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MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HUE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES TONG THI HUONG LE EXPLORE NOTE TAKING STRATEGIES FOR INTERPRETATION USED BY ENGLISH MAJORED STUDENTS AT HUE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES MA THESIS IN EDUCATION HUE, 2012 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HUE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES TONG THI HUONG LE EXPLORE NOTE TAKING STRATEGIES FOR INTERPRETATION USED BY ENGLISH MAJORED STUDENTS AT HUE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES \ FIELD OF STUDY: THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING CODE: 60.14.10 MA THESIS IN EDUCATION SUPERVISOR: PHAM HOA HIEP, D.Ed HUE, 2012 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT In order to complete this thesis, along with my own efforts, it was my luck to receive many supports Firstly, I would like to send my special thanks to my instructor, Doctor Pham Hoa Hiep who has the attitude and substance of a great teacher: he continually and convincingly conveyed a spirit of serious working attitude and inspired me the excitement in regard to researching Without his guidance and persistent help, this research would not have been possible I would like to express my appreciation to all the teachers in English Department of Hue College of Foreign Languages, who had provided me with helpful knowledge as well as helpful advice and supports in the process of conducting the research In addition, a thank to other learners in M.A class who had given me useful advices and English majored students in interpretation classes of Hue College of Foreign Languages, whose contributions for the thesis’s result were extremely meaningful I also thank my family and friends who are always by my side, encourage and give me more motivation to complete the research ABSTRACT This thesis seeks to explore issues in note taking skill required for students majoring interpretation Particularly, it attempts to find out the common note taking problems and suggest helpful note taking strategies for students majoring in interpretation The data for this thesis were obtained through the use of questionnaires distributed to 60 students majoring in interpretation at Hue College of Foreign Languages Interviews were also conducted with students majoring in interpretation The findings reveal that students have poor competence in note taking skill From students‟ perspectives, common note taking problems such as difficulty in listening, taking short notes, organizing ideas and others are noted A number of useful strategies which can help develop note taking skill are suggested TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Abstract Table of contents…………………………………………………………….……… List of figures and tables ……………………………………………………… … CHAPTER INTRODUCTION 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Rationale .3 1.3 Objectives of the study 1.4 The scope of the study 1.5 Organization of the study CHAPTER LITERATER REVIEW 2.1 Definition of note taking .5 2.2 Stages in note taking 2.3 Interpretation and the importance of note taking to interpretation .8 2.3.1 An overview of interpretation 2.3.1.1 Definition and types of interpretation .8 2.3.1.2 Requirements of interpretation work .10 2.3.1.3 Interpretation worldwide and in Vietnam .11 2.3.2 Importance of note taking to learning and interpretation .13 2.4 Common problems and strategies in note taking 15 2.4.1 Common problems in note taking 15 2.4.2 Strategies in note taking .18 2.5 Conclusion 24 CHAPTER METHODOLOGY 3.1 Participants 26 3.2 Data collection method .26 3.3 Data collection instruments 27 3.3.1 Questionnaires 27 3.3.2 Interviews .27 3.4 Data analysis .28 CHAPTER FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS 4.1 Students‟ competence of note taking 29 4.1.1 Students‟ perception of note taking skill 29 4.1.2 Students‟ note taking competence 30 4.2 Students‟ difficulties in note taking 32 4.2.1 Students‟ common problems in note taking 32 4.2.2 Major consequences caused by difficulties in note taking 34 4.2.3 Major reasons of difficulties in note taking 39 4.3 Students‟ evaluation on self-training process .42 4.3.1 Students‟ perception of self – recommendation of note taking methods .42 4.3.2 Students‟ evaluation on the effectiveness of self-recommended strategies 44 4.4 Possible solutions for difficulties in note taking 45 4.4.1 Students‟ self - solutions 45 4.4.2 Major criteria in note taking 47 4.4.3 Strategies for note taking skill 49 4.4.3.1 Students’ perception on the necessity of pointing out note taking strategies 49 4.4.3.2 Helpful note taking strategies in interpretation 50 4.4.4 Other strategies .56 4.5 Conclusion 61 CHAPTER CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS 5.1 Conclusions 62 5.2 Pedagogical implications 65 5.3 Limitations of the study 67 5.4 Recommendations for Further Study 68 REFERENCES 69 LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES List of figures Figure 2.1: The process of note taking Figure 2.3: Samples of charts and diagrams used in note taking Figure 4.1: Students‟ perception of the difficulty of note taking skill Figure 4.2: Frequency of note taking in interpretation classes Figure 4.3 Notes‟ quantity taken from speeches Figure 4.4: Main reasons of students‟ difficulties in note taking Figure 4.5: Students‟ perception of finding out own methods Figure 4.6: Frequency of using students‟ own method in class Figure 4.7: Students‟ perception of “usually exercising” Figure 4.8: Common criteria to base on when taking notes Figure 4.9: Students‟ perception of the necessity of pointing out note taking strategies Figure 4.10: Certain useful strategies in note taking List of tables Table 4.1: Common problems in note taking Table 4.2: Helpfulness of students‟ own methods Table 4.3: Students‟ solutions for their problems CHATER INTRODUCTION 1.1 Introduction "Interpreters constitute an integral part of the intercultural dialogue They build confidence among cultures They are the “bridge” that connects one cultural world with another, one language with another; they are the link in the chain of cultures." (Resta, 2010: 5) In line with the expanding of global transportation and telecommunication networks, travel and trade between people and countries have increased dramatically in recent years Communication becomes vital and has led to a vigorous demand for translating and interpreting Without interpreters and translators, people would not able to know what American, English, French, Chinese, German people say, and could not read Victor Hugo, Shakespeare, and Tolstoy Typically, interpretation work was originally created when the appearance of language met the demand of goods exchanging between tribes (Jacobsen, 1958) and concurrently is an indispensable career in strong globalized time When people hear the word "interpreter", they think of someone translating the word and being able to speak two languages well enough to communicate with native speakers, but the skills demanded of interpreters go beyond that Interpreters must be linguistic bridge and cultural gaps, which means translating concepts, instead of a literal word-for-word translation Though interpreters often select few areas of specialty, their working environment is extensive including science, education, environment, trade, legal, etc People now easily catch the appearance of interpreters in visits, formal conferences or international-guest receptions with the presence of foreigners Working in such an environment, not only for the mutual understanding, interpreters‟ affair is also helping for enhancing the mutualrelationship‟s development Also mentioning about this, Vu Khoan (2011) compares interpretation work as a bridge and if that bridge is cranky and unsecure, it might break international relationship down Truly, Resta (2010) also regards interpreters as a valuable asset throughout foreign relations In Vietnam, for a very long time, most of interpreters were those who were only trained with foreign languages within four or five years in universities and had no chance to really major in interpretation skills Until the middle of 1990s, a number of projects were conducted in Vietnam and since then, the whole society has witnessed the appearance of interpreter staff who are quite skillfully trained (Nguyen Duy Bao Khang) Documents have shown varied methods in training the job (Bogucki, 2010; Johnson, 2002; Monash University, 2009) with the aim of providing trainees with basic skills used for interpretation It is required, after the training process, that learners will achieve good linguistic competence, listening and speaking skill, problems-analyzing skill and especially note taking skill Since people cannot afford to memorize all kinds of information and writing speed is always slower than speaking, Boch & Annie (2005) define note taking as a vital method to help them to recall what has been mentioned before by short forms of words, sentence structures, etc However, it is not simple to get good notes like that as interpreters cannot jot down every word they hear and even they can so, notes will be nothing more than a mess Thus, in order to make notes done correctly and effectively, interpreters must have judicious strategies Hue College of Foreign Languages (HCFL) is among of universities teaching interpretation within the last few years and students, hence, are frequently trained to take notes in interpretation classes However, the way to