The Cloze Technique as A Pedagogical Tool for the Training of Translators and Interpreters

Sylvie Lambert

Abstract

This article focuses on the versatility of the cloze technique, as a tool not only for measuring second-language proficiency, but also for selecting and training both translators (written cloze) and interpreters (aural cloze). When presented auditorily, the cloze test discriminates pass and fail interpreter students, given the external pacing and speed stress experienced by simultaneous interpreters in real life. The article offers several ways to administer the cloze technique as well as examples of such doctored material.

Table of contents

The cloze procedure is a method of test construction which consists in deleting words from prose passages, and asking subjects to fill in the blanks. The term "cloze" comes from the psychological concept of closure which is the [ p. 224 ]perception of apparent wholeness of visual or auditory inputs that are actually incomplete. Through closure, the missing parts are ignored or compensated for by projections based on both internal clues and past experience with similar phenomena.

Full-text access is restricted to subscribers. Log in to obtain additional credentials. For subscription information see Subscription & Price. Direct PDF access to this article can be purchased through our e-platform.

References

Bowen, Donald J.
1969 “A Tentative Measure of the Relative Control of English and Amharic by 11th Grade Ethiopian Students”. Workpapers in Teaching English as a Second Language II: UCLA 2. 68–89.Google Scholar
Botmuth, John R.
1965 “Validities of Grammatical and Semantic Classifications of Cloze Test Scores”. International Reading Association Conference Proceedings 10. 283–286.Google Scholar
Conrad, Robert
1954 “Speed Stress”. W.F. Floyd and A.P. Welford, eds. Human Factors in Equipment Design. London: H.K. Lewis 1954.Google Scholar
Darnell, Donald K.
1968 “The Development of English Language Proficiency Test of Foreign Students Using a Clozentropy Procedure”. ERIC ED C24-039, October, 1968.Google Scholar
Doerr, Naomi
1980 “The Effects of Agreement/Disagreement on Cloze Scores”. Oller and Perkins 1980 : 134–141.Google Scholar
Furneaux, Walter D.
1956Manual of Nufferno Speed Tests and of Nufferno Level Tests. London: Institute of Psychiatry.Google Scholar
Gerver, David Patricia Longley, John Long and Sylvie Lambert
1984 “Selecting Trainee Conference Interpreters: A Preliminary Study”. Journal of Occupational Psychology 57:1. 17–31.   DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hansard
(1984; 1986) House of Commons Debates, Official Report (Hansard), Vol. 128, No. 204, 1st Session, 33rd Parliament, Tuesday May 8, 1984 and Monday, January 13, 1986. [Speeches welcoming Prime Minister Nakasone of Japan and Mexican President Miguel de la Madrid Hurtado.]
[ p. 236 ]
Hinofotis, Francis Butler
1980 “Cloze as an Alternative Method of ESL Placement and Proficiency Testing”. Oller and Perkins 1980 : 121–128.Google Scholar
Hinofotis, Frances Butler and Becky Gerlach Snow
1980 “An Alternative Cloze Testing Procedure: Multiple-choice Format”. Oller and Perkins 1980 : 129–133.Google Scholar
Just, Marcel A. and Patricia A. Carpenter
1980 “A Theory of Reading: From Eye Fixations to Comprehension”. Psychological Review 87. 329–354.   DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kraushaar, Brigitte and Sylvie Lambert
1987 “Shadowing Proficiency According to Ear of Input and Type of Bilinguality”. Bulletin of the Canadian Association of Applied Linguistics 9:1. 17–31.Google Scholar
Lambert, Sylvie
1988 “Information Processing among Interpreters: A Test of the Depth-of-processing Hypothesis”. Meta XXXIII:3. 377–387.   DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Lyon, Pamela
1966French Short Stories 1. London: Penguin.Google Scholar
McDonald, Janet L. and Patricia A. Carpenter
1981 “Simultaneous Translation: Idiom Interpretation and Parsing Heuristics”. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior 20. 231–247.   DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Oller, John W. and C.A. Conrad
1971 “The Cloze Technique and ESL Proficiency”. Language Learning 21. 183–196.   DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Oller, John W. Jr. and Kyle Perkins
eds. 1980Research in Language Testing. Rowley, Massachusetts: Newbury House Publishers, Inc.Google Scholar
Puurtinen, Tiina
1989a “Two Translations in Comparison: A Study on Readability”. Sonja Tirkkonen-Condit and Stephen Condit, eds. Empirical Studies in Translation and Linguistics. University of Joensuu 1989 87–111.Google Scholar
1989b “Assessing Acceptability in Translated Children’s Books”. Target 1:2. 201–213.   DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Rankin, Earl J.
1957An Evaluation of the Cloze Procedure as a Technique for Measuring Reading Comprehension. University of Michigan. [Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation.]Google Scholar
Stubbs, Joseph B. and G. Richard Tucker
1974 “The Cloze Test as a Measure of English Proficiency”. Modern Language Journal 58. 239–241.   DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Taylor, Wilson L.
1953 “Cloze Procedure: A New Tool for Measuring Readability”. Journali m Quarterly 30. 414–438.Google Scholar
Toury, Gideon
1991 “Experimentation in Translation Studies: Achievements, Prospects and Some Pitfalls”. Sonja Tirkkonen-Condit, ed. Empirical Research in Translation and Intercultural Studies: Selected Papers of the TRANSIF Seminar, Savon-linna 1988. Tubingen: Gunter Narr 1991 45–66.Google Scholar