How can senior students improve consecutive interpreting skills

Graduation Thesis HANOI OPEN UNIVERSITY CODE: 04 FACULTY OF ENGLISH - GRADUATION THESIS B.A DEGREE IN ENGLISH STUDIES HOW CAN SENIOR STUDENTS IMPROVE CONSECUTIVE INTERPRETING SKILLS Supervisor : Nguyễn Thị Kim Chi, M.A Student : Phạm Khắc Vĩ Date of birth : 20/3/1993 Course : K18A4 (2011-2015) Hanoi, 2015 Graduation Thesis DECLARATION Title: HOW CAN SENIOR STUDENTS IMPROVE CONSECUTIVE INTERPRETING SKILLS I certify that no part of the above report has been copied or reproduced by me from any other’s work without acknowledgement and that the report is originally written by me under strict guidance of my supervisor Hanoi, May, 2015 Student Supervisor Phạm Khắc Vĩ Nguyễn Thị Kim Chi Phạm Khắc Vĩ – K18A4 Graduation Thesis ACKNOWLEDGEMENT First and foremost, I would like to express my gratitude to all those who gave me the possibility to complete this thesis I want to thank the English Department of Hanoi Open University for giving me permission to commence this thesis in the first instance and to the necessary research work I am deeply indebted to my supervisor Mrs Nguyễn Thị Kim Chi, whose reference materials, support, stimulating suggestions and encouragement helped me in all stages of this research My classmates from class K18A4 (2011-2015) supported me a great deal and I want to thank them for all their support, cooperation and valuable suggestions I would like to express my sincere appreciation to other fellow students of Faculty of English for providing me honest answers to my questionnaire Especially, I am thankful to my friends who looked closely at the final version of the thesis for English style and grammar, correcting both and offering suggestions for improvement Finally, I cannot fully express my gratitude to all the people who directly and indirectly support helped me complete my thesis in time Phạm Khắc Vĩ – K18A4 Graduation Thesis TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION ACKNOWLEDGEMENT TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES PART A – INTRODUCTION…… 1 Rationale Aims of the study Scope of the study Research question Method of the study Design of the study PART B – DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER – LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 1.2 1.3 The definition of interpretation Interpretation and translation 1.2.1 Spoken and written 1.2.2 Real-time and delay 1.2.3 Level of accuracy 1.2.4 Direction and fluency 1.2.5 Intangibles Modes and types of interpretation 1.3.1 Modes of interpretation 1.3.1.1 Simultaneous 1.3.1.2 Consecutive 1.3.1.3 Whispered 10 Phạm Khắc Vĩ – K18A4 Graduation Thesis 1.4 1.5 1.3.1.4 Relay 10 1.3.1.5 Liaison 10 1.3.2 Types of interpretation 1.3.2.1 Conference 11 1.3.2.2 Judicial 11 1.3.2.3 Escort 12 1.3.2.4 Public sector 13 1.3.2.5 Medical 13 1.3.2.6 Sign language 14 1.3.2.7 Media 14 Senior students’ common interpretation problems 1.4.1 Difficulties in understanding source language 15 1.4.2 Limited vocabulary 16 1.4.3 Inefficient note-taking skills and bad memory 17 1.4.4 Speaking anxiety 18 Summary 20 CHAPTER – The Study 21 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Subject of the study 21 Method of the study 21 Data analysis 22 Summary 31 CHAPTER – Suggestions for improvement for senior students of Faculty of English, H.O.U 32 3.1 3.2 Strategies to improve listening skills 32 3.1.1 Pre-listening 33 3.1.2 While-listening 39 3.1.3 Post-listening 43 Strategies to develop interpretation skills 44 3.2.1 Improving memorizing skills 45 3.2.2 Improving note-taking skills 53 Phạm Khắc Vĩ – K18A4 Graduation Thesis 3.3 3.2.3 How to overcome speaking anxiety 59 3.2.4 How to broaden your vocabulary and background 64 Summary 70 PART C – Conclusion 71 REFERENCES APPENDIX Phạm Khắc Vĩ – K18A4 PART A – INTRODUCTION Rationale Interpretation is considered the ultimate goal of every language learners However, it also is the most challenging skills Over the last few years, the importance of interpretation has been stressed as we are living in a flat world and dealing with oversea customers is normal Today, English plays an important role in our daily conversation because the demand to communicate with foreigners is increasingly rapidly Therefore, those who are bilingual have much greater job opportunities However, a great number of senior students at HOU find it difficult to learn Consecutive Interpreting There are a lot of causes contributing to their fear of interpreting, both subjectively and objectively Therefore, this study is made to help them Aims of the study The purpose of this study is to improve the interpretation skills of senior students in Faculty of English, H.O.U Moreover, this also aims to help them understand the relation between listening, note – taking and speaking as well as how to all these tasks simultaneously Scope of the study Based on my own knowledge as well as textbooks and reference books, I would like to give some suggestion to help fourth-year students tackle their problems Therefore, the subjects of this graduation paper are students who are not very good at interpreting Phạm Khắc Vĩ – K18A4 Research questions With a view to achieving the aims of the study, the research questions will be addressed as follows: What are the current problems of senior students in Faculty of English when doing consecutive interpreting? What are some solutions to improve consecutive interpreting skills of K18 students in Faculty of English, H.O.U? Design