Competence: being an interpreter elaboration of competence framework for the training of simultaneous interpreters

Master

Reference

Competence: being an interpreter elaboration of competence framework for the training of simultaneous interpreters

FEDOROVA, Alexandra

Abstract

The purpose of this master thesis was to research into the competences of a conference interpreter. In the context where a professional qualification becomes indispensable for starting a professional activity and the working conditions are changing, it seems appropriate to take a look at the activity of simultaneous interpreters for the benefit of their training. Of particular interest for this research is the context of working in international organizations. On the basis documentary research and explicitation interviews with the professionals, a competence framework was elaborated. A dynamic model of competence developed by J.-C.

Coulet is proposed as a tool that can make the findings of the research practically usable in the training of interpreters.

FEDOROVA, Alexandra. Competence: being an interpreter elaboration of competence framework for the training of simultaneous interpreters. Master : Univ. Genève, 2020

Available at:

http://archive-ouverte.unige.ch/unige:136609

Competence: Being an Interpreter

Elaboration of Competence Framework for the Training of Simultaneous Interpreters

MÉMOIRE RÉALISÉ EN VUE DE L’OBTENTION DE LA

ANALYSE ET INTERVENTION DANS LES SYSTÈMES ÉDUCATIFS

PAR

Alexandra Fedorova

DIRECTEUR DU MÉMOIRE Frédéric Yvon

JURY

Konstantin Ivanov Stéphane Jacquemet

GENÈVE, JANVIER 2020

Abstract

The purpose of this master thesis was to research into the competences of a conference interpreter. In the context where a professional qualification becomes indispensable for starting a professional activity and the working conditions are changing, it seems appropriate to take a look at the activity of simultaneous interpreters for the benefit of their training. Of particular interest for this research is the context of working in international organizations.

On the basis documentary research and explicitation interviews with the professionals, a competence framework was elaborated. A dynamic model of competence developed by J.-C.

Coulet is proposed as a tool that can make the findings of the research practically usable in

the training of interpreters.

UNIVERsffÉ

FACULTÉ DE PSYCHOTO6IE ET DÊS SCIENCÊS.DE L'ÉDUCÀTION

Déclaration ^sur llhonneur

Je déctare que les conditions

de

ce

quin'esf

;

source esf en outre placé entre guillemets.

Genève,le

28 ^o ! ^Zntr,

ffiooorlro {o/,r'o"

Prénom, Nom

Signature

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank director of the thesis Professor Frédéric Yvon for all the constructive support and for the intense discussions that were not only helpful, but genuinely inspirational.

I am grateful to the interpreters who took their time to participate in the research in

spite of complicated schedules and large distances. Hopefully, the interviews were at least a

bit as useful in the analysis of their own practice as they were insightful for me. It is a common

saying that everyone looks at the world with different eyes, but it is amazing to see the facets

of this world in seven reflections. It has definitely enriched my view of profession and gave

much food for thought.

Introduction ... 6

1. Contextual Framing ... 8

1.1. Introducing the profession of conference interpreter ... 8

1.2. Interpreting as an activity ... 9

1.3. Interpreting as a functional model ... 11

1.4. Training and research questions ... 12

2. Theoretical Framing ... 14

2.1. The notion of competence ... 14

2.2. Competence and activity analysis ... 18

2.3. Dynamic competence model (MADDEC) ... 19

2.4. Competence framework: purposes and application ... 22

3. Methodological Framing ... 26

3.1. Documentary research ... 26

3.2. Interviews with interpreters ... 28

3.2.1. Participants and setting ... 28

3.2.2. Interview methodology ... 30

4. Presentation of Results ... 33

4.1. Literature review (state of the art) ... 33

4.2. Elaboration of competence framework ... 36

4.3. Description of interpreter’s competence ... 42

4.3.1. Interpreting techniques ... 42

4.3.2. Preparation ... 55

4.3.3. Self-management ... 62

4.3.4. Professionalism ... 64

4.3.5. Attitudes ... 67

4.3.6. Ethics ... 71

5. Discussion of Results ... 73

5.1. Summary of theoretical aspects of dynamic competence model (MADDEC) ... 73

5.2. Dynamic model of interpreters’ competence ... 74

Conclusion ... 80

References ... 84

Figures and Annexes

Figure 1. Dynamic Competence Model MADDEC ... 20

Figure 2. Draft Competence Framework ... 36

Figure 3. Interpreting Model ... 37

Figure 4. Interpreters' Competence Framework ... 39

Figure 5. Dynamic Model of Interpreter’s Competence ... 79

Annex I. Sources for draft competence framework ... 88

Annex II. Transcriptions of interviews with conference interpreters ... 94

Introduction

This research stands on the intersection of educational studies and translation and interpreting studies. The choice of the subject stems from my professional interests. Being a graduate of the Faculty of Translation and Interpreting of Geneva University (UNIGE) and a Geneva-based interpreter working for international organizations, I wanted to apply theoretical knowledge and methodological approach that I got familiar with during my master program and the hands-on experience of working in the booth. And the purpose of this research is also very practical: the findings of the work may be used for further training of interpreters.

The notion of competence — a concept that has become so widely applied in education and in enterprises — is the entry point for the research. It is the concept of competence that brings into focus the training and the reality of the job. In order to take account of both spheres, it was decided to study the objectives of training programs, find out if there are established professional standards, review the manuals as well as talk to interpreters who would give insight into the extremely important period of anyone’s career — the period of entry into the market and several first years of work when the skills acquired during training are being tested and new learning opportunities present themselves every time an interpreter enters the booth.

The questions related to the interpreters’ competence and their adequacy to the market demands seem to be relevant at the time of certain transformations in the sphere.

Interpreters’ working conditions have been changing these recent decades due to processes common to many spheres: globalization, technological advances, flexibilization of the labour market, pervasion of the English language, diversification of commercial relations, international collaboration to name just the most apparent trends. Interpreters should be very adaptably to evolving conditions, know various markets, since they may be employed by clients in other parts of the world (and thus the competition between the professionals also becomes international), and improve their skills continuously responding to technology shifts and new practices. According to Orlando (2016), the specialisation in a particular sphere of knowledge/industry is less common, interpreters should be ready to work for international meetings, conferences, on business assignments, as well as in zones of conflicts and disasters.

