INTERPRETING

Split Attention
Prepared by: Tracy Disney
Timeline/Duration:

Overview/Purpose/Rationale:
Speaking and listening at the same time is not all that difficult, but thinking and listening at the same time is not
natural. Because we are not used to doing it, the quality of one or the other is seriously sacrificed. In addition,
when interpreting from ASL to English, changing linguistic modes adds another layer of difficulty and processing
requirements. This lesson is used to practice the skill of dividing attention between competing tasks.

NAD-RID NIC Tasks and Knowledge and Skill Statements

• Task 6, Skill 3 (maintaining fluency in message transmission)

• Task 6, Skill 4
• Task 8, Knowledge 5
• Task 8, Skill 3
• Task 8, Skill 5
• Task 9A, Skill 16
• Task 9A, Skill 19
• Task 9A,
• Task 9B, Skills 2-8 & 11-15
(maintaining a pace that allows for smooth turn-taking)
(lexical equivalency)
(appropriately constructing an equivalent message content)
(minimizing miscues, deletions, additions, substitutions, etc.)
(selecting sign vocabulary precisely)
(use of fluid expression)
(Interpreting Checks, Processing 1)
(ASL comprehension)

Objectives:
Specify skills/information that will be learned as a result of the teaching
• Mentee will learn to train the brain to multi-task. To understand, output and think/process at the same time
• Mentee will multi-task in specific areas and will learn to manage it without drastically reducing the quality
of the processing
• Mentee will improve processing time by learning to manage the components of the interpreting process.

Materials Needed: Other Resources:

(camera/tripod, tv/dvd, books, paper, etc.)
• Digital or other recorder. The ability to
output in MP3 format is preferred.
• Computer
(websites, videos, books, etc.)
• Voice of America – Short News Items
• Simple Questions
• Yes/No Questions
• Questions to Get to Know a Person
• 100 Questions to Ask Your Kids and
Conversation Starters
• FunQuestionsToGetToKnowSomeone
Activity:
Describe activity that will reinforce the lesson. An opportunity for the mentee to demonstrate grasp of new
learning by working through an activity or exercise under the mentor’s direct supervision

Beginning Intermediate Advanced

Listen to a short recording while
counting backwards aloud. Start
counting from a different number for
each recording i.e., 357, 173 etc.
Afterwards summarize to the others
what you heard and remember from
the original recording. (Seleskovitch
and Lederer 2002:170)
A question is asked, mentee
answers "Yes" or "No" and repeats
the question while listening to the
next question.
With a digital or other recorder,
record a list of twenty yes/no or
simple questions speaking at
normal rate. After recording play
the recording back while answering
and repeating the questions.
Listen to a sentence, stop the tape,
think about how to interpret it,
speak the interpretation while
listening to the next sentence, stop
the tape, think about how to
interpret it etc. Little by little the
thinking pause can be reduced.
(also Van Dam 1989:170 and
Nadstoga 1989:112)
Conference Interpreting - A Students' Companion, A. Gillies, 2004. Some exercises borrowed from
http://interpreters.free.fr/simultaneous/splitattention.htm
This activity requires two people or
stimulus material can be
videotaped. Start with one of the list
of questions available. Ask mentee
a question (using English). While
they are answering the first question
a second is asked, to which the
mentee will answer while a third is
asked etc.
With a digital or other recorder
record 10 – 20 of any of the more
advanced questions. Record at
normal pace. Play back the
recording. Answer questions while
listening to the next question.
Interpret or paraphrase a speech (in
the same language) while at the
same time writing something
completely unrelated on a piece of
paper. i.e. Numbers from 1-100 in
reverse order. (The Interpreter’s
edge[2])
The same activity can be done but
speed up the time between asking
the questions.
Use the same questions but sign
the questions and require the
answers in ASL.
Record a minimum of 20 of more
of the advanced questions.
Record at normal pace. Play back
the recording. Repeat and answer
questions while listening to the
next question. Record yourself
and document how many
questions you got right. What was
missed? How long were you able
to attend and process the
information? Document where the
process broke down. Practice until
you can go through the entire list.
Record new questions and repeat.
Record yourself while going
through the lesson the first time.
Document your progress using the
same process as above.

Homework:
Once the mentee has mastered the content or skill of the activity, it is time to provide for reinforcement practice

Beginning Intermediate Advanced

Additional split-attention exercises Additional split-attention exercises Additional split-attention exercises
are found in lesson folder. are found in lesson folder. are found in lesson folder.

Read “The Effects of Split-Attention Read “The Effects of Split-Attention Read “The Effects of Split-Attention
and Redundancy on Cognitive and Redundancy on Cognitive and Redundancy on Cognitive
Load” found in resource folder. Load” found in resource folder. Load” found in resource folder.

Notes: