Cover not available

Article published In: Target
Vol. 4:2 (1992) ► pp.223–236

Get fulltext from our e-platform
JBE logo with link
PDF logo with download linkDownload PDF
authorization required

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

 | University of Ottawa
Published online: 1 January 1992
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/target.4.2.06lam
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.
Résumé
Cet article porte sur la versatilité de la technique de closure comme échelle servant à mesurer la compétence linguistique d'un individu dans sa langue passive, puis comme instrument pédagogique lors de la sélection et de la formation de traducteurs (exercices écrits) et d'interprètes (exercices oraux).Présente sous sa forme auditive, le test de closure sert comme instrument de sélection précis dans le cas d'interprètes, étant donné les conditions de stress et lanature externe de Vexercice, conditions semblables å celle d'une interprétation ensituation réelle. De plus, cet article propose une gamme d'exercices ainsi que des échantillons de tests de closure.
Article outline
  • I.Definition of the Cloze Test
  • II.Measuring Linguistic Proficiency
  • III.Versatility of the Cloze Test
  • IV.The Cloze Test as a Selection Tool
  • V.The Cloze Procedure and Simultaneous Interpretation
    • 1.Mother-tongue to mother-tongue applications of the procedure
      • i)keeping abreast of current events
      • ii)synonym flexibility
      • iii)command of mother-tongue
      • iv)memory for detail
    • 2.Passive language to mother tongue: a further application of the procedure
  • VI.Factors in Passage Preparation
    • i)word class
    • ii)word position
    • iii)context
    • iv)practice
  • Note
  • References
References (23)
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 logo with link to Google Scholar
Botmuth, John R. 1965. “Validities of Grammatical and Semantic Classifications of Cloze Test Scores”. International Reading Association Conference Proceedings 101. 283–286.Google Scholar logo with link to 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 logo with link to 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 logo with link to Google Scholar
Doerr, Naomi. 1980. “The Effects of Agreement/Disagreement on Cloze Scores”. Oller and Perkins 1980: 134–141.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Furneaux, Walter D. 1956. Manual of Nufferno Speed Tests and of Nufferno Level Tests. London: Institute of Psychiatry.Google Scholar logo with link to 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.   Google Scholar logo with link to Google 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.]
Hinofotis, Francis Butler. 1980. “Cloze as an Alternative Method of ESL Placement and Proficiency Testing”. Oller and Perkins 1980: 121–128.Google Scholar logo with link to 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 logo with link to Google Scholar
Just, Marcel A. and Patricia A. Carpenter. 1980. “A Theory of Reading: From Eye Fixations to Comprehension”. Psychological Review 871. 329–354.   Google Scholar logo with link to Google 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 logo with link to Google Scholar
Lambert, Sylvie. 1988. “Information Processing among Interpreters: A Test of the Depth-of-processing Hypothesis”. Meta XXXIII:3. 377–387.   Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lyon, Pamela. 1966. French Short Stories 11. London: Penguin.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
McDonald, Janet L. and Patricia A. Carpenter. 1981. “Simultaneous Translation: Idiom Interpretation and Parsing Heuristics”. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior 201. 231–247.   Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Oller, John W. and C.A. Conrad. 1971. “The Cloze Technique and ESL Proficiency”. Language Learning 211. 183–196.   Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Oller, John W. Jr. and Kyle Perkins, eds. 1980. Research in Language Testing. Rowley, Massachusetts: Newbury House Publishers, Inc.Google Scholar logo with link to 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 logo with link to Google Scholar
Rankin, Earl J. 1957. An Evaluation of the Cloze Procedure as a Technique for Measuring Reading Comprehension. University of Michigan. [Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation.]Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Stubbs, Joseph B. and G. Richard Tucker. 1974. “The Cloze Test as a Measure of English Proficiency”. Modern Language Journal 581. 239–241.   Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Taylor, Wilson L. 1953. “Cloze Procedure: A New Tool for Measuring Readability”. Journali m Quarterly 301. 414–438.Google Scholar logo with link to 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 logo with link to Google Scholar
Cited by (4)

Cited by four other publications

Bartłomiejczyk, Magdalena
2024. Anticipation in Interpreting. In Reference Module in Social Sciences, DOI logo
Tavares, Célia, Laura Tallone, Luciana Oliveira & Sandra Ribeiro
2023. The Challenges of Teaching and Assessing Technical Translation in an Era of Neural Machine Translation. Education Sciences 13:6 ► pp. 541 ff. DOI logo
Baxter, Robert Neal
2014. A simplified multi-model approach to preparatory training in simultaneous interpreting. Perspectives 22:3 ► pp. 349 ff. DOI logo
Bacigalupe, Luis Alonso
1999. Metodología de iniciación a la interpretación simultánea. Perspectives 7:2 ► pp. 253 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 4 december 2025. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.

Mobile Menu Logo with link to supplementary files background Layer 1 prag Twitter_Logo_Blue