eVIVA: Evaluating the education of interpreters and their clients through virtual learning activities
Start date
2013End date
2014Project website
ViewOverview
Research into the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) to create Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) in different educational settings shows positive results but also raises questions about the affordances of different technologies and the impact of system design on the learning process. In the context of interpreter - mediated communication, questions that need to be investigated are how and what interpreting students and users of interpreting services learn in VLEs; how different VLEs can support different types of learning activities; how VLEs are able to simulate real-life conditions to bridge the worlds of work and education; and how VLEs simulating interpreter-mediated communication can work for learners from diverse backgrounds. Against this backdrop and capitalising on the outcomes of previous research and development projects, EVIVA evaluated the educational opportunities of three types of VLE which were deemed to be particularly useful in the context of interpreter-mediated communication, i.e. video-based environments, videoconference-based environments and 3D virtual environments. See an overview of the VLEs evaluated in EVIVA.
Partners
- University of Surrey (lead partner)
- Bangor University (UK)
- University of Cyprus (Cyprus)
- University of Poznan (Poland)
- Steinbeis Transfer Centre Language Learning Media (Germany).
Principle Investigator
Professor Sabine Braun
Professor of Translation Studies; Director, Centre for Translation Studies; Co-Director, Surrey Institute for People-Centred AI
Biography
I am a Professor of Translation Studies, Director of the Centre for Translation Studies, and a Co-Director of the Surrey Institute for People-Centred Artificial Intelligence at the University of Surrey in the UK. From 2017 to 2021 I also served as Associate Dean for Research and Innovation in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at the University of Surrey.
My research explores the integration and interaction of human and machine in translation and interpreting, for example to improve access to critical information, media content and vital public services such as healthcare and justice for linguistic-minority populations and other groups/people in need of communication support. My overarching interest lies in the notions of fairness, trust, transparency, and quality in relation to technology use in these contexts.
For over 10 years, I have led a programme of research that has involved cross-disciplinary collaboration with academic and non-academic partners to improve access to justice for linguistically diverse populations. Under this programme, I have investigated the use of video links in legal proceedings involving linguistic-minority participants and interpreters from a variety of theoretical and methodological perspectives. I have led several multi-national research projects in this field (AVIDICUS 1-3, 2008-16) while contributing my expertise in video interpreting to other projects in the justice sector (e.g. QUALITAS, 2012-14, Understanding Justice, 2013-16, VEJ Evaluation, 2018-20). I have advised the European Council Working Party on e-Law (e-Justice) and other justice-sector institutions in the UK and internationally on video interpreting in legal proceedings and have developed guidelines which have been reflected in European Council Recommendation 2015/C 250/01 on ‘Promoting the use of and sharing of best practices on cross-border videoconferencing’.
In other projects I have explored the use of videoconferencing and virtual reality to train users of interpreting services in how to communicate effectively through an interpreter IVY, 2011-3; EVIVA, 2014-15, SHIFT, 2015-18).
A further example of my work on accessibility is my research on audio description (video description) for visually impaired people. In the H2020 project MeMAD (2018-21) I have recently investigated the feasibility of (semi-)automating AD to improve access to media content that is not normally covered by human AD (e.g. social media content).
In 2019, the Research Centre I lead was awarded an ‘Expanding Excellence in England (E3)' grant (2019-24) by Research England to expand our research on human-machine integration in translation and interpreting. As part of this, I am currently leading and involved in a number of pilot studies aimed at better human-machine integration in different modalities of translation and interpreting.
The insights from my research have informed my teaching in interpreting and audiovisual translation on CTS’s MA programmes and the professional training courses that I have delivered (e.g. for the Metropolitan Police Service in London).
From 2018-2021 I was a member of the DIN Working Group on Interpreting Services and Technologies and co-authored the first standard on remote consecutive interpreting worldwide (DIN 8578). I am a member of the BSI Sub-committee Terminology. From 2018-2022, I was the series editor of the IATIS Yearbook (Routledge) and am currently associate series editor for interpreting of Elements in Translation and Interpreting (CUP) and a member of the Advisory Board of Interpreting (Benjamins). I was appointed to the sub-panel for Modern Languages and Linguistics for the Research Excellence Framework REF 2021.
Co-Investigator
Dr Elena Davitti
Associate Professor in Translation Studies
Biography
I am an Associate Professor in Translation Studies with expertise in interpreting, both conference and dialogue. I am also Programme Leader of the MA Interpreting (Multilingual pathway) and MA Translation and Interpreting offered by the Centre for Translation Studies (CTS) where I am based. I hold a PhD in Translation and Intercultural Studies from the University of Manchester and an MA in Conference Interpreting from the University of Bologna at Forlì. Before joining Surrey in 2013, I practised as a freelance interpreter and translator and worked as interpreter trainer at different universities both in the UK and in Italy, such as the University of Leeds, University of Birmingham, University of Macerata and UNINT, Rome. I am currently working on hybrid modalities at the crossroads of traditional disciplines such as translation, interpreting , subtitling, with a particular interest in real-time speech-to-text communication across languages.
Co-Investigator
Professor Margaret Rogers
Professor Emerita
Biography
- Series editor for Palgrave Studies in Translating and Interpreting https://www.palgrave.com/gp/series/14574
- Founder member of the Association for Terminology and Lexicography
- Founder and former co-ordinator (until 2015) of the Terminology Network at the Institute of Translation and Interpreting
- Member of the Advisory Boards for LSP and Professional Communication, Terminology and Fachsprache
- Elected member of IITF Board (International Institute for Terminology Research) until 2016
Funder
Funded by the European Commission, Lifelong Learning Programme, Project 531140-LLP-1-2012-1-UK-KA3-KA3MP, 2013-14.