“Freelance interpreters today can be asked to work and offer their services in many areas,

(Orlando, 2016, p. 22). The standardisation and certification trends are now on the rise, similarly to many other industries. And it is no longer possible to access the profession without formal qualification, generally a master’s degree. In this context, it seems quite timely to ask what skills are necessary for a simultaneous interpreter to perform efficiently and assure the service at the highest level.

In the first chapter of the thesis, the profession of interpreter and the setting in which they work will be introduced. Certain theoretical models describing the activity of interpreter will also be presented in the contextual framing.

The Theoretical Framing will discuss the concept of competence and distinguish its key features. The competence framework as a tool that helps operationalise the competence will also be presented in this chapter.

The next chapter will present the methodology of the research carried out in two stages.

First of all, the existing literature on interpreter competence was analysed, and the results were used to draw a preliminary framework of skills; at the second stage, the framework was complemented with data gathered in the interviews with interpreters. This data gave an insight into the experience of professionals and realities of the job. The methodology is centred around two practical challenges: the necessity to access the ‘black box’ of the competence and the preoccupation to present the results in a convenient format without losing integrity of the processes involved.

The results of the research will be resented in two phases following the methodological approach: first, the preliminary classification and then the competence framework with detailed description of every component will be presented. In the discussion, we will attempt to go further in the practical application of the findings and propose the dynamic model of interpreters’ competence that (after further elaboration) can be used for the purposes of training.

In the conclusion, the main findings of the research will be summarized, the limits and

opening to further research will be discussed.

1. Contextual Framing

1.1. Introducing the profession of conference interpreter

Today, an international conference can hardly be imagined without simultaneous interpreters (SI) who will ensure that people speaking different languages understand each other. Typically, interpreters work in pairs in a sound-proof booth separated by a glass from the conference hall, the number of booths for a particular meeting depending on the number of working languages. A simultaneous interpreter hears the speaker through the head set a delivers the interpreted speech in the microphone, thus assuring multi-language communication.

The profession of SI is usually traced back to the Nuremberg trial conducted in English, French, German and Russian, however, the first attempts to introduce simultaneous interpretation were done in 1927 in Geneva at the International Labour Office (Bissière- Whiting, 2010) and 1928 in the Soviet Union (Chernov, 1978), and in 1947 the UN Secretariat purchased the first portative equipment for SI. After several years of hesitation between the consecutive and simultaneous modes of interpreting, the SI gained the upper hand, since it allowed the conference participants to spare no extra time on interpretation. Thus, SI stared serving multilateral diplomacy and multilateral relations (Chernov, 1978, p. 6).

Following this specialisation, several schools for training SI appeared across the world.

In Geneva, the first training program appeared in 1948, with one or two graduates per year (Chernov, 1978, p. 8). Today, the Faculty of Translation and Interpreting of Geneva University is a partner institution of the European Masters in Conference Interpreting (EMCI) Consortium, together with eight other universities from around the world. EMCI is a Master- level university programme established by the European Commission, DGXXII and the European Parliament. The EMCI members have common standards in curriculum, student recruitment and assessment; they regularly review their programs to adapt to the changing markets and conditions (EMCI, 2015). And the number of students in these institutions is much higher than at the dawn of the profession.

Professional training in SI became indispensable for anyone who aspires to work as an interpreter: a qualification in SI training is obligatory, and in some cases a separate qualification examination should be taken. This is the case of the United Nations for example:

it is necessary to pass an examination in order to be included in the roster of interpreters who

UN (World Health Organisation, International Labour Organisation, World Meteorological Organisation, International Telecommunications Organisation etc.) do not require a qualification exam. Similarly, the United Nations Office in Geneva is the only institution that employs in-house conference interpreters, whereas all other organizations rely on freelancers who work under short-term contracts. Within an organization, it is usually the Conference Service Department that takes care of the hiring interpreters and managing the teams.

Apart from having numerous employers, one of the peculiarities of the job is the fact there is no timeframe for the offers. Thus, certain offers may arrive one year before the assignment, others the evening before the meeting. Often, the initial offer arrives in the form of an option to be confirmed at a later stage. And again, no timeframe for the confirmation exists.

The interpreter’s representative professional body — International Association of Conference Interpreters (AIIC) negotiates the working conditions by signing agreements with international organizations. The working hours, daily rates, travel conditions, equipment standards etc. are stipulated in these documents (AIIC, 2019).

1.2. Interpreting as an activity

Simultaneous interpretation is an oral interpreting of a speech that starts and finishes simultaneously with the original speech (a lag of several seconds is admitted). One of the first attempts to conceptualize interpretation and distinguish it from translation was made by Otto Kade (1968) and was based not on the use of written vs. spoken language but the “immediacy of the process” (Pöchhacker, 2015, p. 199).

An indispensable element of SI is the equipment that makes this organization possible.

From a certain point of view, it can be said that an interpreter is integrated into a chain: a microphone — amplifier — interpreter’s earpiece — interpreter — microphone — amplifier

— delegate’s earpiece. The importance of the technical setting is such that it makes Chernov (1978) state that “in such a description a SI looks like a detail, an element in the SI arrangement. In such a way a simultaneous interpreter himself becomes part of an inseparable channel of communication from the speaker to the conference participant”

(Chernov, 1978, p. 4).

Another factor that shapes the activity is are the tight time constraints: the interpreter

hears a speech only once, and needs to react almost immediately. He does not have the luxury

rely on are the skills and experience, and to use that he has a fraction of second. The limited amount of resources available for the treatment of information and delivery of target speech in the deficit of time is what characterizes the activity.

The simultaneity of listening and speaking is something that comes by default in the description of the activity. It is interesting to note that there exists research that doubts the simultaneity of the process, since the interpreter may take advantage of natural pauses in the speaker’s speech in order to produce their interpretation. However, these doubts were later dispelled by other studies (Chernov, 1978). So it can be said that the interpreter listens/speaks on the background of noise or interferences (Chernov, 1978, p. 47).

In the setting of the UN and its specialized agencies, the following organization of interpretation is common: the number of booths equals the number of working languages of the meeting, with two or three interpreters in each booth. A standard shift for interpreter lasts 30 minutes, with a 30-minute pause while the boothmate is working. Normally, interpreters working in the English booth will have English as their mother tongue.

