Development of executive functions in simultaneous interpreting training: A theoretical exploration

Inspired by studies on a potential bilingual advantage in executive functions (EFs), evidence-based empirical research over the past decade has investigated whether interpreters (in particular simultaneous interpreters) possess an interpreter advantage in EFs. However, limited attempts have been made to set out a theoretical conceptualisation of the working mechanisms of EF components in the simultaneous interpreting (SI) process and the possible development of EFs in SI training. In an attempt to address this gap, this article first reviews the critical theoretical models of EFs in the field of psychology to explain the concept of EFs and their potential components. The possible working mechanisms of EF components in the SI process are then explained via comparison with the theoretical models of the three major components of EFs, namely inhibiting, shifting, and updating, in bilingual conversations and in the cognitive process of SI. Based on a review of the literature and a five-phase training model, a basic mapping of EF development onto the phases of SI training is proposed.