Book review

Interpreting pedagogy carries significant implications for both theoretical inquiry and professional practice. Despite a substantial body of literature on practical interpreter training (Gillies, 2013, 2019; Seleskovitch & Lederer, 1989; Setton & Dawrant, 2016; Zhan, 2022) and general translation and interpreting pedagogy (T&I) (Colina & Angelelli, 2017; Seel et al., 2023), comprehensive monographs dedicated specifically to interpreting pedagogy remain scarce. Existing contributions tend to focus on specific settings, such as conference interpreting (Yang, 2005) or sign language interpreting (Swabey & Herring, 2022), leaving a gap for research addressing pedagogical complexities beyond specific modes. Amid the transformative advancement of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), both the contexts and dimensions of interpreting pedagogy call for review. Responding to the research gap and pressing need, this volume Research on Interpreting Pedagogy authored by Wen Ren, Lingqian Zheng and Honglin Wang marks a seminal attempt to synthesise research in interpreting pedagogy across diverse settings over the past decades. Structured in 10 chapters, the book first outlines fundamental components, including curriculum design, instructional methods, aptitude testing, and quality assessment. Subsequent chapters explore interpreting pedagogy in practice, focusing on the technology-pedagogy nexus and professionalisation. The volume concludes with a visionary outlook for potential future research areas. Through a critical synthesis of extensive literature spanning the topics above, this volume maps the landscape of interpreting pedagogy research both within China and globally. It is primarily tailored for Chinese “practisearchers” (Gile, 1995/2009; Orlando, 2019)—professionals engaged at the nexus of practice, training, and research—who seek to advance their scholarly inquiry.

Since interpreting pedagogy is often intertwined with interpreter education in areas of curriculum, selection, teaching, assessment, and so on (Colina & Angelelli, 2016; Pöchhacker, 2022), Chapter 1 begins by delineating the often porous conceptual boundaries between the two. The authors posit interpreting pedagogy as an encompassing research domain covering all aspects of both training and education (p. 3). They review the historical trajectory of interpreter training—initially positioned within foreign language teaching and later emerging as an independent subject since the late 20th century globally—and depict its specialisation. As theoretical frameworks have matured, the field has witnessed a shift from skill-oriented training to what Sawyer (2004) terms “interpreter education,” or “interpreting education” (Tipton, 2024). Crucially, the authors distinguish interpreter education from interpreter training by emphasising the former’s focus on holistic development, moving beyond apprenticeship models to cultivate well-rounded qualities such as intercultural competence. This perspective resonates with the broader notion of viewing interpreting as language mediation or language brokering (Colina & Angelelli, 2016), and stands out by not only describing the reality of the AI era, but also offering pedagogical solutions. Regarding technology, the authors briefly address the impact of technological transformation on interpreting pedagogy, though the discussion warrants further elaboration on the conceptual underpinnings and practical manifestations of the “digital turn” (p. 19) in interpreter education. Their stance resonates with emerging consensus, as articulated by B. H. Wang (2025, p. 161), who argues that the AI era necessitates shifts from instrumental to communicative roles, from skills to competence, and from functional training to humanistic education. Future research should leverage these conceptual shifts to conduct theoretical and empirical inquiries, thereby developing pedagogical pathways responsive to the digital age. In sum, this chapter lays the groundwork for subsequent chapters.

Chapters 2 to 5 systematically survey existing scholarship to address central pedagogical dimensions: curriculum, teaching, learning, and assessment. Chapter 2 first outlines the macro-level architecture of interpreting curriculum across three fronts: knowledge acquisition, specialisation, and phase differentiation. It then elaborates on this framework by detailing the micro-level curriculum design, summarising prevailing philosophies (e.g., social constructionism), core contents, and design strategies, providing research-informed insights for practitioners. Notably, the chapter emphasises political and moral education in pedagogical design—a focus gaining significant traction in China (Zha, 2021). While primarily targeting Chinese audiences, this focus contributes to the global discourse on whole-person development by advocating for a linguistic outlook aligned with the vision of “a community with a shared future for mankind” (pp. 31–32), thus underscoring the interpreter’s agency in global communication.

Following the discussion of curriculum, Chapter 3 examines research on teaching methods. The review is structured into five logical, albeit occasionally overlapping, sections: research on macro-level methods, encompassing theoretical frameworks of interpreter training (e.g., Interpretive Theory and Effort Model) and AI-driven multimodal tools for both conference and community interpreters (e.g., VR classroom); micro-level training, covering skills, specialised modules and political and moral education; the pedagogy of interpreting theory; practice-oriented teaching, such as scenario-based teaching and on-the-job training; and teaching resources. The authors argue that although these methods have been validated, additional empirical inquiry is requisite to refine them for practical application. Readers seeking an overview of teaching methods across varied scenarios will find this chapter valuable. However, three areas remain under-addressed: the rationale for including interpreting theory, a component often marginalised in practical training; the interconnectedness between pedagogical beliefs/philosophies (e.g., behaviourism) and the specific teaching methods employed (Li, 2025, pp. 138–143); more empirical evidence on the validity of methods reviewed.

