Cognitive load in intralingual and interlingual respeaking. A preliminary study

In this paper we present preliminary results of the study on the cognitive load in intralingual and interlingual respeaking. We tested 57 subjects from three groups: interpreters, translators and controls while respeaking 5-minute videos in two language combinations: Polish to Polish (intralingual) and English to Polish (interlingual). Using two measures of cognitive load: self-report and EEG (Emotiv), we found that in most cases cognitive load was higher in interlingual respeaking. Self-reported mental effort that the participants had to expend to complete the respeaking tasks was lower in the group of interpreters, suggesting some parallels between interpreting and respeaking competences. EEG measures showed significant differences between respeaking tasks and experimental groups in cognitive load over time.