Digital tools and technologies before, during and after simultaneous interpreting: towards a chronological workflow-based professional and didactic model
Conference interpreting didactics and professional practice is marked by new technology-driven needs, challenges and opportunities. Drawing on the technology-based approach in conference interpreting (Ferreiro-Vázquez/Varajão Moutinho Pereira 2023; Winters et al. 2024; Davitti et al. 2025), this article presents a chronological workflow-based model for interpreting technology use and training. This model results from three professional perspectives: academic training in conference interpreting, CPD (continuous professional development) for interpreters and the professional practice itself through a “practisearcher” perspective. With a particular focus on simultaneous interpreting (SI), a set of digital tools, resources and technologies have been grouped into three main categories based on a user-centered chronological approach: i) before the SI assignment (tools and technologies for the general preparatory phase and for the document-based terminology-specific preparatory phase); ii) during the SI assignment (CAI tools, ASR, prompting, tablet applications) and; iii) after the SI assignment (archiving and sharing data, building a portfolio of documents and files, tracking one’s progress, transcription, subtitles creation and related extra services). The ultimate goal is to provide interpreters, students and trainers with a new methodological framework in the use and teaching of interpreting technology.