS

In: Vestnik Moskovskogo Universiteta: naučnyj žurnal = Moscow State University bulletin. Serija 9, Filologija, Heft №4, 2023, S. 194-207

Abstract

Simultaneous interpreting is one of the most difficult cognitive tasks where the comprehension, processing and production of speech occur almost at the same time. In addition to linguistic competencies, simultaneous interpreting involves many cognitive mechanisms, including working memory (WM). One of the main issues in studying the correlation of simultaneous interpreting and WM is confirming the hypothesis about the interpreters' advantage in working memory (controversial data are presented), as well as identifying its cause — if it is a natural phenomenon or acquired by virtue of learning certain skills and professional experience. The purpose of this article is to analyze a number of works that reflect longitudinal studies of working memory in students studying simultaneous interpreting. This approach to the study of WM among simultaneous interpreters is relatively new and still relevant. Usually, such studies compare students at the beginning and at the end of their training, while control groups may or may not be included.
As for the results of longitudinal studies, the following fact can be noted: the advantage of interpreting students is not observed at the very beginning of training. The rest of the results are very inconsistent. Thus, some works demonstrate indicators in favor of WM improvement, while others cast doubt on this. Also, short-term memory can be measured in parallel with WM at the beginning and end of training, but not all research is able to confirm its improvement in simultaneous interpreters after training. The main reasons for the conflicting results lie in the different samples of participants and control groups, as well as varying methods of conducting memory tests. It seems promising for future longitudinal studies to take into account the experience and errors of previous experiments, in order to be able to present subsequent meta-analyses and identify the statistical significance of the results.