Ideally, such system should allow for a higher-quality interpretation. However, it is only possible with a limited number of working languages of the conference (generally, up to four) (Chernov, 1978). Since a larger number of languages is frequently used, given that there are six official UN languages (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish), a relay may be used, i. e. the interpreters who have a certain language in their combination will work into their target language, and other interpreters who do not command the source language will interpret not the original speech but its interpretation by a colleague. For example, a delegate chooses to speak in Italian, but not all of the interpreters have the Italian as their working language. There are one or several members of the interpreting team who have Italian and are able to convey the message in a language that is common for other interpreters (English, for example), and all others interpret from English to their target language. So, a Spanish- speaking delegate will in fact listen to the double interpretation.

The language combination of an interpreter is the pair(s) of languages that they work

with. For example, in the UN system, at least two languages (normally, official UN languages)

other than the active language are required. The active language is the language into which

the interpreter works. As a rule, the active language is one’s native language. A foreign

language can be either passive, i.e. the interpreter can only interpret from this language, but

not into it. A foreign language can also be an active language in case of nearly-native command of the language.

1.3. Interpreting as a functional model

Researchers have attempted to describe interpreting in functional models.

Alongside intuition, observation and experiment, researchers have drawn on the social and cognitive sciences for concepts and component processes, but all such models remain highly tentative due to the complexity of performance data, small samples, high inter-subject variability, and the challenge of ensuring ecological validity. (Setton, 2015, p. 263)

The two principal approaches to modelling the activity of an interpreter stem form cognitive sciences on the one hand and social sciences on the other hand. Cognitive models highlight the mental operations, and are usually used for the description of conference interpreting and SI in particular, since in this setting the role of the interpreter is standardized, the demands on register and speed are higher, but the expectations in terms of communicative management or advocacy are few (Setton, 2015). These models rely on cognitive psychology and are elaborated on understanding the processes related to the treatment of information: memory, comprehension, attention, resources allocation.

“Understanding how these interact or overlap in the complex task of deriving meaning from one linguistic form and expressing it in another, live and under time constraints, is a central challenge for modelling interpreting” (Setton, 2015, p. 265).

Information-processing paradigm based on the assumption that the brain is an analogue of a computer that “interprets discrete systems based on algorithms” (Seeber, 2015, p. 56) was prevalent in the 70-s. The early “linear” models did not allow to accommodate the use of contextual knowledge, and attempts were made to factor in these elements by Gerver (1976) who studied the control processes that explain the allocation of attention or Moser (1978) who introduced a predictive mechanism into her model (Setton, 2015).

Later on, it was replaced with the connectionist paradigm (Rumelhart & McClelland, 1986) that described the brain as a “network of interconnected processors” (Seeber, 2015, p.

56). Such an approach could assimilate the ability to learn and to deal with the unknown.

The cognitive theories went even further and grew interested in neurological

functioning of human brain, since

the performance of a simultaneous interpreter depends on the possibility of monitoring, shifting and distributing selective attention on different parallel tasks, a capability which is partly unconscious and partly voluntary. Neurophysiological research indicates the high degree of automacity of a large number of unconscious processes. (Moser-Mercer, 2002, p. 157)

Relational or social models take into account the communication aspects of interaction between the actors, including the interpreter. These models refer to the role of the interpreter, explicit and implicit norms of the communication situation. On the dawn of interpretation studies a communicative information flow model was proposed by Stenzl (1983). It makes allowance for situational-textual knowledge, communicative intention and sociocultural contexts (Pöchhacker, 2012).

Apart from that, linguistic theories naturally lend themselves to description of interpreting as a process. For instance, Chernov’s Probability-Prediction Model highlights redundancy of the language as a key that allows the anticipation and makes the SI feasible (Chernov & Setton, 2004).

The cognitive and social approaches can be combined to render more fully of the processes involved. For example, Pöchhacker (1994b, 2005) suggested an interactant model that connects the social and cognitive elements “relating each interpretation of a speech to the wider hypertext of the conference and the interpreter–client relationship” (Setton, 2015, p. 264). Setton put forward a cognitive-pragmatic model describing the interaction of linguistic decoding with the inference based on pragmatic clues in the speech and extratextual knowledge (Setton, 2015), including “nonverbal and paraverbal signals in the auditory and visual channels” (Pöchhacker, 2012, p. 281).

1.4. Training and research questions

Today, it is expected that an interpreter would have a formal training and would be able to assure high-quality interpretation and work on an equal footing with experienced colleagues from day one. It is very likely that after graduation an interpreter will have to work for a variety of institutions and get familiar with numerous subject matters. Moreover, they will need to deal with offers and contracts and manage their career on a larger scale themselves and adapt to new developments.

Needless to say, a vast set of competences is required to be successful in the profession,

communication and to a certain extent (self-)management skills. Therefore, it would be interesting to study how this organisational context and on-the-job situations can be factored in to further improve interpreters’ training.

Initially, the interest in the subject of the interpreter’s competence was inspired by the experience I was living at the moment: I have just started working in international organizations after a break, and understanding whether my own competence that I have acquired during the training is adequate to the demands of the market was vital. The dual role of a practitioner and a researcher certainly adds subjectivity to the research, which in any case cannot be non-subjective, but is at the same time advantageous, due to the familiarity with the profession.

As a student in educational sciences I got familiar with the concept of competence framework that has become an indispensable element of any training nowadays. At Geneva University, the training of interpreters consists of very practical and concrete skills that are acquired throughout the four-semester Master program, and the final exanimation is a confirmation of readiness for the real life. Students have a precious opportunity to listen to professional interpretation done by the trainers during certain classes or by future colleagues during visits to international organizations. So the students are indeed getting more and more aware of what is expected from the professional interpreter during their training. However, the required sets of skills are not explicitly presented in the course of learning.

Besides, it is evident that the learning does not stop after the graduation examination, and there are skills that could only be acquired when an interpreter lives through the whole experience of getting an offer, preparing for an assignment in a completely new organization, working with the colleagues they are not familiar with, planning their workload and many others. Moreover, the objective factors such as the changing working conditions and the obligation to have a formal qualification before accessing the job should also be taken into account.