use strategies in note taking is much personal and students certainly cannot definitely avoid problems while taking notes Meanwhile, there has been no official research conducted to find out strategies that English majored students in HCFL used to deal with problems in interpretation This study, limited vocabulary knowledge and loosing spirit as primary reasons Without appropriate solutions applied, the respondents stressed that while taking notes, they found most difficult identifying and organizing ideas or wrongly recorded information Fortunately, the results indicate that the majority of students rather actively acquired note taking skill themselves They mostly self proposed some methods for their own problems in note taking and tried to apply them while taking notes in interpretation classes although those methods‟ effectiveness was still not high evaluated Active asking for helps, advice and experience from instructors and friends has proved for students‟ profound perception of note taking role Not only so, they had the same viewpoint of the “usually exercising” and the necessity of pointing out strategies to support them with note taking By means of discovering what the surveyed students often based on to take notes for example: content words, speech‟s construction, signal words, speaker‟s voice; a number of approaches were suggested in order to provide guidelines for students in the skill‟s development As mentioned, most of strategies recommended in the survey are regarded to bring many more positive influences Many of them are enhancing listening competence and vocabulary knowledge; trying to identify speech‟s topic, purpose, construction and shorten the notes by searching and using private words and symbols The way to use and apply those methods practically was also specifically presented As note taking skill involves many techniques, some other minor but very effective were also designed in the thesis: creating an own note taking system, leaving a space between major ideas, taking notes in one side of the paper, etc Most importantly, the majority of students highly agreed of how worthy those approaches were Therefore, it can be believed that, from students‟ acknowledgement, strategies recommended in the research would be practical and effectively applied 64 5.2 Pedagogical implications The feedback of the respondents in this study provided some suggestions on pedagogical changes that can be made The following suggestions can hopefully help to successfully implement to assist students in interpretation classes at HCFL with note taking skill The followings are some steps that students in interpretation classes can take to improve their note taking competence: Firstly, by means of questionnaires, the students surveyed did have chance to assess themselves with note taking skill They were able to define what level their note taking ability was Also, they have already known their main problems are and what strategies should be reasonably used Secondly, as the most important reason of problems in note taking was the lack of skills and vocabulary, students must actively practice as well as create as many ways to enhance their skills and vocabulary as possible Particularly, in class, they need to be more self-motivated when taking notes instead of being forced to take notes while at home, spending much more time on practicing with note taking is extremely necessary While taking notes, students should also try to form the habit of high focusing on the speech and release things around Thirdly, the strategies given in chapter are merely suggestions Thus, students should be selective in applying them It depends on each situation that those strategies can bring about different effectiveness If it has no effectiveness with this strategy, they had better change to use other ones They need to remember that people not seem to have any problem with their note taking skill if they can appropriately change their strategies Besides, there is no rigorous rule of how to develop note taking competence, therefore, creatively making those strategies individual and even designing other new useful ones are interesting ideas Furthermore, students also have a wide range of references from books, articles, 65 researching works, internet, etc Those can importantly aid students to get more useful and practical approaches supporting for note taking process Lastly, as note taking in interpretation is a very hard skill to be learned and a good psychology can create notable influences on notes‟ quantity and quality, students have to always make themselves comfortable and not be hasty in skill training and note taking process Always remaining a stable mental and good psychological status is considered to be the key solution In order to