of the study The study consists of parts It begins with the introduction which deals with the rationale and the structure of the study The next part is the main study which is divided into chapters: Chapter 1: Giving a review of literature, the differences between translation and interpretation, types and modes of interpretation and the problems students have when dealing with consecutive interpreting Chapter 2: Finding and analyzing data, describing the current situation of students in Faculty of English Chapter 3: Suggesting some effective strategies to improve interpreting skills for senior students in Faculty of English The last part is the conclusion which gives brief summary of the study Phạm Khắc Vĩ – K18A4 PART B – DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER I – LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 The definition of interpretation Interpretation is the act of explaining, reframing, or otherwise showing your own understanding of something A person who translates one language (source language – SL) into another (target language – TL) is called an interpreter because they are explaining what a person is saying to someone who doesn't understand Interpretation requires you to first understand the piece of music, text, language, or idea, etc and give your explanation of it Interpretation can be defined in a nutshell as conveying understanding Its usefulness stems from the fact that a speaker’s meaning is best expressed in his or her native tongue but is best understood in the languages of the listeners 1.2 Interpretation versus translation People often confuse translation with interpretation While both services involve adapting from one language to another, there are a number of important differences 1) Spoken versus written: Interpretation is the transference of meaning between spoken languages, while translation is the transference of meaning between written languages Phạm Khắc Vĩ – K18A4 2) Real-time versus delay: Interpreting occurs in real time It happens in person, on the phone, or through a television/video service Because translation involves the written word, it typically takes place long after a text is created, which gives the translator time to access resources (dictionaries, glossaries, subject matter experts, etc.) to produce an accurate and effective end document (or website, help file, etc.) 3) Level of accuracy Interpretation and translation demand different levels of accuracy While interpreters aim to be completely accurate, it’s difficult to achieve in a live conversation They may omit some details of the original speech as they interpret into the target language Conversely, translators have time to evaluate and revise each word and sentence before delivering their product, so they can achieve a greater level of accuracy and greater fidelity to the original 4) Direction and fluency: An interpreter must be fluent enough in both the original language and the target language to be able to translate in both directions, on the spot, without any reference material Interpreters are highly qualified people, and the work is quite demanding It’s so demanding that interpreters work in pairs and must switch off every 20 minutes or so to prevent mental fatigue Phạm Khắc Vĩ – K18A4 discussion where the group leader is the one who is responsible for everybody’s speaking participation The teacher shows that every student’s comment is worthy and appreciated It can be done by giving opportunities for discussions about controversial topics, emotions, opinions and roll plays about up-to-date events Teachers, just like students, show an accepting attitude against wrong answers, for example by resisting negative reactions to negative answers Every student should tell the class about one mistake they have done Students are encouraged to connect to what others in the class have been speaking about To link comments with former comments, allowing students to repeat other students’ dictum or letting them to successive additions to short stories are ways of encouraging them To see all students and the teacher as resources in classroom discussions by adding more questions like “What you think the others say about that?” or “Does anybody have an answer to this question?” for example Students or smaller groups of students should also be given opportunity to lead classroom work like homework tests or skilled reviews Phạm Khắc Vĩ – K18A4 63 3.2.4 How to broaden your vocabulary and background Every words in your vocabulary are just like every bullets in a gunman’s arsenal It goes without saying that you simply can’t interpret with a poor dictionary With a broad vocabulary, one can barely interpret although he/she is not very good at listening or note – taking However, a great number of student in Faculty of English have unacceptably poor vocabulary despite the fact that it’s English they are majoring and they’re about to graduate Once encountering a sentence with too many unfamiliar words to the extent that students can’t understand the meaning, they will feel nervous as they pay too much attention to this sentence so they ignore the next sentence In this case, vocabulary becomes a big problem in listening That is the reason why student must have enough vocabulary in order to be an interpreter Vocabulary affects listening and interpreting directly so vocabulary development is the key to be a successful interpreter Here are some easy ways to increase your vocabulary Spend 15 minutes