Therefore, the following research questions seem to be quite relevant:

a. What competences are required to do a job of a simultaneous interpreter?

b. What competences are actualised in a real-job situation of working in international organisations?

c. How can these competences be described to make them practically usable

2. Theoretical Framing

2.1. The notion of competence

The term competence can be traced back to the expression ‘linguistic competence’

introduced by Noam Chomsky (Bronckart & Dolz, 2002). Initially, Chomsky meant by linguistic competence the innate capacity of any human brain to produce and understand any natural language — an assumption that was never confirmed. The term was taken on by linguists and experimental psychologists. The former developed it in the context of language learning, with Hymes (1973/1991) suggesting the term ‘communication competence’, i.e. the capacity to relate linguistic output with the goal of communication. For him, this was not an innate property given by nature but a capacity that could be developed and learned. In experimental psychology, competence superseded intelligence that was now defined as a sum of competences.

According to the authors, the term makes it reappearance in the field of analysis of work practice and vocational training in an aspiration to question the logic of certification in the workplace. In the new working reality, where ability to adapt, flexibility and individual initiative were required from the worker, with the new technologies emerged, the former system of certification became obsolete, and the competence-based approach gained the upper hand. The aim of this approach was to allow the acquisition of more general and complex competences — in contrast with the mere acquisition of sequences of gestures to apply in a concrete situation — that could be valid in various working situations and tasks, that would allow making decisions in real time (Bronckart & Dolz, 2002). This former approach is based on a behaviouristic reasoning deducing competence from the number of tasks that a worker should fulfil in a given context, whereas the latter is a cognitive approach that supposes a strategy that drives or generates an activity (Aubret & Gilbert, 2003).

One of the fields that contributed to the competence-based approach were the works of ergonomists who shifted the emphasis from the logic of the job position («poste de travail») to the actor who cannot be reduced to the machine. In this sense, the concept of competence complemented the notions of task and activity (Leontʹev, Dupond, & Molinier, 1984). According to Montmollin (1984), it becomes critical if we need to describe and explain professional activity (Aubret & Gilbert, 2003).

The concept of competence in the organisational context was introduced by American

diploma or qualification cannot predict performance of a worker and was searching for a new factor that would explain why one person can tackle the task easier that another. He decided to proceed by the analysis of how a worker performs their tasks and put forward the notion of competence that for him was linked to motivation and emotions of a person — so he was one of the first authors to factor in competence social and emotional aspects.

In organizations, human resources management became the centre of competence- based approach, and educational institutions caught up the movement as well — competence is in the heart of development of pedagogical goals and curricula and evaluation of students (Coulet, 2011). It is important to highlight that the competence in HR management is a characteristic of a person, as is stipulated by Coulet (2016), and focuses on an individual independently from the organisational context.

Since then, numerous definitions of competence have been formulated by various researchers (Baudouin, 2002; Bulea Bronckart & Bronckart, 2005; Coulet, 2016; Leplat, 1991;

Oiry, 2005; Pastré, 1999; Rey, 2014). These different approaches highlight various usages and conceptual representation of the term in different branches of research that vest interest in this concept: sociology, psychology, ergonomics, management to name just a few. For example, for educational sciences it is important to make distinction between competence and performance, and the social psychology may focus on the interiorization of standards of efficiency that would make them competent (Aubret & Gilbert, 2003).

The challenge of defining this concept may be related to the fact that the only way to

« visualise » the compétence is the action, and all the hidden processes result from the interaction of processes that can be described in various conceptual terms. Moreover, according to Daniellou, «une partie de la compétence ne passe, ni par la conceptualisation dans un premier temps, ni par le langage. Si l’on veut apprendre à quelqu’un à nouer les lacets de ses chaussures, le concept de nœud ne mène pas loin» (Clot et al., 2005, p. 144).

Coulet puts forward a psychological perspective to analyse the fundament elements of competence (Coulet, 2010, 2011, 2016, 2019). For the author, the description of process underlying the competence stays “largement métaphorique” (Coulet, 2011, p. 3). In the same vein that Cros and Raisky describe the competence as “un construit hypothétique, une pure construction sociale” (Cros & Raisky, 2010, p. 110).

Let us take a look at several definitions of competence put forward by research at

competence can be distinguished: one that focuses more on cognitive processes and the other that includes social and motivational aspects.

De Montmollin defines the competence as «ensemble stabilisé de savoirs et de savoir- faire, de conduites-types, de procédures standard, de types de raisonnements que l’on peut mettre en œuvre sans apprentissage nouveau (De Montmollin, 1984, p. 122). This definition accentuates the stability of knowledge and behaviour that have been acquired through learning and that can be applied, but says nothing about the conditions of their applications.

The definition by Meignant is brings in the elements of efficiency/performance and highlights the operative character of competence, i.e. the fact that it is inseparable from the action. For him, « la compétence est un savoir-faire opérationnel validé» (Meignant, 2003, p. 99).

Efficiency/performance in a given task is indeed an element that cannot be ignored.

This view is supported for example by the schematic representation of the competence by Vergnaud (2011a). The author derives competence from the ability to deal with a class of situations or by the fact that they master a technique or procedure that allows them to do better than another person or by the fact that they have a set of alternative techniques and procedures that allow him to adapt better to different circumstances that may arise (Vergnaud, 2011a, p. 282). But factoring in performance or social recognition should not lead to a conclusion that competence is binary and a person may be either competent or not.

Rather we should approach it from the point of view of levels, i.e. professionals having different levels of competence, with everyone having a certain level à priori (Coulet, 2011).

In 1994, Tardiff defined the competence as «un système de connaissances, déclaratives [...] conditionnelles [...] et procédurales [...] organisées en schémas opératoires » et permettant la résolution de problèmes (Tardiff, 1994) (Bronckart & Dolz, 2002, p. 34). An important notion of operative schemes that will be discussed in more detail later on appears here, as well as the idea that a competence implies a purpose-oriented activity.

Other researchers focus on the social aspect of competence that is seen as a result of interaction between various actors. Defélix states that « définir et reconnaître la compétence d’un salarié ne résultent pas d’un choix définitif ni d’une évidence ; c’est le résultat, fragile et dynamique, d’une négociation invisible entre des acteurs variables et à des niveaux différents

» (Defélix, 2005, p. 8). Besides the notion of negotiation process, the author brings into light

the dynamic character of competence, its changing, adaptive nature.

The next definition factors in individuality of the actor who needs to take decisions in order to solve problems they are facing: “la compétence est la prise d’initiative et de responsabilité de l’individu sur des situations professionnelles auxquelles il est confronté » (Zarifian, 2004, p. 22). So, the competence always implies this interplay of the social and the individual.

