Harness the Natural Ability of y f

Your Brain to Improve

Vocabulary Learning and
Memory Recall Memory Recall
BEYOND THE BASICS OF MEDICAL INTERPRETING
Cincinnati Childrens Hospital | August 21-22, 2010 Cincinnati Children s Hospital | August 21 22, 2010
NATASHA CURTIS
2010 All rights Reserved
For a handout of this presentation,
please e-mail request to:
natilatina@gmail.com
http://www.professorspeakeasy.com/
g
Or, download from:
http://tinyurl.com/29em9gz
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p y g

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OBJECTIVES
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OBJECTIVES
Establish the need/goal
LE-RE-RE (Learn Retain and Recall) LE-RE-RE (Learn, Retain and Recall)
What Influences Learning? (general overview)
Interdisciplinary approach (Models and Theories of Interdisciplinary approach (Models and Theories of
memory applied to interpreting skills)
Practical Applications Practical Applications
Techniques for Interpreters
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Resources

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RAISON D'TRE
Everyones goal E ll t I t t P f Everyone s goal
FFACTORS ACTORS THAT THAT INFLUENCE INFLUENCE INTERPRETER INTERPRETERSS PERFORMANCE PERFORMANCE
Excellent Interpreters Performance
Knowledge of the health care system
Interpreter protocol
Interpreter positioning Interpreter positioning
Ethics and standards of practice
Skills in the 3 modes of interpretation, especially consecutive and sight
translation
Subject matter knowledge
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Knowledge of vocabulary

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RAISON D'TRE
A d k l d f th bj t tt tl A good knowledge of the subject matter greatly
influences the quality of the interpretation.
Jean Herbert Jean Herbert
The Interpreters Handbook
Interpreters must therefore master techniques to
learn
,
retain
and
recall
information.
learn
,
retain recall
LE
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RE RE LE

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RE RE
BRAIN/MIND LEARNING PRINCIPLES
1. All learning is physiological.
2. The Brain-Mind is social.
3. The search for meaning is innate.
4. The search for meaning occurs through patterning. 4. The search for meaning occurs through patterning.
5. Emotions are critical to patterning.
6. The Brain-Mind processes parts and wholes simultaneously.
7 Learning involves both focused attention and peripheral perception 7. Learning involves both focused attention and peripheral perception.
8. Learning always involves conscious and unconscious processes.
9. There are at least two approaches to memory: archiving individual facts or skills or
making sense of experience.
10. Learning is developmental.
11. Complex learning is enhanced by challenge and inhibited by threat associated with
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helplessness.
12. Each brain is uniquely organized
Dr. Renate Cain

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PRAGMATIC OBSERVATION
Application of Principles 3 & 4
Instructions Phase 1: Instructions Phase 1:
I will read a list of items, and
I will ask a willing volunteer to repeat them all back to me I will ask a willing volunteer to repeat them all back to me
in the order in which I mentioned them using 'consecutive
shadowing' that is repeating them in English in the exact shadowing', that is repeating them in English in the exact
order in which I mentioned them.
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I t t DO NOT t k d t

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Important: DO NOT take down notes
PRAGMATIC OBSERVATION
Application of Principles 3 & 4
Instructions Phase 2 (same instructions): Instructions Phase 2 (same instructions):
I will read a list of items, and
I will ask a willing volunteer to repeat them all back to me I will ask a willing volunteer to repeat them all back to me
in the order in which I mentioned them using 'consecutive
shadowing' that is repeating them in English in the exact shadowing', that is repeating them in English in the exact
order in which I mentioned them.
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I t t DO NOT t k d t

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Important: DO NOT take down notes
INTERDISCIPLINARY APPROACH
Cognitive Psychology and Neuroscience have played a Cognitive Psychology and Neuroscience have played a
pivotal role in understanding brain function as it relates to the
interpreting process and sub-processes interpreting process and sub processes
A powerful memory (both STM and LTM) is a crucial
component of quality interpreting => learning how memory component of quality interpreting => learning how memory
works is important to the interpreter.
Baddeley and Hitch (professors of psychology) proponents of Baddeley and Hitch (professors of psychology), proponents of
the Model of Working Memory
Giles (former technical translator conference interpreter
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Gile s (former technical translator, conference interpreter,
professor) Effort Models in Interpretation

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WORKING MEMORY (BADDELEY & HITCH)
WM refers to a brain system that provides temporary WM refers to a brain system that provides temporary
storage and manipulation of the information necessary for
complex cognitive tasks such as language comprehension,
learning, and reasoning
The brain is supervised by a system called the central p y y
executive which controls the flow of information into three
slave systems: the phonological loop the visuo-spatial
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slave systems: the phonological loop, the visuo spatial
sketchpad and the episodic buffer.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Working_memory

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WORKING MEMORY (BADDELEY & HITCH)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Working_memory
Performance of two simultaneous tasks requiring the use of two
separate perceptual domains is nearly as efficient as performance of the
tasks individually. However, when a person tries to carry out two tasks
involving the same perceptual domain simultaneously, performance is
l ffi i t less efficient.
There are two functions or sub-processes of working memory,
attentional processing and storage These compete for the limited capacity
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attentional processing and storage. These compete for the limited capacity
of the system and there is a trade-off between the two: the more capacity
is required for processing, the smaller the storage capacity and vice versa.