every day reading a newspaper or a weekly newsmagazine As you read, circle unfamiliar words When you finish the article, return to these words and use context clues to try to determine meaning Then look the words up in a dictionary, comparing your definition with the actual definition Add each word, its definition, and its sentence in a vocabulary notebook, on a x index card, or onto a web site like www.quizlet.com for later You can try some Phạm Khắc Vĩ – K18A4 64 good news sources like New York Times, Wall Street Journals, BBC News, etc… Use vocabulary web sites, especially those with a “Word of the Day,” on the Internet or your cell phone if you have a data plan with internet access Browse a dictionary Peer through a dictionary to look for unfamiliar words For example, if you notice the word “unorthodox,” you may realize that you’ve seen it before or heard it in the phrase “orthodox Jews” but never really knew what it meant (“Unorthodox” means “breaking with convention or tradition.”) Browsing through a dictionary to look for unfamiliar words or words related to subjects you’re studying can help you learn useful words Learn the origins of words It’s fascinating to learn where words come from Because many English words derive from Latin and Greek, once you learn the meaning of a word part, you can apply that knowledge to new words When you discover the “story” behind a word, you’re more likely to remember its meaning Phạm Khắc Vĩ – K18A4 65 Use context clues to try to determine the meanings of words Don’t skip over unfamiliar words Try to determine meaning by analyzing unfamiliar words and the sentences surrounding them Careful analysis can often give you a pretty good idea of what the word means Mark the word with a pencil When you finish reading, look up the word in a dictionary to see if you were close Although context clues may not always be present, looking for them can sharpen your comprehension Here’s an example of using context clues to determine the approximate meaning of an unfamiliar word: “The job was more odious than taking out the garbage.” Because most people find taking out the garbage an unpleasant task, you can guess that “odious” describes something very unpleasant (in fact, odious means “exciting hatred or repugnance; abhorrent.”) Use x index cards to make vocabulary flash cards As you try the suggestions on this handout, don’t just read about a new word or look it up in a dictionary Make a vocabulary flash card On one side of an index card, write the new word, its part of speech, and its phonetic spelling Include Greek or Latin word parts On the other side, write its definition and any related word parts Copy the sentence in which you found the word, and then write the word in an original sentence of your own Carry these cards with you to review Before you write papers, flip through Phạm Khắc Vĩ – K18A4 66 your cards This increases your chance of being able to use one or two of these words in your writing Use Quizlet to review the new words you learn Go to www.quizlet.com and enter your words The program will generate quizzes and games custom- made for your word list Set a specific goal Learning new words requires a commitment Since you’re less likely to hear sophisticated vocabulary in daily conversation, take matters into your own hands and teach yourself new words Set a goal such as, “I’ll learn one new word each day” or “I’ll try one suggestion on this handout every day during semester break or summer.” Do crossword puzzles and other word puzzles Although some crossword-puzzle words are obscure or seldom used, some words will increase your vocabulary And the information in crossword puzzles may increase your background knowledge 10 Listen to radio and television programs that use a college-level vocabulary Phạm Khắc Vĩ – K18A4 67 Network television and mainstream radio stations may limit your exposure to new vocabulary Try something more appropriate like VOA, VOA Special English, etc… 11 “Use a word times and it’s yours!” It’s that simple If you don’t make an effort to use new words you learn, you’re likely to forget them Using words makes them a permanent part of your vocabulary You know common words like “cow,” “walk” and “pleasant” because: You’ve heard them frequently You’ve read them frequently They may have been taught to you You’ve used them many times in your speech and your writing If you don’t routinely hear or read words like “catalyst,” “disparage” or “aberration,” use them at least three times in your writing or your speech Gradually they will become a part of your vocabulary “Practice makes perfect” is the motto that can be applied to pretty much every fields Background knowledge cannot be built up in a day or two It must be accumulated every day, regardless it’s your birthday, wedding day or weekend tomorrow The listening material or a speaker’s speech consists of a broad range of topics and diverse subjects Because of cross-cultural or historical background knowledge, students often feel that they hear the word but not know its meaning and even if such word is listed in the hearing materials, students also find it difficult to understand Phạm Khắc Vĩ – K18A4 68 Language learning should be the learning of culture and understanding Only by learning the culture of English – speaking countries and cultural backgrounds can students be able to understand and use English properly One of the most effective ways to enrich your background knowledge is to read extensively, especially