so, students have to not only meet some psychological requirements but also much practical interpretation Generally, no matter what note taking strategies students try to apply in interpretation, the key issue is that they must spend as much time on training and practical interpretation as possible Getting valuable experience from this, students will know what is really important and necessary to them In addition to benefits for students, there are also some pedagogical implications that teachers and instructors responsible for training the surveyed students need to take into consideration: Primarily, due to students‟ evaluation on strategies given in the thesis, creating a suitable learning environment in which students will have more chances to apply their preferable approaches to improve their note taking skill should be regarded Finding out major reasons for students‟ problems in note taking will be the fundamental rules for teachers to design or organize other class activities such as games, discussions, etc Those activities will be conducted with the purpose of improving supporting skills instead of merely interpreting and taking notes Besides, teacher should also increase many more professional interpretation situations so that students can gradually release their fear of interpreting Next, the training of future interpreters should necessarily include some psycholinguistic training, taking into account the fact that a major part of the work depends on the self-training of the students Even though frequent practice is 66 commonly encouraged, proper planning is still necessary to ensure maximum effectiveness of strategies to students The instructor's role, to aid self-preparation, is to provide some useful guidelines and exercises that can be used outside the language laboratory, without an instructor and without any sophisticated equipment The instructors still need to give proper guidance to the students and have good preparation before coming to the class The teacher still plays an important role in students training process Students‟ efforts cannot be a substitute for the teachers‟ instructions More importantly, teachers are really valuable learning resources for students thanks to their practical experience That is why, teachers, besides designing note taking strategies for students, they should offer more specific comments, advices and experiences Lastly, many of students have confusion with their progress in note taking training process This creates the need for developing some additional forms of assessment which should be made by teachers For example, teachers can take a look at noting scription of students instead of only listening to their interpretation and then give them helpful comments Additionally, teachers can give specific written feedback, as some students may feel embarrassed with spoken ones Having general assessment for different periods of time is also necessary to evaluate students‟ progress 5.3 Limitations of the study Besides the outcomes, this study has some limitations, in terms of the researcher‟s experience, the assessments of students‟ note taking competence mainly based on the questionnaire and the interview for six students at HCFLs, thus the discussion might be incomplete The survey result analyzed based on the researcher‟s assessments of numbers and figures Those data mainly showed students‟ viewpoint of various aspects of note taking, not their real practice and competence 67 The subjects survey were only 60 interpreting students who have just started to learn interpretation for two or three terms Apart from regular interpretation in classes, they not have much practical experience and therefore, not have the sufficient knowledge of note taking Thus, the research has not been carried out properly enough 5.4 Recommendations for further study Similar studies will be more beneficial from being conducted on greater number of students to increase the validity and reliability of the results instead of implementing by 60 students from two interpretation classes of HCFLs Since this thesis was explorative about students‟ perception of note taking by means of quantitative method, there should be a qualitative research for further study as it can provide stronger evidence for students‟ real competence and then, draw out many more useful and practical strategies for them 68 REFERENCES Tài liệu tiếng Anh Al-Jarf, R (2007) Consecutive interpreting teaching guide Center for Educational Research College of Education King Saud University Arilistiani, N M (2010) Note taking in consecutive interpreting Udayana University Denpasar Barbier, M L, Roussey J Y., Piolat A., & Olive T (2003) Note-taking in second language: Language procedures and self-evaluation of the difficulties Current Psychology