The construct of cognitive load in interpreting and its measurement

ABSTRACT

This article attempts to contribute to the study of cognitive load in interpreting by presenting an in-depth discussion of the construct and its measurement. Borrowing from mental workload and Cognitive Load Theory research, cognitive load in interpreting is defined as the portion of an interpreter’s limited cognitive capacity devoted to performing an interpreting task in a certain environment. The article then presents a methodological discussion on how to measure cognitive load, focusing on the major categories of cognitive load measures and a series of selection criteria. Considering that existing studies only focus on simultaneous interpreting, the article introduces some techniques that are potentially useful for measuring cognitive load in consecutive interpreting, including the NASA Task Load Index (NASA-TLX), pen recording, and eye tracking.

KEYWORDS:

• Cognitive load
• interpreting
• measurement
• NASA-TLX
• pen recording
• eye tracking

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributor

Sijia Chen is a PhD candidate in the Department of Linguistics at Macquarie University. She is interested in research across the disciplines of cognitive sciences and linguistics. Her PhD project is titled ‘Exploring the process of note-taking and consecutive interpreting: a pen-eye-voice approach towards cognitive load’. This mixed-methods study uses pen recording, eye tracking, and retrospection to investigate the cognitive processes and cognitive load in note-taking and consecutive interpreting.

Notes

1 A link to this computerised version of the NASA-TLX can be found at http://www.nasatlx.com/

2 The website of the software is http://www.eyeandpen.net/?lng=en

3 This is different from the eye–voice span widely discussed in reading research. The eye–voice span in reading research is measured as the distance between the fixated item and the pronounced item during reading aloud.