Numerous are the researches who stress the complex character of competence as an organised structure that combines various elements or resources. Le Boterf sees it as “un système, une organisation structurée qui associe de façon combinatoire divers éléments » (Le Boterf, 1994, p. 34). We see that a competence has a certain structure that is responsible for joining together its constituent elements So, the structure implies that there exists certain stable organisation of an activity, whereas the combinatory part is responsible for the adaptation to a given task/context.

“En effet, la compétence est aussi un potentiel (Samurcay & Rabardel, 2004), certes évolutif sous l’influence d’un processus développemental mais, malgré tout, suffisamment stable pour qu’une même compétence puisse être reconnue dans une classe de situations plus ou moins large» (Coulet, 2011, p. 17).

The next definition states more precisely what elements are combined, and they include knowledge, skills and motivation of an individual : « la compétence peut être définie à un niveau individuel comme étant un ensemble de connaissances, capacités et volonté professionnelles » (Meschi, 1996) (Aubret & Gilbert, 2003, p. 8).

Bellier states: « la compétence permet d’agir et/ou de résoudre des problèmes professionnels de manière satisfaisante dans un contexte particulier en mobilisant diverses capacités de manière intégrée » (Bellier, 1999, p. 126). This approach suggests that the various resources that constitute a competence will be brought together in an integrated manner making a competence a holistic entity.

Another important characteristic of the competence is its dynamic character: the

competence is a dynamic reconstruction of various elements that are part of resources that

it assembles (Oiry, 2005). The dynamic nature of the competence is highlighed in the

definition of Malglaive (1990) who defines it as « totalité complexe et mouvante mais

structurée, opératoire, c’est-à-dire ajustée à l’action et à ces différentes occurrences », «

structure dynamique dont le moteur n’est autre que l’activité » (Baudouin, 2002, p. 151).

We can conclude that the main characteristics of the notion of competence are the following:

-

it can be observed via the action and is inseparable from it;

-

it is directed towards a particular goal/set of goals in a context;

-

it is related to a situation or a class of situations;

-

it reflects the interplay of the individual and the social;

-

it is plastic and allows an individual to adapt to a given situation;

-

it is composed of “knowledge, functional competence and behavioural competencies”

(Coulet, 2011, p. 1);

-

it is aimed at assuring efficiency of a person facing a particular task;

-

it is a dynamic recombination of resources that form a holistic unit (a totality);

-

it is not binary, rather it is a continuum.

In this thesis, we will borrow the definition of competence given by Coulet who defines competence as follows:

Une compétence est une organisation dynamique de l’activité, mobilisée et régulée par un sujet pour faire face à une tâche donnée, dans une situation déterminée. (Coulet, 2011, p. 17)

2.2. Competence and activity analysis

As it was noted, it is impossible to observe the competence directly — it is the competence embedded in the activity that allows us to make assumptions on the features of skills involved.

Baudouin states that in the field of vocational training the reference is made to the activity, not the knowledge as in traditional educational research, “l’analyse de l’activité constitue ainsi une démarche de base dans l’identification des compétences effectivement mobilisées par les agents” (Baudouin, 2002, p. 152).

In spite of the fact that the relation of competence to the activity has been accepted by

authors, it appears that the description of mechanisms that support the mobilization of

competence in the actual situation is largely missing in the literature on competence,

according to Coulet (2019). The researcher states: whether we deduce competence from the

triad of knowledge, skills and attitudes or see it as a structured organisation of resources or a

goal-oriented activity, the functional characteristics of the competence are largely lost to

The difficulties related to this approach stem partly from the fact that even if the research into competence starts with the analysis of the given activity, there exists no definite link between the two, since various tasks may require the same competence or on the contrary similar tasks may imply different strategies, hence different skills (Aubret & Gilbert, 2003). In this sense, the choice of strategy recruited by the actor in a particular situation will also constitute a part of competence (Pastré, 1999).

One of the ways to overcome the obstacles related to the evasive nature of competence is to rely on the constants that are inherent to any activity. « La théorie de l’activité fondée sur la conceptualisation dans l’action pose que l’activité humaine est organisée, en ce sens qu’elle combine une part d’invariance et une part d’adaptabilité. Ceci permet de décrire un fonctionnement, qui est à la fois suffisamment stable et suffisamment fluide » (Pastré, 2009, p. 171). In other words, the analysis of activity is interested in typical situations at work and tries to identify the activity-situation coupling (“couplage activité-situation”). These key linkages will serve the basis for the identification of key skills and consequently for the elaboration of training programs (Durand, de Saint-Georges, & Meuwly-Bonte, 2006, pp. 196- 197).

Besides, it is necessary to take into account the components of control and orientation of an action, all the background analysis and treatment of information that allows an actor to take decisions:

L'activité, c'est à la fois le visible et l'invisible du travail ; c'est non seulement la conduite observable, mais c'est aussi la subjectivité de l'opérateur, en ses motifs d'agir. Les opérations ne sont pas toutes d'exécution : il existe aussi des opérations de contrôle et surtout d'orientation, qui sont des opérations de diagnostic de l'état de la situation qu'il faut traiter. Il est clair que dans ce cadre théorique, la prise en compte des opérations, et notamment des opérations d'orientation, est indispensable pour faire une véritable analyse du travail. (Pastré, 1999, p. 119).

It is this reasoning that will guide us in the methodological approach to the collection of empirical data.

2.3. Dynamic competence model (MADDEC)

One of methodological challenges of the research was the representation of the

gathered material in the form of the competence framework. It was necessary avoid

training purposes. Therefore, an attempt was made to organize it in a dynamic model for the description and evaluation of competence proposed by Coulet — MADDEC (Coulet, 2019).

Figure 1. Dynamic Competence Model MADDEC

Let us take a look at the components and the logic behind this model. One of the cornerstones of the model is the concept of scheme put forward by Vergnaud.

Vergnaud gives two definitions of a scheme.

1. “Le schème est une totalité dynamique fonctionnelle” (Vergnaud, 2011a, p.

283).

The word totality here implies that it is an identifiable unit of human activity that comprises several interlinked and inseparable elements. But a scheme is not a behaviour / sequence of actions, it’s “a component of representation which has the function of generating activity and behaviour in a situation” (Vergnaud, 2007, p. 7).

1. “Le schème est une organisation invariante de l’activité pour une classe de situations donnée” (Vergnaud, 2011b, p. 43).

