Status Quo of the Formative Assessment Enactments in Spoken Language Interpreter Training: A Scoping Review of Research and Practice

Abstract

For the past decades, the enactments of formative assessment in various educational settings have produced fruitful research outcomes. Nonetheless, in interpreter training, the application of formative assessment remains insufficient and unsystematic. The purpose of the review is to provide a comprehensive synopsis of existing knowledge in the enactments of formative assessment for interpreter training settings. Methodologically, the scoping review adhered to the five-step procedure developed by Arksey and O’Malley for the examination of 16 documented on the enactments of formative assessment in spoken language interpreter training which were retrieved from Web of Science and Scopus scholarly databases. The results of the scoping review indicated that: 1) documented research and practices have predominantly utilized a mono-strategic design in preparing assessment tasks; 2) existing studies have displayed highly diversified formative assessment design specifications, and 3) previous research has underlined the effects of formative assessment in enhancing trainee achievement and motivation. Correspondingly, the review of exiting literature has accentuated the knowledge gap of how to design and enact effective and standardized formative assessment practices for interpreter training. The scoping review delivers implications for educators and researchers interested in further incorporating formative assessment in interpreter education.