Pivoting to the learner’s perspective, Chapter 4 consolidates existing scholarship on learning strategies and competence to clarify key concepts and map the research landscape. A salient contribution is the conceptual distinction drawn between interpreting competence (skill-specific) and interpreter competence (a superordinate concept). By positioning the latter as a broader construct, the authors echo the aforementioned philosophy of holistic education. Furthermore, through a synthesis of literature on the constituents of interpreting competence (Neubert, 2000; Ren, 2018; H. S. Wang & Zhang, 2015), the chapter derives from a detailed framework encompassing symbolic, strategy, knowledge, cross-cultural communication, and technology competences. The chapter also identifies significant gaps, notably the lack of empirical data on learners’ strategic needs and strategy internalisation, and advocates for longitudinal and quantitative research on competence development. However, the review exhibits limitations in scope: the coverage of interpreting modes and regional contexts appears uneven; for instance, sign language interpreting is primarily discussed in terms of learner characteristics, and the survey of competence scales relies heavily on Chinese research. Furthermore, despite calling for evidence-based inquiry, the authors overlook the opportunity to discuss essential methodologies like Think-Aloud Protocols (TAPs) for investigating cognitive processes (Colina & Angelelli, 2016, pp. 112–113).

Chapter 5 examines interpreting testing and assessment, from the perspective of aptitude testing, quality assessment, and pedagogy assessment. Aptitude testing serves as a validated selection criterion for training (Pöchhacker & Liu, 2014). A conceptual framework—comprising definitions, categorisation, and goals—is delineated in Section 5.2, followed by a critical review of testing methods. followed by a critical review of testing methods. Highlighting limitations in reliability and validity, the authors advocate for the use of more transparent statistical tools and rigorous research designs (p. 97). Turning to quality assessment—a domain closely linked to aptitude testing—the authors review hybrid approaches combining human and automated scoring, incorporating the latest quantitative research on automated interpreting evaluation. Notably, QAM3 T&I proposed by Han (2025) advances the field by integrating multilingual, multimodal, and multi-agent objects of quality assessment, thereby serving as an inspiring reference for moving beyond the binary of “human versus machine.” Finally, regarding pedagogy assessment, the authors acknowledge its inherent complexity, noting its intersections with curricular design, didactics, interpreter competence, and quality assessment (Pöchhacker, 2022, p. 213). Addressing this complexity, section 5.4 differentiates pedagogy assessment from teaching effectiveness assessment: the former focuses on learner competence, while the latter targets the instructional process (p. 106). The chapter concludes by examining learner-centred case studies to illustrate specific tools like learning portfolios and holistic scoring.

While the first five chapters establish the theoretical and curricular foundations, Chapters 6 through 9 extend these principles to specialised domains and professional ecosystems. Chapter 6 focuses on pedagogy research in areas including legal, business, medical, military and sign language interpreting (SLI), as well as audio description. The authors apply a consistent framework for each area, combining a historical overview of training practices with a review of relevant pedagogical scholarship. In the case of military interpreting, Section 6.5 traces the origin of training programmes and outlines evolving competence requirements. Noting a consensus in existing scholarship regarding the scarcity of qualified programmes and accredited interpreters, the authors advocate for training models adaptable to diverse military contexts. By including SLI and audio description, the volume extends the scope of pedagogical inquiry beyond spoken languages to encompass inter-semiotic modalities. The authors also observe regional disparities in training and talent supply, particularly in SLI. These identified gaps suggest promising avenues for future research in theory building, methodological innovation and practical standard-setting regarding market access and professional accreditation.

Chapter 7 examines the integration of technology into interpreting education. Against the backdrop of GenAI bringing both challenges and opportunities to the industry, the authors synthesise existing literature to inform future pedagogical practice and research. The review is structured around two main dimensions: human-technology interaction and the pedagogical applications of technology. Regarding the former, the chapter summarises descriptive studies on translation technology literacy before discussing the acceptance of computer-assisted interpreting training and technology-empowered training environment (e.g., virtual classrooms) from both student and teacher perspectives. The authors astutely point out a lack of methodological diversity, noting the predominance of qualitative research; consequently, they advocate for empirical studies utilising tools like eye-trackers to supplement existing scholarship. For pedagogical applications, readers will benefit from the encompassing survey of remote teaching and digitised resources, including interpreting corpora, course management platforms, automated assessment, and other AI-driven innovations. Spanning the three evolutionary stages of machine translation (MT)—rule-based, statistical, and neural—the interpreting technologies discussed herein demonstrate broad versatility and applicability to interpreter training. A pertinent extension would be to consider recent findings on incorporating MT with specialised curricula, such as public service interpreting programmes, thereby enabling an exploration of domain-specific applications (Ramos, 2022).

