CATTI’s Washback On Interpreting Learning

Washback,or the impact of testing on teaching and learning,has received much discussion in the field of language testing over the past decades.Some even proposed to expand the concept of validity to include washback,manifesting the value and significance of this phenomenon.China Accreditation Test for Translators and Interpreters(CATTI)is the only national accreditation test for professional translators and interpreters.It represents the most authoritative standard for evaluating translation and interpreting talents in China.The establishment of Master of Translation and Interpreting(MTI)signifies the professional turn of the translation and interpreting education in China.Since MTI was established,various parties have been calling for and promoting the alignment of the professional degree and the national accreditation test.They expect CATTI to exert beneficial impact on teaching and learning practices in MTI programs,or in other word,to achieve positive washback.The present study aims at investigating whether CATTI Level 2 Test for Interpreters has achieved its intended washback on MTI students’ interpreting learning.Three research questions are raised as below:(1)What is the intended washback of CATTI on MTI students’ interpreting learning?(2)What is the actual washback of CATTI on MTI students’ interpreting learning?(3)To what extent has CATTI achieved it intention?To answer the above questions,the author first establishes the intention of policy makers and test constructors through literature analysis and interview,discovering that they expect MTI students to comprehensively develop their interpreting competence,including language proficiency,interpreting skills and knowledge,on the basis of long-term accumulation and intense training.Then the author probes into the actual interpreting learning practices of MTI students by means of questionnaire and interview.Data collected show that they generally adopt a training of low intensity and short duration,and they tend to pay more attention to interpreting skills and knowledge than language proficiency.By comparing the intention and the reality,the current study finds that CATTI Level 2 Test for Interpreters has only partly achieved its intended washback on the interpreting learning of MTI students.In terms of learning content,the test fails to guide the students to develop their interpreting competence in a comprehensive manner;as for learning method,the test also fails to guide the students to learn by long-term accumulation and intense training.Reasons accounting for the mismatches between the intended and actual washback are probably the low stakes of CATTI,the low level of the alignment between CATTI and MTI,the inappropriateness in the current alignment policy and others.In order to facilitate the intended washback,the study proposes to increase CATTI’s stakes to MTI teachers and administrators,integrate CATTI requirements into MTI curricula,and adjust the current alignment policy,etc.By exploring CATTI’s consequential aspect of validity through the lens of washback theory,the present study introduces a language assessment perspective into the field of translation studies.It provides empirical evidence to relevant hypothesis and also serves as a reference for CATTI policy makers and test constructors to adjust test design and policy to facilitate CATTI’s intended washback.