to read English books about English – speaking countries’ history, geography, customs, religion, sports, education and culture Students must also be encouraged to approach English as much as possible, such as reading some English newspaper, magazine and original novels which contain a lot of information about the English – speaking countries The more they read, the broader their background knowledge Another way is to make full use of English movies, TV program, shows or even music and games All these little touches will make students familiar with English – speaking countries’ culture, customs… the valuable knowledge which can’t be introduced in classroom 3.3 Summary The strategies explained above are just some of the effective way to improve your interpretation skills It is highly recommended that K18 students should attach great importance to improving their listening comprehension skills, note – taking skills as well as conquering their speak anxiety PART C – CONCLUSION Phạm Khắc Vĩ – K18A4 69 Interpreting skills is becoming more and more important in our modern life as it is indispensable to communicate with foreigners Therefore, teaching and learning interpreting skills in English is considered as the most difficult skills to achieve on top of the four basic skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing It is also worth noting that interpreter currently is an attractive career with high pay and challenging but rewarding opportunities This thesis has introduced some basic knowledge of interpreting as well as its relationship with other skills It was done in the hope of contributing some suggestive techniques and activities to solve interpreting problems and it was also carried out with the purpose of developing interpreting skills The underlying problems K18 students are having were collected and analyzed and valuable suggestions have been shown to specifically tackle these problems It is hoped that senior students in Faculty of English, H.O.U can use this paper for their interpreting skills development and hopefully, they can develop the things discussed in this paper furthermore No matter how bad you are at interpreting, with the help of this paper, you will succeed if you sincerely want to Practice interpreting everyday will build up your skills, confidence and you will certainly become a professional interpreter REFERENCES Phạm Khắc Vĩ – K18A4 70 Alexieva, Bista On teaching note-taking in consecutive interpreting Teaching Translation and Interpreting 2: Insights, Aims, Visions Cay Dollerup and Annette Lindegaard, Editors Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing 1994 Pp 199–206 Barker, Larry L Listening Behavior Englewood Cliffs N.J.: PrenticeHall, Inc 1971 Bowen, David, and Margareta Bowen Steps to Consecutive Interpretation Washington D.C.: Pen & Booth 1984 Burley-Allen, Madelyn Listening, the Forgotten Skill New York: John Wiley and Sons 1982 Colonomos, B.M Model of the interpreting process (Unpublished) 1992 Dollerup, Cay and Loddegaard, Anne, Editors Teaching Translation and Interpreting: Training, Talent and Experience Philadelphia: John Benjanims Publishing Company 1992 Frishberg, Nancy Interpreting: An Introduction Rockville, MD: Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, Inc 1986 Gonzalez, Roseann Duenas, Victoria F Vasquez, and Holly Mikkelson Fundamentals of Court Interpretation Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press 1991 Lederer, Marianne The role of cognitive complements in interpreting Interpreting— Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow American Translators Association Scholarly Monograph Series, Vol IV Binghamton, NY: State University of NY at Binghamton 1990 Pp 53–60 10 Nicholson, Nancy Schweda Consecutive note-taking for community Interpretation Interpreting—Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow American Translators Association Scholarly Monograph Series, Vol Phạm Khắc Vĩ – K18A4 71 IV Binghamton, NY: State University of NY at Binghamton 1990 Pp 136–145 11 Nicholson, Nancy Schweda Professional ethics for court and community interpreters Professional Issues for Translators and Interpreters American Translators Association Scholarly Monograph Series, Vol VII Philadelphia: John Benjamins 1994 Pp 79–97 12 Ridington, Robin The problem of discourse Little Bit Know Something Iowa City, IA: University of Iowa Press 1990 Pp 186– 205 13 Roy, Cynthia Interpreting as a Discourse Process New York: Oxford University Press 2000 14 Setton, Robin 1999 Simultaneous interpretation: a cognitivepragmatic analysis Amsterdam and Philadelphia: John Benjamins 15 Visson, Lynn From Russian into English: An Introduction to Simultaneous Interpretation Ann Arbor: Ardis Publishers 1991 Web sources and recommended websites for improving skills www.bbc.co.uk Phạm Khắc Vĩ – K18A4 72 http://learningenglish.voanews.com/ www.theguardian.com http://edition.cnn.com/studentnews http://www.collegeatlas.org/ http://digitool.library.colostate.edu/R?RN=252871471 www.quizlet.com http://www.wordthink.com/ http://www.learnersdictionary.com/word-of-the-day 10.http://www.english-daily.com/ 11.http://www.vocabulary.com/ APPENDIX QUESTIONNAIRE Phạm Khắc Vĩ – K18A4 73 What you think about the Consecutive Interpreting subject? A Very difficult B Difficult C Quite easy D Easy What are your problems when doing consecutive interpreting? (can choose more than one answer) A Difficulties in understanding source language B Limited vocabulary C Inefficient