The document describes a webinar presentation on teaching sight translation given by Rachel Herring for the National Council on Interpreting in Health Care. The webinar covered an overview of sight translation and its uses, challenges of sight translation as a performance skill, approaches to teaching and practicing it, and considerations around deciding when to sight translate. The webinar provided techniques, tips, and sample scripts for teaching sight translation effectively and addressing common situations interpreters encounter.

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Welcome!
Guest Presenter:
Rachel Herring, MA, PhD

6. An Introduction to
Teaching
Sight Translation
Presented by
Rachel E. Herring
for the
National Council on
Interpreting in Health Care
Home for Trainers Webinar
Series
September 25, 2019
(Portions of this material were first developed
for a workshop sponsored by the Upper
Midwest Translators and Interpreters
Association)

7. Plan for today:
› Overview of sight translation and its
uses
› Sight translation as a performance skill
—challenges & considerations
› Approaches to teaching & practicing
sight translation
› Decision-making: to sight translate or
not to sight translate?

8. Bibliography
› Agrifolio, M. (2004). Sight translation and interpreting: A
comparative analysis of constraints and failures. Interpreting 6:1,
43-67.
› Jiménez Ivars, A., & Hurtado Albir, A. (2003). Variedades de
traducción a la vista. Definición y clasificación. TRANS. Revista
de Traductología 7, 47-57.
› Lee, J. (2012). What skills do student interpreters need to learn in
sight translation training? Meta 57:3, 694-714.
› Li, X. (2014). Sight translation as a topic in interpreting research:
progress, problems and prospects. Across languages and
cultures 15:1, 67-89.
› Loreto Sampaio, G.R. (2007). Mastering sight
translation skills. Tradução & Comunicação
16, 63-69.

9. What is sight translation?
Written source
language text
Spoken (or signed)
target language text

10. Why teach (and learn) sight
translation?
Acquire a
complex skill that
is used in many
work settings
Supports
development of
interpreting
subskills (e.g.
analysis,
anticipation,
reformulation)Helpful in the lead-up to
learning simultaneous
interpreting

11. What (and when) do interpreters
sight translate?
› Forms
› Questionnaires
› Educational/informational documents
› Official notices/letters
› Speaker reading/presenting from a powerpoint
or prepared text
› Others…

12. What (and when) do
interpreters sight translate?
› When no written version of a document is
available in a language that the client/service
user can read
› To give the gist of a document when a written
translation is not required, or to help decide
whether a written translation is required (“can
you tell me what this says?”)

13. Written vs oral language
Agrifolio, 2004
› Sentence structure
› Vocabulary
› Register
› Organization
› Paralinguistic cues
› Fixed/static

14. Reading vs listening
Agrifolio, 2004
› Readers have more control over the pace at
which they receive incoming information
› Readers can re-visit (reread) segments as
needed
› Listeners tend to focus more on (and tend to
remember more of) the gist of what they listen
to; readers tend to focus more on (and tend to
remember more of) the words in the written text

15. Findings from Agrifolio, 2004
› Study comparing sight translation (ST),
consecutive interpreting (CI), and simultaneous
interpreting (SI); N=6; working L2>L1
› ST performances in the study were characterized
by FEWER meaning issues and MORE issues with
expression, as compared with CI & SI
› Issues with: grammar, syntax, lexicon

16. Challenges associated with sight
translation… Agrifolio, 2004
› Simultaneity of tasks
› SL interference
› Language-specific difficulties

17. Factors affecting performance
› Facility in reading in source language
› Familiarity with content area (affects comprehension,
pace, target language expression)
› Ability to predict
› Structure (how ideas are presented)
› Grammar/syntax/lexicon
› Content
› Target language fluency, fluidity
› Elocutions skills
› Ability to separate target language output from source
language surface structure (i.e., avoid verbatim
transcoding)
› Coordination/multitasking ability

19. Tips & Techniques for Skill
Acquisition
The next few slides are material that I use with learners and are thus
addressed to learners, rather than trainers.
The overall content—approach, strategies—is similar to that used to
teach sight translation in a variety of settings, and is not covered by
copyright. However, if you wish to directly reproduce the wording/
slides for not-for-profit educational purposes, please attribute the
material to me J.

20. Techniques (1):
› Focus on IDEAS and STRUCTURE à avoid the
‘mesmerized by the words’ effect!
› Make sure you understand what you are
reading! You cannot effectively render what
you do not understand. (But what if I don’t
understand!?)
› Don’t disregard the utility of circumlocution
(describing/explaining your way around a
target language word/term that you don’t
remember/know)

21. Techniques (2):
› When possible, mark up the document
› Take into account language-specific
difficulties/issues
› Take into account the differences between
written and spoken language
› Take into account culturally-bound concepts/
terms

22. Techniques (3):
› Above all, COMMUNICATE!
› Be attentive to your audience’s cues: does s/he
understand? (If not, is it due to your sight
translation performance or to some other
issue?)
› Be open and honest if you run into trouble:
“There is a term/question here that I don’t
understand (or that I am not sure how best to
render). I will make sure to have the service
provider explain this part.”

27. Practice Tips
› Even if you cannot mark up documents you
encounter during work, make a habit of doing so
when practicing, in order to improve your ability
to analyze the text quickly and smoothly.
› Read a sentence (or more…), then turn over the
paper (or close your eyes) before sight
translating. This helps to reduce visual
interference.
› Sight translate for an audience without showing
them the original; ask the audience for feedback
with regard to your performance as a
communicator.

