Topic: From Gaze to Mind: an Eye-tracking Study of the Cognitive Processes in Translation and Interpreting

Lecturer: Prof. Zheng Binghan, Durham University, UK

Time: March 12, 2026, 14:30, UTC+8

Venue: Meeting Room, 11th Floor, Xuehai Building 

Biography: Zheng Binghan is a tenured Professor in the Department of Modern Languages and Cultures at Durham University, UK, he also serves as a Doctoral Supervisor in Translation Studies and Linguistics, Director of the Centre for Intercultural Studies, and a Research Fellow at the Institute of Advanced Study, Durham University. He is an Honorary Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Linguists (HonFCIL), a member of UK Research and Innovation, and a Fellow of Churchill College, University of Cambridge. His research interests include cognitive translatology, comparative translatology, and artificial intelligence in translation and interpreting studies, among others. He has authored, edited, or translated seven books published by Cambridge University Press, Routledge, Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press, and The Commercial Press. He has published over seventy papers in international journals such as Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, Applied Psycholinguistics, Journal of Pragmatics, Brain & Cognition, Target, Meta, Translation Studies, The Translator & Interpreter Trainer, and Perspectives: Studies in Translation Theory and Practice. He currently serves as an Associate Editor for the international journals Translation Studies and The Translator & Interpreter Trainer.

Abstract: With the rise of process-oriented translation studies in the late 20th century, eye-tracking has emerged as an objective and accurate method for measuring cognitive processes. It has been widely applied to translation and interpreting research and has become one of the main research methods in cognitive interpreting studies. This lecture will first introduce the application of eye-tracking technology in translation and interpreting research, then focus on the design and application of eye-tracking in different modes of translation and interpreting, and how eye-tracking data can be integrated with behavioral, psychological, physiological, and biometric data to collaboratively explore specific questions in translation and interpreting studies. The lecture will also present the empirical findings of the research team in simultaneous interpreting over the past few years, demonstrating the data-driven process of simultaneous interpreting with specific examples.

Rewritten by: Lin Qiaochu

Edited by: Li Huihui, Li Tiantian

Source: School of Foreign Languages