The collocation “invariant organisation” should not be read as though there exists a rigid structure that governs an activity at any circumstances. In fact, what is “invariant” is the organisation of the action are the elements that constitute this totality, but these elements, though they organize an activity, may lead to relatively different behaviour depending on concrete circumstances (Vergnaud, 2011a). Thus, uncertainty is an integral part of a scheme.

The scheme is composed of the following elements (Vergnaud, 2011b):

Goal, sub-goals and anticipations (the idea of a competence as a goal-oriented activity

— even when these goals are not formulated explicitly — has been mentioned before as one

RÉSULTATS

Rules of action, information-gathering and control (these actions are conditioned by the goal on one hand and the representation of the objects that are subject to the activity, they account for the temporal dimension of the activity).

Situational inferences (these are the adaptations and adjustments made by an individual taking in account the circumstance they face).

Operational invariants include concepts-in-act and theorems-in-act and are the mostly cognitive components of the scheme, since they relate to the interpretation and treatment of information, they are responsible for the identification of objects, relations between them and their transformations. “La fonction principale des invariants opératoires est de prélever et de sélectionner l'information pertinente et d'en inférer des conséquences utiles pour l'action, le contrôle et la prise d'information subséquente. C’est alors une fonction de conceptualisation et d’inférence” (Vergnaud, 2007, p. 7).

The idea behind operational invariants is that in order to make inferences and produce rules, we need to identify elements that are relevant or useful for treatment/processing as well as their properties. These are the concepts-in-act: any objects that are relevant for the situation. However, these objects by themselves cannot allow a person to make inferences (anticipations or predictions), so a system that connects these free variables and makes statements (theorems) that are true in this situation. So, concepts-in-act are objects that are relevant for the accomplishment of a task or achieving the expected results, whereas theorems-in-act are statements, believes that are true in a situation, theorems-in-act allow us to justify the activity we are engaged in.

Métaphoriquement on peut dire que les concepts-en-acte sont les briques avec lesquelles les théorèmes-en-acte sont fabriqués, et que la seule raison d'existence des concepts-en-acte est justement de permettre la formation de théorèmes-en- acte (propositions tenues pour vraies), à partir desquels sont rendus possibles l'organisation de l'activité et les inférences. (Vergnaud, 2007, p. 8).

The next element of MADDEC is the notion of instrument that has a double nature: it is a physical or symbolic tool (artefact) that has associated schemes of utilization that are appropriated by a person (Rabardel, 1995). Thus, the instrument “n'est donc pas un "donné", mais doit être élaboré par le sujet” (Rabardel, 1995, p. 64).

A scheme is a universal concept that covers a class of situations that are similar or

to the coordination of complex techniques. In this sense, schemes are hierarchical: simpler ones supporting and organising the more elaborate ones. With the experience of an activity, these various schemes interact with each other and form an inventory for various areas of activity. Thus, a competence mobilises a set of other competences that are “hiérarchisées, si bien que les règles d’actions d’une compétence donnée ne sont rien d’autre que des compétences subordonnées à la compétence plus générale qui les mobilise (en tant que moyens d’action)” (Coulet, 2019, p. 39). The notion of scheme is a rupture from the information-followed-by-action vision: it’s a permanent build-up of actions, information- gathering and control that gradually constitute efficiency (Vergnaud, 2007, p. 7).

One of the peculiarities of the model that makes it applicable for training purposes is the regulation mechanism. The dotted arrows on the scheme indicate the loops of gaining experience and learning. The short loop may be limited to searching the correspondence between a rule of action and a particular circumstance, whereas the long loop implies that the professional will try and find the reasons of failure or good performance, and adjust their actions correspondingly. The learning loop can go as far as replace the entire scheme (Coulet, 2016).

Au total, une telle approche des compétences individuelles et collectives permet de dissiper quelque peu le flou des définitions classiques, en offrant un cadre, précis et théoriquement fondé, de description des compétences individuelles et collectives. De plus, la distinction de trois boucles de régulation à travers lesquelles l’individu peut capitaliser l’expérience des situations auxquelles il est confronté, ouvre des perspectives pour opérer des choix délibérés quant à celles que l’on cherche à promouvoir pédagogiquement en formation. (Coulet, 2016, p. 19) 2.4. Competence framework: purposes and application

According to Jarnias and Oiry, the model of competence is “un point de passage obligé dans les démarches compétences” (Jarnias & Oiry, 2013, p. 12). So whether we situate ourselves in educational or corporate context, we will come across a more or less detailed description of a competences for a given job with a striking variety of contents: from quite concise to quite detailed ones, from lists of required activities to performance criteria (Balas, 2011; Cros & Raisky, 2010; Jarnias & Oiry, 2013).

The competence frameworks or models (“référentiel de compétence”) have evolved

complete a certain class of professional actions. They are valid for a given profession or a family of jobs (Cros & Raisky, 2010). Later on, as the assessment culture has permeated educational and corporate institutions, the competence models started to be widely used as an assessment tool (Coulet, 2011). Ergonomics that was the first to delimit the prescribed work (what is asked from an employee) and the real work (what is actually done) contributed greatly to the development competence frameworks (Jarnias & Oiry, 2013).

This evolution explains the two approaches to the elaboration of competence framework: one stemming from the description of tasks and the other analyzing what is done in reality. As discussed previously, the competence presents itself in the action, and the analysis of these actions proceeds through the observation of classes of general on-the-job situations for a certain profession. Therefore, in this thesis we will focus on the approach that implies the analysis of activity.

The variability of contents and forms of competence frameworks results from the numerous spheres of application. In general, three categories of competence can be distinguished by their purpose: models that describe a profession, an occupation; assessment or certification frameworks; framework that help organize and direct the acquisition of knowledge (Balas, 2011). Sorel is even speaking about the genres of competence models (Sorel, 2011).

Elaboration of framework requires certain form of formalization and structuring of the complex phenomena of reality of any activity, therefore, there exists a considerable risk of simplification and reduction of reality (Duplessis, 2005). The framework is a matter of compromise between objectivity (which is never really possible) and the clarity of the model.

This problem of formatting is especially relevant for the descriptive competence frameworks:

it is a challenge to find a right balance between fitness-for-purpose and user-friendliness (Balas, 2011).

The authenticity of the framework, that is the recognition by the professionals of the

reality described in the framework as the own, is crucial (Balas, 2011). The competence

framework aims to describe the activity as precisely as possible. And it is important to use the

terms that are implied by the professionals, to know their jargon, since “parfois l’ajout ou la

suppression d’un seul terme, fait basculer le référentiel d’un côté à l’autre de cette frontière

fragile“ (Balas, 2011, p. 59).

One more factor to be taken into account in the elaboration of competence model is the hierarchization of competences. It is evident that putting all possible requirements on one list even including the separation in various thematic areas would create erroneous impression that all these competences are of equal value. (Pastré, 1999, p. 119).

Cros and Raisky define the competence framework in the following words:

Le référentiel est un construit social qui clarifie les normes d’une activité ou d’un sens donné à des systèmes sociaux. Il est ce par rapport à quoi un jugement ou un sens est donné à un objet ou une action… C’est un ensemble rationalisé des données dont se sert une application… Comment construire du sens collectif s’il n’existe pas des repères communs ? (Cros & Raisky, 2010, p. 107).

This definition relies on the assumption that corporate or professional culture makes people belonging to one professional sphere will acquire a certain homogeneity in the perception of the job (Cros & Raisky, 2010). Perrenoud (2001) highlights that usually the codification of the working situation is already done by the professionals, so that they are classified under certain logical groups (Cros & Raisky, 2010, p. 110).

And it is a two-way process: socialization that contributes to the homogeneity in the group and the social interaction that shapes the personality, since the social factors are inevitably present in an activity.

It is also true that a professional becomes himself only interacting with the colleagues and the people of other professions that make part of their professional milieu? And if we follow this line of reasoning farther, we will have to admit that level of expertise should also be factored in in the elaboration of the competence framework, since it accounts to a large extent for these interpersonal variations (Pastré, 1999, p. 120).

The term “social construct” employed here refers to the fact that the framework is not an objective reality, but its normative function makes it a reference for a group of people united by the same activity. As we have discussed previously, performance cannot be disregarded when we are talking about competence, and the normative function of the framework follows the same path.

It seems appropriate to comment this normative nature of frameworks. Pastré notes

to obtain expertise («pour savoir faire»)” (Pastré, 1999, p. 118), so for him the normative function of the competence framework is an advantage (it should be noted that Pastré is talking about the educational context). But he warns against a catch that such an approach hides: the description of the work that is actually done should not turn into the new prescription.

Certes, cette volonté d'ajustement est excellente : il faut bien revoir, à périodes régulières, les référentiels pour les ajuster à l'évolution des métiers. Mais ce serait une illusion de croire que c'est cela qui va combler l'écart entre travail prescrit et travail réel. Car c'est cet écart qui fait du travail une réalité vivante. (Pastré, 1999, p. 118).

Thus, a prescription can fit in a “living reality”, the complexity of an activity that unfolds in reality and is evolving in time. The description of what should be done allows us to see what part of the work is reconsidered or re-created by a professional to arrive to the actual activity.

In this sense, such a description — if already exists for a profession — can enrich the activity analysis and serve as a guiding line. «Il y a là un équilibre difficile à trouver, entre rigidité et vibrionnisme, et la prescription peut participer de cette recherche d'équilibre, subtil et intelligent». (Pastré, 1999, p. 119).

On the other hand, it was discussed that there exists a variable part in the organized

structure of the activity. It shows the measure of interindividual variability, and it would be

appropriate to quote Cros and Raisky (2010) here who wrote that “the competence cannot

be reduced to the idea of the framework, since it is complex, singular and specific for

everyone” (Cros & Raisky, 2010, p. 107). This variability reflects the interpersonal variations

and adds to the fact that any description will be incomplete. But the common culture of the

profession should be able to compensate this variability to an extent that an authentic

description would become possible.

3. Methodological Framing

The aim of this research was to study the competences of simultaneous interpreters working in the context of international organizations. In order to elaborate the competence framework, it was decided to combine two sources of data: the literature on interpreters’

competence and interviews with professional interpreters. Therefore, the research was conducted in two phases, as will be presented in the following sections.

3.1. Documentary research

The research stemmed from the questioning what competences were required to do a job of simultaneous interpreter and what competences are acquired during training.

Consequently, it was interesting to take a look at the aims and descriptions of training programs to see what competences are listed there.

Numerous schools and faculties of interpreting are united under the consortium of European Masters of Conference Interpreting: the university-level programme with common standards in curriculum, student recruitment and assessment for its partner universities ("European Masters in Conference Interpreting," n.d.). The Faculty of Translation and Interpreting of UNIGE is one of members of EMCI and the institution that was of most interest for the research because we are focusing on working in international organizations in Geneva.

Sites of several other interpreting schools of EMCI were also visited to study whether they present the information on the competences of future interpreters. The information presented on most sites of educational institutions was quite succinct or repetitive of what could be retrieved from the EMCI site. Therefore, only two of them were included in the final list of sources: the FTI and the School of Conference Interpreting & Translation (SCIT) at Herzen University in St Petersburg, Russia, ("Концепция," n.d.).

Further on, the documents of standard-setting bodies were studied. The code of ethics

(AIIC, 2018) and professional standards (AIIC, 2015), as well as the article destined to those

who aspire to become interpreters (AIIC, n.d.) were analysed. It should be noted that the

standards of the International Association of Conference Interpreters (AIIC) refer more to the

working conditions (working and non-working days, travels, composition of a team, contracts

and remuneration) than to the competences required for the job. However, it was possible

to extract certain competences from the code of ethics and the article for future interpreters

that describes basic skills and personal qualities.

The only professional standard that states explicitly the competences of conference interpreters was found was published by German Institute for Standardization (Deutsches Institut für Normung, 2017) in March 2017, several months before this research was started.

It was developed on the basis of AIIC standards and code of ethics among other sources. It describes the standards in terms of working languages, contracting, working conditions, qualifications, refers to equipment standards. It contains a particular section devoted to various areas of interpreter’s competence. These competences were included in totality into the tentative competence framework.

And finally, the manuals for trainers and scientific articles proposing competence models were analysed. Two sources that proposed competence models were included in the draft list of all competences: ‘Conference Interpreting’ by Setton and Dawrant (Setton &

Dawrant, 2016) — the manual intended for trainers and students; and the research by Albl- Mikasa (Albl-Mikasa, 2012). The skills and subskills mentioned in these models were taken on board. Besides that, the texts were analyzed in full in order to extract other competences that could be seen by authors as details or complements and may have been omitted in the proposed models.

