Digital pen technology and consecutive interpreting: another dimension in note-taking training and assessment

Rules of note-taking have been defined and modelled in order to be taught during training of consecutive interpreting. However, not much has been done to find relevant ways of evaluating the progressive acquisition of such systems and of note-taking skills. When instructors want to assess an interpretation, it is generally the quality of the consecutive interpretation and the final notes which allow them to give feedback and evaluate the performance. Such a product evaluation of the interpretation is generally made without being able to clearly distinguish the process of note-taking. Thanks to digital pen technology, trainers have now the possibility to capture simultaneously the video of the notes being taken and the audio of the speech, and therefore can provide better advice and remedial strategies to their students. Such technology is presented in the following article along with pedagogical suggestions for its use and for training in consecutive interpreting.