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EFFORT MODEL OF INTERPRETATION (GILE)
Consecutive Interpreting (CI) consists of two phases: a
listening and reformulation phase and a reconstruction phase.
Phase One: I=L+M+N
I=Interpreting, L=listening and analyzing the source language
speech, M=short-term memory required between the time
information is heard and the time it is written down in the notes, and
N=note-taking.
Phase Two: I= Rem+Read+P
In this Phase Two of Consecutive Interpreting, interpreters retrieve
messages fromtheir short-term memory and reconstruct the speech
(Rem), read the notes (N), and produce the Target Language Speech s
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(Rem), read the notes (N), and produce the Target Language Speech
(P).

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EFFORT MODEL OF INTERPRETATION (GILE)
Simultaneous Interpreting p g
(SI) consists of three efforts:
Listening and Analysis Effort
Production Effort Production Effort
Short-term Memory Effort
Each efforts takes up a part of a
limited l f i limited supply of processing
capacity
Problem if total processing
it i t d capacity requirements exceed
available processing capacity
(saturation), and if capacity
il bl f i l ff i
Interpretation is likened to a party in which L (Listening
and Analysis Effort), P (Speech Production Effort), and M
(Short term Memory Effort) are invited guests. In order
for them to be happy, two conditions must be met: not
only must the total wine (or liquor) supply A cover their
thirst, but the host must manage its distribution so as to
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available for a particular effort is not
enough (individual deficit)
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be able to fill the glass of any guest as soon as it is empty
(172).
Gile, Daniel. "The Effort Models in interpretation." Basic Concepts and
Models for Interpreter and Translator Training. Amsterdam and
Philadelphia: John Benjamins, 1995. 159-90. Print.

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FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE
Conclusion: We want to automatize sub-processes so as to free p
up resources and processing capacity.
Translation: Translation:
If while I am interpreting, I am constantly faced with the dilemma of
finding equivalents for words I have never heard before, for g
instance, a lot of my mental resources will be invested in word
recognition, and I may even have a hard time with pronunciation if--
for instance--I am doing sight translation and the input is written g g p
and I have never heard these words pronounced. Likewise, if I hear
a concept that I am unable to relate/associate with the whole due to
lack of background knowledge (or extra-linguistic knowledge),
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g g ( g g ),
performance will be greatly compromised due to depletion of
mental resources in one particular sub-process.

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REAL-LIFE EXAMPLE
In medical report written in ES:
Crepitancias aumentadas (a.k.a estertores crepitantes)
Was translated into EN as: enlarged crepitations
The candidate term for "crepitancias" (specifically in lungs) in English:
"crackles" (also rales and crepitations):
"A common finding in patients with certain cardiovascular and pulmonary g y
disorders, crackles are nonmusical clicking or rattling noises heard during
auscultation of breath sounds. They usually occur during inspiration and
recur constantly from one respiratory cycle to the next. They can be
unilateral or bilateral moist or dry They're characterized by their pitch unilateral or bilateral, moist or dry. They re characterized by their pitch,
loudness, location, persistence, and occurrence during the respiratory
cycle."
http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/symptoms/crackles_in_children/book-causes-16a.htm
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Problem: Lack of subject-matter knowledge Failure to translate intralingually

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BACK TO THE BASICS: LE-RE-RE
Our ultimate goal then is to
2. RETAIN 1. LEARN
SSUBJECT UBJECT--MATTER MATTER
AND
SPECIALIZED SPECIALIZED
VOCABULARY VOCABULARY
3. RECALL
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We must understand Short-Term Memory vs. Long Term-Memory and
how they interact for optimum interpreter performance.

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LE-RE-RE
These 3 concepts are interdependent These 3 concepts are interdependent
Success in one determines success in the
following
You do one because you want to do the next You do one because you want to do the next
Therefore, the learning phase is the most important
phase, followed by the retaining and recall phases s
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phase, followed by the retaining and recall phases

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LE-RE-RE
The steps we take to learn new information will p
have a direct impact on retention and recall
Learning, retaining and recalling information is g g g
based on 4 processes of memory.
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MEMORY PROCESSES
ATTENTION ENCODING STORAGE RETRIEVAL
First you select the information to which First, you select the information to which
you will attend. You then encode the
information for storage (where it can be information for storage (where it can be
practiced and processed more deeply). Later,
when needed information is retrieved by when needed, information is retrieved by
using a search strategy that parallels how the
information was coded and stored
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information was coded and stored.

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ATTENTION (SELECTING MATERIAL) ( )
Get it right the first time (the mind clings just as tenaciously to
incorrect impressions as it does to correct). Assess reliability of
your sources
Understand Material. You must understand (make sense of)
new material before you try to remember it. You will not
remember what you do not understand remember what you do not understand
At this stage, ready-made glossaries are a waste of your time!
The Funnel Approach. Learn general concepts before moving
on to specific details. E.g. Before you attempt to find an
i l t f SP MS (S d P i MS) i ht
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equivalent for SP MS (Secondary-Progressive MS), you might
want to learn more about MS in general, other types of MS,
treatment options, etc.

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ENCODING (PREPARE FOR STORAGE) ( )
Encoding: Organizing through meaning and association
Making intentional associations improves learning and
retention
Making intentional associations helps build memory traces
( l h ) hi ki f b i h h i d (neural paths); thinking of one brings the other to mind
The exercise we did at the beginning of this presentation
involving grouping is a good example of this
phenomenon phenomenon
Deep processingrelating the material to yourself. You can
improve retention and recall by relating things to your own life
and experience and experience.
Memory Hooks. Linking the material to already stored
memories youll have more cues to recall.
Vivid Associations. Associate new and unfamiliar
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concepts by paring them with something you know well.

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ENCODING
Three types of encoding yp g
acoustic (phonemic): rehearsing through sub-vocal
sounds
visual: storing info in pictures rather than sounds visual: storing info in pictures rather than sounds
semantic: applying meaning to info (relating it so
something abstract
Th d i f i ff h The way you encode information may affect what you
remember and how you recall it later.
If you encoded three things visually or acoustically, but not semantically, you may be able
t li t th d i t t b t h diffi lt lli h t h t If to list them during a test, but you may have difficulty recalling what each term means. If
you encoded them only semantically, you might be able to explain what they mean but
have difficulty remembering the order in which they were listed on the page
Do This - Encode material using as many routes as possible
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g y p
Recognition is an easier stage of memory than recall (the more you have
rehearsed, the higher the chances to recall). E.g. multiple choice vs. open
ended questions in a test

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ENCODING
Mind Mapping is a very useful tool to organize pp g y g
information in a non-linear way. Moreover, all types of
media can be linked to the concepts
A mind map is a diagramused to represent words, ideas, tasks, or
other items linked to and arranged around a central key word or idea.
Mind maps are used to generate visualize structure and classify ideas Mind maps are used to generate, visualize, structure, and classify ideas,
and as an aid to studying and organizing information, solving
problems, making decisions, and writing.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mind_map
The Agenda for this presentation was created using CMap
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http //cmap ihmc us/
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http://cmap.ihmc.us/

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STORAGE
Storage is the process of holding information in your g p g y
memory
STM vs. LTM
Transferring info from STM to LTM can be Transferring info from STM to LTM can be
accomplished by:
Recitation. There is no principle more important or more
effective than recitation for transferring material from STM effective than recitation for transferring material from STM
to the LTM.
Obviously it involves repetition
Can take on various forms: think about it, write about Can take on various forms: think about it, write about
it, say it aloud. (The last 2 are more efficient as they
involve more electrical muscle movement to the brain,
which are known to increase mental response and
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recording.)

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STORAGE
The Principle of Neuro Transmitter Depletion The Principle of Neuro-Transmitter Depletion
Do not study really difficult material for more
than 4 hours a day (after that, efficiency and than 4 hours a day (after that, efficiency and
memory begin to decrease)
For effective consolidation of material into
memory storage, take frequent breaks (at least
10 minutes every hour)
Teach the material to others (even to an
imaginary audience) This forces you to organize
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imaginary audience). This forces you to organize
the material in a way that makes sense to you

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RETRIEVAL
Retrieval is the process of actually remembering something p y g g
when you want to.
Tip-of-the-tongue experiences (retrieval/recall is different Tip of the tongue experiences (retrieval/recall is different
than storage)
Relationship between encoding and retrieval Relationship between encoding and retrieval
Memory is aided by encoding and retrieving
i f ti i diff t information in different ways
Relationship between storage and retrieval
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When attempting to retrieve information it helps to
think about related ideas

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FORGETTING
Why do we forget? Why do we forget?
3 Main Theories:
Displacement existing information is replaced by newly Displacement existing information is replaced by newly
received information when the storage capacity is full
D I f ti d ti Decay Information decays overtime
Interference Other information present in the storage at the
same time distorts the original information
Do This
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Take a few moments to do frequent but brief reviews for
better retention

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MEMORYS NATURAL RHYTHMS
How does brain best absorb information (i.e. build neural How does brain best absorb information (i.e. build neural
connections)?
primacy (words from the beginning of the list) primacy (words from the beginning of the list)
recency (words from the end of the list)
l i t h i i li d t lik l unless a mnemonic technique is applied, you are not likely
to remember all the words unless:
words in the series are repeated
words in the series are connected in some way
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words stand out or are unusual (i.e. in a list of animals
you hear sweater)

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MEMORYS NATURAL RHYTHMS
(MAKING SENSE OF THIS INFORMATION)
Study in chunks of 20-50 minutes with 10 minute breaks in between. Do y
something physical or creative during this time.
More chunking = creating more primacy and recency high points
If we learn something and completely drop it, we will lose about 80% of
what we have learned within 1-2 days
At the end of 1 hour of study, the mind integrates the information so that
the ability to recall rises, peaks after about 10 minutes and then falls off
dramatically. Reviewing during that 10-min period will reinforce the info
while it is strongest. (Review challenging terms ASAP following an
i t ti t If h ti d th t bj t )
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interpreting encounter. If you have time, read up on that very subject.)

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RECAP
Subject-matter knowledge and knowledge of vocabulary are core factors Subject matter knowledge and knowledge of vocabulary are core factors
that influence interpreters performance.
Interpreters need to LE-RE-RE that information Interpreters need to LE-RE-RE that information
Interpreters will benefit from knowing and understanding how memory
works and how to maximize its natural abilities works and how to maximize it s natural abilities
LE-RE-RE is subject to 4 processes of memory: attention, encoding,
t d t i l storage and retrieval
Encoding can be done acoustically, visually or semantically
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Memory has natural rhythms which, when tapped into, can facilitate the
processes of memory

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RECAP
Do this: Do this:
Recite or write ideas in your own words
Explain the concepts to someone else, or make a recording
f of it
Do Parallel Text Matching
Relate it to yourself or someone you know y y
Do intentional associations with your information
Look up unfamiliar concepts (begin to build the memory
trace) trace )
Encode information using as many ways as possible
(acoustically, visually or semantically)
U diff ( h l ) f ili h
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Use different resources (technology) to facilitate the
process of encoding (Mind Mapping)

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RESOURCES
Dont forget to assess the validity of your resources!
For general subject-matter knowledge:
MedlinePlus http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ (also in Spanish and other
languages) http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/languages/arabic.html ;
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/languages/vietnamese.html etc.
CDChttp://www.cdc.gov/ (also in Spanish)
Health on the Net Foundation http://www hon ch/HONselect/index html Health on the Net Foundation http://www.hon.ch/HONselect/index.html
(EN, FR, DE, SP, PT, IT)
SearchMedica.es http://www.searchmedica.es/ (Spanish)
El Mundo Salud http://www.elmundo.es/elmundosalud/fichas.html (Spanish)
FEDER (Federacin Espaola de Enfermedades Raras) http://www.enfermedades-
raras.org/es/default.htm(Spanish)
National Network of Libraries of Medicine
http://nnlmgov/outreach/consumer/multi html (Arabic Cambodian/Khmer Chinese
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http://nnlm.gov/outreach/consumer/multi.html (Arabic,Cambodian/Khmer,Chinese,
French, German, Hmong, Korean, Laotian, Russian, Spanish, Thai, Vietnamese)
Stanford Health Library Multilingual Health Information
http://healthlibrary.stanford.edu/resources/foreign/ (59 languages!!)

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RESOURCES
Incorporate technology and different types of media!
Technology and Media to facilitate encoding:
Mind Mapping http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mind_map;
http://freemind sourceforge net/wiki/index php/Main Page; Cmap http://freemind.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Main_Page; Cmap
http://cmap.ihmc.us/ (Tutorials in YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRrC9AIkD7Y)
EMedTV http://www.youtube.com/user/emedtv (uses YouTube). You can Subscribe
Y T b h // b / T i h h b h i f h YouTube http://www.youtube.com/ Type in the search box the topic of your search
Medical View http://www.medicalview.com/
Medline
CDC
Google Images http://www.google.com/imghp
HowJSay Online Dictionary of English Pronunciation http://www.howjsay.com/
Merriam Webster http://mw1.merriamwebster.com/
Merk Source http://www mercksource com/pp/us/cns/cns home jsp (includes
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Merk Source http://www.mercksource.com/pp/us/cns/cns_home.jsp (includes
medical animations)
Medical Animation Library (Penn Medicine)
http://www.pennmedicine.org/health_info/animationplayer/ (check your browser)

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Q&A Q&A
Animations by Animations by Nicols Nicols Curtis Curtis