On the whole, four types of sources were studied:

1. Educational institutions

a. Faculty of Translation and Interpreting at UNIGE ("Pourquoi étudier à la FTI de Genève," n.d.; Université de Genève, 2017)

b. School of Conference Interpreting & Translation (SCIT) at Herzen University (St Petersburg)

2. Educational standard-setting bodies:

a. European Masters in Conference Interpreting (EMCI) 3. Professional standard-setting bodies

a. Deutsches Institut für Normung e.V. Standard 2347 2017-03 Translation and interpreting services – Interpreting services –Conference Interpreting (Deutsches Institut für Normung, 2017);

b.

International Association of Conference Interpreters (AIIC) 4. Theoretical sources

a. Manual for interpreters and trainers

On the basis of these sources, the tentative list covering all extracted competences (even if they were repetitive) was elaborated. At this stage they were classified by the source they were retrieved from. Further on, all elements in the list were analyzed by contents and combined into several categories, thus the draft competence framework was constructed.

The initial classification was inspired by the models presented by Setton and Dawrant (2016) and Albl-Mikasa (2012). This classification was further used for coding the interviews with interpreters. The classification and the tentative competence framework will be detailed in the section ‘Presentation of Results’.

3.2. Interviews with interpreters

In order to enrich the initial competence framework drawn from documentary sources with the on-the-job experience, 7 interviews with freelance interpreters with various active languages were conducted (English, French, Russian and Spanish booths). The interpreters were chosen strictly among the FTI promotion of Master of Arts in Conference Interpreting of 2010 and 2011, that is those who passed their graduation exams during this period. All of the participants are working for international organizations in Geneva and New-York. The data was collected and transcribed in summer-autumn 2018. Average duration of an interview was one hour, with one interview taking more than two hours.

The selection of interviewees is explained by several factors. First of all, we were interested in interpreters with comparable background, and it would be just to say that these students obtained quite similar training: they followed the same courses and the team of the trainers did not see any major changes during their studies.

Secondly, we looked for young professionals on the verge of becoming experts, those

who had several years of experience by the time of the interview and had an opportunity to

complement the skills and knowledge they gained during the training on the real job. It may

be argued that professionals having seven-eight years of experience can already be called

experts, but given the fact that it may take up to three years to start working regularly and

having a considerable number of working days per year. Some may have only 20-30 working

days during the first years, but of course there are exceptions to this rule: some start their

career with more than 50 days per year

. Therefore, such description (vision) of the period of

their career is quite objective, and it is what was confirmed by the words of the interviewees themselves on several occasions.

Six interviewees chose to talk about their experience in international organizations, but the contexts were quite different: for some, the conference took place in a well-known institution, others were referring to an event when they were on a mission. One of them described an episode during a scientific conference in a non-UN setting. It should be noted that the methodology did not allow us to include the skills that are particular for the consecutive interpretation, since all the interviewees chose to speak about the assignment in SI. Therefore, no data was gathered for that part of interpreter’s work.

The interviewees were instructed by the interviewer in advance to think of an episode (a conference, a meeting, a speech) in their careers that they found challenging but where they felt they did a good job. It is interesting that almost all of the interviewees selected situations that combined an unexpected or stressful element (faulty equipment, a high-level speaker or the necessity to be a pivot

) compensated by an element of stability or mastery (brilliant preparation technique or above-average familiarity with the subject due to previous experience) that accounted for the success of the whole affair and the feeling that they did a good job.

All interviews were recorded with the consent of the participants. It was decided that a partial transcription of the audio would be adequate to the purposes of this study: the instances that relate to evoking the moment or evident digressions from the description of actions were omitted. Thus, the first filter was already applied in the course of talking the speeches. The transcriptions of the interviews are can be found in Annex II.

The interviews were coded with the TAMS software. Some new elements of competences were included in the total list of competences extracted from the literature (Annex I) as parts of existing categories. For example, all elements related to preparation were at first added to the category ‘Preparation’, and only at the later stage of overall analysis it became evident that preparation fell into two parts: advance and last-minute preparation.

Some elements were seen as a separate category almost at once. For example, mental and physical preparation were very explicit in the interviews, so a separate category was created

1 Relay or indirect interpreting is considered to be even more challenging then working in the normal mode,

in the process of coding the first interview. One of the interviews was coded by two coders independently to test the validity of the coding system.

3.2.2. Interview methodology

The approach to competence as a dynamic entity that is observed via the action demanded an interview technique that would allow us to identify the permanent and the variable elements of the competence, and would deal directly with the actions — the explicitation interview. The explicitation interview («entretien d’explicitation») is a technique developed by Pierre Vermersch (Vermersch, 1990, 1991b, 2006). Since it was necessary to reveal competence in action, reflect their dynamics, not to lose from sight the inferences made on the spot and instances of orientation and control of action, in short, identify the maximum of components of the competence described in detail above, it seemed practical to employ a technique that allowed us to reveal the implicit of the activity, to extract concepts underlying the activity and to get the most detailed description of the actual task in hand (Vermersch, 2006, p. 18). According to Vermersch,

… ce déroulement d’action est la seule source d’inférences fiables pour mettre en évidence les raisonnements effectivement mis en œuvre (différents de ceux adoptés hors de l’engagement dans l’action), pour identifier les buts réellement poursuivis (souvent distincts de ce que l’on croit poursuivre), pour repérer les savoirs théoriques effectivement utilisés dans la pratique (souvent différents de ceux maîtrisés en question de cours), pour cerner les représentations ou les préconceptions sources de difficultés (Vermersch, 2006, p. 18).

The explicitation interview deals with the real situation that the interviewee remembers well enough to be able to fully immerge in the recollection: the first part of the interview is designed in such a way as to allow the speaker to dive into the recollection and try and see, feel, smell what was experience in the situation — evoke the experienced moments (Vermersch, 1990, p. 230). Evoking the moment assures that the interviewee is within the action during verbalisation (Vermersch, 1991a, p. 66).

What is specific about the explicitation interview and what actually distinguished it

from a simple narration about an experience of a situation is the fact that the interviewer

interrupts the comments on the action, any judgements, explanations — all the speculations

that come so spontaneously and naturally when we try to describe a situation. The