An Empirical Study On The Validity Of Interpreting Practice Of CATTI (Consecutive Interpreting,Level?)

Interpreting test is an effective instrument in assessing interpretation quality and plays an important role in selecting qualified interpreters,preparing interpreters,setting norms for interpreting profession and promoting cross-cultural communication.Validity is the most important criterion in evaluating the quality of an interpreting test.China Accreditation Test for Translators and Interpreters(CATTI)is a high-stake and the only translation and interpretation certification test held by China's Ministry of Human Resources,witnessing a large number of candidates majoring in English,translation,and other disciplines,thus it is academically and practically necessary to investigate the validity of the test.The present process-oriented research,starting from the nature of interpreting,goes beyond the traditional validation of authentic test papers and argument-based evidence to inquire the validity of interpreting test with the interpreting notes and interpretation as cues in the introspective method.This paper discusses the validity of the Interpreting Practice of CATTI(Consecutive Interpreting,Level?)in terms of face validity,construct validity and content validity.In line with the Effort Model,the theory of interpreting as a communicative act,communicative language testing theory,this paper defines the interpreting competence the interpreting test is supposed to measure and clarifies types of validity-related evidence in validation of interpreting test.Accordingly,this paper undergoes an in-depth analysis of the validity of Interpreting Practice of CATTI(CI,Level?)through the methodologies including questionnaire survey,field test,stimulated recall,transcription of interpretations,observation,interview,and analysis of past authentic test papers and corresponding interpretations.The questionnaire survey results show that the test has a respectable face validity,but needs to establish a closer connection with interpreting profession.In line with the theoretical framework and analysis of the test syllabus,this paper concludes that the test has a lower construct validity,which is evidenced by unclear construction of interpreting competence and scoring details.For the content validity,the field test,stimulated recall,transcription of the participants' interpretations,text analysis of authentic test papers,the author's observation of the Interpreting Practice test,and interviews with 2 professional interpreters jointly show that this test has an acceptable content validity.It is effective on measuring information-processing ability,note-taking skills,Short-Term Memory/Working Memory,restructuring ability,expressive skills,and interpreting skills such as amplification and linearization,but remains weak in keeping in similar difficulty level the figures,glossary,complex sentences and passage length.Moreover,authenticity of the test is deficient as the passages selected from speeches are often limited in the areas of politics and economy,while the recording adopted as a means of in-put and out-put in the test is different from the interpreting in real-life settings,making the test deficient in measuring the ability of listening and analysis.The current paper thus attempts to offer some suggestions as to the improvement of Interpreting Practice of CATTI(CI,Level?).1)Authenticity of the test needs to be enhanced.Efforts can be made to make it closer to the authentic interpreting by testing the self-taught ability of candidates in preparing an interpreting task.2)There needs to be “noise” to be put in the test as the practice of interpreting in real-life settings is often influenced by accent of the speaker,interference from audience,or presentations accompanied by PPT slides.3)There needs to be a more detailed and clearer test construct in order to make it more specific in deciding what and how interpreting competencies should be assessed.4)There needs to be more efforts exerted to make the certification more closely connected with the interpreting profession so as to make the test more effective and certification authoritative.