28. Effective practice for skill improvement
Clear, specific, and achievable goals
• ‘be accurate’ vs. ‘use strategies for not getting stuck on unknown words’
• ‘sound natural’ vs. ‘avoid specific issue related to structure of SL’
Allow yourself to be a learner
• Set realistic expectations for performance
• Be systematic—set up a practice schedule and keep it
• Remember that you are learning a complex new skill: Try to step past
emotional reactions and approach your performance analytically
• Challenge yourself but don’t overwhelm yourself
Feedback
• From others
• From yourself! (analysis & reflection)
• Based on data & personal goals
• Compare self to self over time
Link to CATIE
Center video on
deliberate practice
and goal-setting.

29. Scaffolding
› Provide necessary scaffolding so that learners are
challenged but can be successful:
› Choose familiar topics for the first few texts learners
encounter
› Adapt texts to learning goals/learners’ current skill
level as necessary
› Have a group discussion about terms that may be
difficult/unfamiliar (or assign preparation as
homework, or provide a list of key terms…)
› Avoid offering solutionsà DO encourage (and model)
source language-source language paraphrasing,
circumlocution, and trying out of multiple solutions to
challenges
› Direct the learners’ attention to specific aspects of
their performanceàguide their self-monitoring efforts

30. Choosing Texts
› Set goals & identify a learning progression first—then
choose texts that target (a) specific goal(s) along the
way, following a logical progression
› Lists (e.g., bullet points) and forms are often easier than
long chunks of narrative/connected texts in terms of
analysis (but watch out for terminology in forms)
› Use realistic texts, but don’t be afraid to adapt them to
your learners’ needs/current level
› Avoid using translated texts as source material
› Identify texts that have been translated into multiple
languages (e.g., CDC vaccine info sheets, MCHAT
questionnaires)—have learners sight translate, then
give them the translations and have them analyze their
choices and the translator’s choices

31. Ethics & Decision-Making
To sight translate
or not to sight translate?

32. Some commonly-encountered
situations:
› Forms
› Assessment instruments
› Legal documents
› Informed consent
› Issues related to cultural/health
literacy differences
› Others…

33. Questions to consider:
› Is there a version available in a language that the service
user reads fluently?
› Would an English-speaking service user generally
encounter/consume (i.e., read, fill out, etc.) the material
alone or with a service provider?
› Is the service user likely to need to ask follow up questions
or provide detailed/lengthy responses?
› Is the document part of the informed consent process in a
medical setting?
› Is the person being asked to sight translate (i.e. you!)
capable of doing so effectively? à sight translation skills
AND knowledge of the subject matter/terminology

34. Other considerations:
› Purpose of the document: form, informational material,
educational material, consent document, contract/legal
document, official documents and records
› Purpose of the sight translation: what does the listener
need to do with or on the basis of the material being sight
translated?
› Who is the audience of the material to be sight translated?
› Who is the audience of the sight translation?
› What is the style/register of the original? To what extent
does the source language form (as opposed to meaning)
need to be preserved?

35. Teaching
What to say… and how to say it:
• Do take a nuanced approached—avoid blanket
statements of approbation/disapproval
• Do present case studies (examples) and have learners
discuss the context and variables that would influence
their decision-making—do include situations that allow
for multiple correct/defensible reactions (avoid the
‘one right answer’ paradigm)
• Don’t assume that learners will know how to handle
difficult situations or what to say to clients/service users
—do provide scripts for learners to practice with/
memorize (the next few slides contain several examples, which you
may reproduce for not-for-profit educational purposes, with appropriate
attribution)

36. Sample script: explaining sight
translation to be used with English speakers asking you to
sight translate something that is not appropriate for sight translation
“Sight translation (that is, reading/signing a
document written in one language out loud in
another) is a complicated skill, which not
everyone is trained to do. Sight translation works
best with specific kinds of materials. In the case of
this document, it would be better for you to
explain its content to the client/patient/service
user. I will interpret your explanation, as well as
any questions or responses that the client/patient/
service user has.”

37. Sample script: medical history
form to be used by the interpreter
“Because this form is in English, I am going to help you fill
it out. The form asks very specific questions, and there is
only space for short answers or for indications of yes/no.
If you are not sure of an answer, then we can write ‘not
sure.’ The space does not have room for me to write
down detailed answers, and it is important for the
doctor/nurse to hear all the detailed information from
you directly during the visit. For this reason, If your
answer to a question is very long or contains lots of
detailed information, then we will make sure to note on
the form that you need to talk more to the doctor/nurse
about the answer/topic.”

38. Sample script: informed consent
document to be used by the interpreter
“The institution’s policy is that informed consent
must be obtained by the person performing the
procedure. Please follow the same process you
would follow if the patient spoke English. I will
interpret everything you say, as well as all of the
patient’s questions for you. I will sign the informed
consent document as the interpreter, attesting
that I interpreted the entirety of the conversation
that took place between you and the patient.”

39. Sample script: psychological
instrument preferably delivered BY SERVICE PROVIDER
“As part of this evaluation, I have several forms for you to fill out.
Because they are in English, the interpreter will help you to fill them out.
Each of the questions has to be answered with 0 for never, 1 for
sometimes, or 2 for always/usually. Some of the questions may sound
odd, or may be hard to answer, because of the way the questionnaire
is designed. The interpreter cannot explain the questions to you or help
you decide which answer you should select. If there is a question that
you don’t understand, just put a dot or star next to it, so that we can
talk about it later. If you aren’t sure which answer to give to a question,
or if you want to give an answer that is more detailed than the form
allows, put a dot or star next to those questions as well. I will be sure to
follow up with you about those questions when we talk together later.”

40. Questions/Comments?
Thank you for attending!
Contact Information:
Rachel.Herring@century.edu

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You can access the recording of the
live webinar presentation at
www.ncihc.org/trainerswebinars
Home for Trainers Interpreter Trainers Webinars Work Group
An initiative of the Standards and Training Committee
www.ncihc.org/home-for-trainers