Chapters 8 and 9 extend the scope of inquiry to continuing and vocational education beyond formal education settings. The review starts with analysing the goals and structures of Training of Trainers (ToT) programmes, such as those at the Faculty of Translation and Interpreting (UNIGE), the European Masters in Conference Interpreting (EMCI), and the Translators Association of China. While the analysis is primarily constrained to a China-Europe comparison and Chinese scholarship, it effectively identifies structural weaknesses in China’s ToT, calling for tiered, stage-specific training. Furthermore, the chapters survey continuing education policies across China, Australia, the United States, the European Union, and the United Kingdom, highlighting the need for research on mechanisms that effectively bridge interpreter education with ongoing professional development.

The authors also underscore the role of vocational education in aligning pedagogy with market demands, viewing accreditation as a key benchmark of professionalisation. Through a comparative review, Chapter 9 contrasts Chinese practices with international models, such as industrial mentoring in Spain, interprofessional education in Sweden, situated learning in the United Kingdom, alongside certification systems like the ATA (the United States), CTTIC (Canada), and NAATI (Australia). This comparison exposes current lacunae: vocational education in China requires greater diversification, and its credentialing systems remain fragmented, particularly in specialised domains like community interpreting. Ethics education constitutes another focal point of this chapter. By analysing academic reflections on ethical codes from associations such as International Association of Conference Interpreters (AIIC), the Australian Institute of Interpreters and Translators (AUSIT), and the Translators Association of China (TAC), the authors establish an intriguing connection between market guidelines and scholarly endeavours, revealing both divergences and collaborative potential between industry and academia. However, the review of empirical studies on ethical dilemmas remains primarily descriptive, focusing on general challenges and solutions. The discussion would have benefitted from engaging with recent scholarship that advocates moving beyond the prescriptive resolution of decontextualised, high-stakes “dilemmas” towards an integrated, practice-first approach that prioritises ethical sensitivity in everyday scenarios (Tipton, 2024). Furthermore, incorporating perspectives on embodied cognition and immersive learning (Rudvin et al., 2022) could have offered more concrete pathways for future pedagogical design.

The concluding chapter consolidates earlier themes to present a forward-looking research outlook. The authors identify five directions in technological, systemic, academic, ethical, and social dimensions of interpreting pedagogy, based on which they outline potential research topics and methodological approaches for the scholarly community. Regarding technological innovation, GenAI-powered assessment and interactive learning are identified as emerging frontiers. This resonates with recent scholarship on LLM-based classroom assessment (Han et al., 2025) and learner engagement with hybrid AI-human feedback (Yu et al., 2025), both of which underscore the need for continued investigation into the pedagogical impact of digital integration. As for systemic transformation, the volume addresses the efficacy of training programmes, professionalisation in specialised domains, and market entry frameworks, effectively targeting the lacunae identified in Chapters 6, 8, and 9. Ethical and social dimensions have acquired renewed complexity; the authors imply that studies on risk prevention and control based on cybersecurity theories and cyberethics may respond to ethical concerns regarding GenAI and LLM. Furthermore, the volume incorporates information accessibility and social responsibility into the pedagogical framework, addressing often-overlooked stakeholders such as non-specialists and underprivileged groups, a focus that reflects a strong humanistic orientation. Finally, on the academic front, the authors highlight the importance of interdisciplinary synergy—drawing from linguistics, psychology, and cognitive science—and advocate for both qualitative and quantitative methods to bridge the gap between research and pedagogical application.

In conclusion, this volume represents a significant effort to systematise the multifaceted landscape of interpreting pedagogy. The volume features a meticulous and reader-friendly structure: each chapter begins by defining key concepts and concludes with a succinct summary, ensuring accessibility to both novices and experienced scholars. By tracing the trajectory from apprenticeship-based training to holistic interpreter education, the authors offer a comprehensive reference that is particularly timely given its engagement with GenAI and technology-mediated pedagogy. Perhaps most commendably, the volume’s emphasis on ethics and social responsibility resonates deeply with the digital predicaments of our age. Its reflections on political and moral education and ethical accountability run parallel to recent endeavours to address digital dilemmas in T&I training (Šveda et al., 2025). Through this focus, the volume contributes a voice from the Chinese T&I community in the global discourse on digital humanism.

However, the work has some limitations. As noted, the review of empirical studies occasionally remains descriptive rather than evaluative. Furthermore, while the authors advocate for evidence-based inquiry, the volume would have benefitted from deriving more explicit methodological recommendations from its critical analysis—such as identifying specific protocols for cognitive investigation—to better guide future research. The scope of certain sections also reflects a predominantly domestic focus. These limitations notwithstanding, the volume stands as a foundational resource for educators and researchers seeking to navigate the complexities of interpreting pedagogy in the AI era.