Interpreter Training In Vocational College:Implications From Communicative Language Testing Theory

This thesis aims to explore and reveal that the communicative language testing theory plays a guiding role in the interpreting teaching in the vocational college. By introducing and analyzing the major points and principles of communicative language testing theory, this thesis analyzes the characteristics of communicative interpreting tests. Because of the interdependent and mutually-restricted relationship between language tests and language teaching, scientific interpreting test will exert a positive impact on the interpreting teaching. Based on the communicative language testing theory, this thesis also analyzes the authenticity, interactiveness and the evaluation criteria of the four popular interpreting certificate tests and their guidance on the interpreting teaching. Meanwhile, taking the interpreting teaching of the English major in the vocational college as major objects of observation for this study, this thesis summarizes the students’characteristics and the current problems in the interpreting teaching, based on a questionnaire and telephone interviews with the students and teachers. Guided by level I and II of English Interpreting Certificate, which conforms to the actual level of vocational interpreting, the thesis proposes the appropriate strategies for interpreting teaching in the vocational colleges, which further proves the great guiding significance of communicative testing theory in the language teaching.Communicative language testing theory starts in the1990s, which is an objective and comprehensive interpretation of the language tests. It combines the language knowledge with the language use situation, pointing out the use of language is a dynamic process in which the language knowledge, language skills and language users’psychological factors interact with each other. On the basis of analyzing the course objective, teachers, textbooks and teaching methods, and making the communicative language testing theory as the leading framework, this essay puts forward the future development of interpreting teaching in vocational college: cultivation of application-oriented interpreting talents.