earticle

영어

While text difficulty is one of the critical considerations in developing and selecting materials for interpreter training, its assessment is a challenging task due to the complexities involved in analyzing a large number of text characteristics. The recent developments in automated text analysis methods and tools are expected to alleviate the burden of individual teachers and students assessing source text difficulty by aiding their decision making process with the immediate provision of data on the objective and quantifiable text dimensions. This study presents three cases of applying automated assessment of source text difficulty based on the five Text Easability Principal Component Scores provided by Coh-Metrix, a widely-used automated tool for multilevel analyses of text characteristics. For the purpose of the study, source texts used for interpreter training in Korea and China were sampled to conduct text difficulty assessment with Coh-Metrix measures and its visualization tool. The study discusses the potential benefits of automated analysis of multidimensional text difficulty for selecting the appropriate materials for effective interpreter training.