Letters 20, Boch, F & Annie, D (2005, September) Note taking and learning: A summary of research The WAC Journal 16, 101-113 Bogucki, L et al (2010) Teaching translation and interpreting: Challenges and practices Cambridge Scholars Publishing Bretzing, B H & Kulhary, R W (1979) Notetaking and depth of processing Contemporary Educational Psychology (2), 145-153 Desmond, N (2010, January 9) steps to successful note taking Retrived from http://www.debtfreescholar.com/2010/01/5-steps-to-successful-note-taking/ Center for teaching and learning (2010) Evaluate your present note taking system Sweet Hall, Stanford University Dicks, S (2004, December 2) Top ways to improve your listening skills Retrieved from http://top7business.com/?Top-7-Ways-to-Improve-Your-ListeningSkills&id=779 Dietsche, V (2000, December 13t) Effective note taking improves your GPA Retrived from: http://jerz.setonhill.edu/writing/academic/notes2.htm 69 Doyon, P (2000) "Shyness in the Japanese EFL Class" The Language Teacher 24 (1), 11-16 Dudycha, G (1957) Learn more with less effort Harper & Bros New York, NY Dunning, S N (1997, July 18) Dialectical readings: three types of interpretations Pennsylvania State University Press Ellis, D (1997) Becoming a master student Houghton Mifflin Co Boston, MA Fried, J (2008, March 28) The interpreter’s role and working with interpreter Hawai„i conference on language access Gurova, V & Bozhilova, V (1998) Note taking skills Bulgaria.Retrieved from http://www.assetproject.info/learner_support/notes.htm Hannah, R & Frank, M C (2011) Markers of discourse structure Stanford University Hatim B and Mason I (1997) The translator as communicator London & New York, Routledge Haven, S (2005, February 14) Note taking strategies Penn State University USA Hersom, A (n.d) How to write and perform a speech University of Maine Farmington Jacobsen, A (1958) An introduction of interpretation Retrieve May 23rd, 2009 from http://www.phiendichcompanion.com/home/detail.asp?iData=1552&iCat=61 8&iChannel=62&nChannel=Products Jones, G & Mort, D (1994) Study skills for academic writing Phoenix Jones, R (2002) Conference interpreting explained St Jerome Publishing Johnson, R W (2002, Oct) Interpreter training programs Hablamos Juntos Kruger, J & Dunning, D (1999) "Unskilled and unaware of it: How difficulties in recognizing one's own incompetence lead to inflated self-assessments" Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 77 (6), 1121-1134 70 Lehr, F., Osborn, J., & Hiebert, E H (2004) A focus on vocabulary Honolulu, HI: Pacific Regional Educational Laboratory Marie, L., Jean, R., Annie, P., & Thierry, O (2006) "Note-taking in second language: Language procedures and self evaluation of the difficulties" Current Psychology Letters Retrived May 14th, 2007 from: Mastropieri, T E (2007) The inclusive classroom: strategies for effective instruction Merrill, Pearson Education Inc Monash University (2009) Basic interpreting skills training School of languages, cultures and linguistics, Melbourne Newfields, T (December 2000) Creative Note Taking and Styday skills Journal of Nanzan Junior College 28 North Shore Community College Effective listening and note taking Retrieved from: http://www.northshore.edu/support_center/ /listen_notes.pdf Procter, M (2003) Taking notes from research reading University of Toronto Resta, Z (2010, April 10) Interpreter jobs in a global economy Retrieved from: http://www.careeroverview.com/blog/2010/interpreter-jobs-in-a-globaleconomy/ Romer T H et al (1996) The structure and performance of interpreters Architectural Support for Programming Languages and Operating Systems 7:: 150-159 Rozan, J F (1956) Principles of note taking Interpreter training resources Seleskovitch, D (1978) Interpreting for international conferences Washington, DC: Pen & Booth Seleskovitch, D (1991) Fundamentals of the interpretive theory of translation in e expanding horizons Proceedings of the 12th National RID Convention 1991, RID Press 71 Slotte1, V & Lonka, K (2003) Note taking review – Practical value for learners University of Helsinki, Finland (2): 79-86 Smith, F (1985) "Reading without nonsense" Teachers College Press Teachers College, Columbia University Stollham, J (2000) Three steps for good note taking Retrieved May 28th, 2008, from: http://collegematchingservice.com/education/3-steps-for-good-note-taking.html USA bureau of labour statistics (2009) Projections data from the National Employment Matrix Retrieved from: http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos175.htm#nature Veverka, J A (1994) Interpretive mastering planning Falcon Press, Helena, MT Walker, P (1997) How to study in college Houghton Mifflin Co Boston, MA Walter, P (1998, February 27) Making the grade University of Texas, USA Whitehead, A N (1938, April 28) Note taking tips Retrived from: http://jerz.setonhill.edu/writing/academic/notes-tips.htm Windiari, N L (2012) Note taking and the power of mind mapping in consecutive interpreting Udayana University, Bali, Indonesia 72 Tài liệu tiếng Việt Đinh Văn Đức & Kiều Châu (2005) Vài nhận thức ngoại ngữ việc dạy ngoại ngữ chuyên ngành bậc đại học Tạp Chí Ngơn Ngữ 12 Lâm Quang Đơng (2007) "Về tính chun nghiệp nghề dịch thuật" Ngơn Ngữ & Đời Sống 10 Nguyễn Duy Bảo Khang (n.d) Lịch sử dịch thuật Retrieved from: http://www.phiendichvien.com/for-translator/46-for-translation/186-lich-sudich-thuat.html Phạm Hồng Hạnh (2006) Note-taking in consecutive interpreting Hanoi university of foreign studies Tâm Như (2011) Nghề phiên dịch - Khả ngoại ngữ, vốn văn hóa đủ chưa Retrieved from http://www.hieuhoc.com/khoahochay/chitiet/nghe-phien-dichkha-nang-ngoai-ngu-von-van-hoa-da-du-chua Trần Trí Dũng (2010) Một số phương pháp học tập hiệu Retrieved 2012 from http://www.kynang.com.vn/ky-nang-tu-hoc/195-mot-so-phuong-phap-hoctap-hieu-qua.html Vũ Khoan (2011) Nói nghề thông ngôn Retrieved from http://dichthuatlacviet.com.vn/Tin-tuc/Ong-Vu-Khoang-noi-ve-nghe thong-ngon-.aspx Wesites: http://www.web.net/~plain/PlainTrain/OrganizingIdeas.html 73 74 APPENDIX 1: QUESTIONNAIRE We’re carrying out a research on Explore note taking strategies for interpretation used by English majored students at College of Foreign Languages - Hue University We would like to invite you to take part in this thesis by answering the following questions The results will be only used for the research, not for any other purpose Thank you for your contribution 1 In general, would you say note taking skill is… (check  only one) Extremely difficult……………………1 Difficult……………………………….2 Fairly difficult……………………… Not difficult at all…………………… Reasons of those problems are…………… (please rate – = most considerable – least considerable)  Loosing spirit  Poor vocabulary  Poor listening skill  Others (speaker‟s voice, settings, noise, etc) How often you take notes in interpretation class? Those difficulties make you……… (please circle your choice) (please rate 1- = most often – least often)  Do not know what to take note None of Some of Most of All of  Write incorrect information the time the time the time the time  Do not know how to take note Do not know when to take note How much notes can you take from a lecture? (check  only one) When having difficulties, you often…………… (check  only one)  Overcome by yourself  < 30%  31%-50%  51%-70%  > 70%  Ask for teacher‟s advice and instruction  Have reference from friends What you often have problem with when taking note? Which you base on when taking notes? (check  only one) (choose or options)  Difficult to listen clearly  Speaker‟s voice and intonation  Being not concentrated  Construction of the speech (which is often presented in introduction)  Using shorten notes, symbols, charts, diagrams, etc to save time  Content words (verbs, nouns, adjectives)  Catching up speech‟s construction, ideas, figures, numbers, specific  Signal words (first, second, etc.) terms, etc Have you pointed out your own ways to enhance your skills? (check  only one) 12 Do you think “usually exercising” is important to help you enhance your N-T skill? (check  only one)  Yes  No 10 How often you use those ways to improve your notes in class? (check  only one)  Yes  No  No idea 13 Do you think it is necessary to point out strategies for problems in N-T? (check  only one)  Always  Usually  Sometimes 11 How helpful they are? (check  only one) Extremely helpful……………………….1 Helpful………………………………… Fairly helpful……………………………3 Not helpful at all………………………  Never  Yes  No  No idea 14 According to you, which are the most useful strategies? (choose 1- options that best response to your view)  Listening TV, radio, tape, native speakers, etc  Reading books, documents, newspaper, etc Always identify speech's topic, purpose and construction  Finding and using techniques to be selective and systematic  Searching and applying kinds of short notes  Others (keeping good spirit, preparation, exercising, etc.) 15 Please circle the number for each response that best corresponds to your view Strongly agree agree fairly disagree strongly disagree 1.It‟s important to start to take note as soon as possible Using either target or source language if it‟s helpful It‟s not necessary for interpreters to create an own N-T system (symbols, abbreviations, etc.) Always leave a space between major ideas 5 Always take note in one sides of the paper APPENDIX QUESTIONS FOR INTERVIEWS Is note taking a difficult task for you? If yes, why? What you often find most difficult when taking notes? Why? According to you, what can be done to overcome those difficulties as well as improve your note taking skill?