note – taking skills D Bad short-term memories E Mediocre text – reproducing skills F Cultural differences G Lack of background knowledge What kinds of news sources you take in class? A VOA B VOA Special English C BBC D CNN What kind of sub – listening skill you prefer? A Skimming B Scanning C Note – taking D Listening for total comprehension E Predicting F Summarizing What topics/themes you like most? Phạm Khắc Vĩ – K18A4 74 A Economics B Society C Culture & Tourism D Commerce E Science F Sports Do you think the note –taking skills is the most important? A Yes B No Is the way you’re approaching Consecutive Interpreting suitable? A Yes B No How many percentage of information can you get after 2-time listening? A 25 % or less B 50 % C 75 % D 90 % What are your strategies to improve your interpreting skills at home? (can choose more than one answer) A Listening to English news B Improving listening sub – skills C Improving your background D Watching films E Listening to your favourite music F Another answer …………………………………………………………………………… 10 What kinds of news sources/programs you take at home? Phạm Khắc Vĩ – K18A4 75 A VOA B VOA Special English C BBC D CNN E Interview F Films G Music LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES Table Student’s attitudes towards Consecutive Interpreting 23 Phạm Khắc Vĩ – K18A4 76 Table Problems when doing Consecutive Interpreting 23 Table Kinds of news sources used in class 24 Table Preferred sub-listening skills 24 Table Favourite topics 26 Table Strategies at home 29 Table Kinds of news sources/programs students take at home 30 Figure Student’s attitudes towards note – taking skills 27 Figure Student’s self-evaluation 28 Figure How good students are at listening 29 Phạm Khắc Vĩ – K18A4 77 [...]... senior students aged 22-24 These students were asked about their attitudes towards Consecutive Interpreting and what needed to be done in order to improve their interpreting skills 200 copies of the questionnaire (see Appendix) were distributed but only 191 returned 2.2 Method of the Study – Questionnaire The purpose of using questionnaire was to investigate the attitude of students towards Consecutive Interpreting. .. that not many students are satisfied with their CI approaching method Some students shared that although they tried very hard, they couldn’t be as good as they wanted Only one fourth thinks they are on the right track Luckily, this thesis will show them how to improve their interpreting nterpreting skills step by step Phạm Khắc Vĩ – K18A4 28 Figure 3 How good students are at listening How many percentage... – K18A4 22 Table 1 Student’s attitudes towards Consecutive Interpreting What do you think about the Consecutive Answer Interpreting subject? percentage A Very difficult 58.5% B Difficult 28% C Quite easy 10% D Easy 3.5% Question 1 As the very first question clearly shows, Consecutive Interpreting truly is one of the most challenging subjects for senior students, mostly because a great number of them... students when dealing with Consecutive Interpreting Question 2 aims to identify students problems Question 3 is intended to find the preferred news sources, the ones students prefer to take in class and question 4 reveals the favourite sublistening skills of them Question 5 shows what topics they like most; question 6 highlights the importance of note-taking skills; question 7 is for students to self-evaluate... collected data, most K18 students stuck at the very first stage: comprehensive listening while only one fifth suppose they can interpret rather well Hence, solving the listening problem should be the key to become competent interpreters Table 2 Problems when doing Consecutive Interpreting Question 2 What are your problems when doing Consecutive Interpreting? Answer percentage (can choose more than one... can be a serious problem The interpreter working for the media has to sound as smooth and sure as a television presenter 1.4 Senior students common interpretation problems Being competent in interpreting is the ultimate goal of every English learners Interpreting requires the learners to be good at not only the source language (SL) but also the target language (TL) as well However, a majority of senior. .. information students get after 2 2-time listening 7% 19% 46% 25% or less 50% 28% 75% 90% Listening is the exact problem of nearly three fourth of surveyed students 46% % shared they can only get a quart quarter er of information or less and 28% % said they can barely gget a half About one out of five (19%) can retain 75% of information or more and this once again shows the indispensable role of listening skillss... for total comprehension is like Japanese airmen’s Kamikaze tactic: you can focus exclusively on listening However, since you rely heavily on your memory, if there is any hesitation or misunderstanding, it would be disastrous Also, the fact that one fourth of the surveyed students said they prefer predicting skills shows that many K18 students are not ready to be a competence interpreter yet Table 5 Favourite... According to the survey, most students feel certain that they can do their best when dealing with culture & tourism reports If given economic or social reports, nearly one of five students said they could do well However, commerce, science and sports are the least preferred topics Figure 1 Student’s attitudes towards note – taking skills Do you think the note note-taking skills is the most important?... from students in a short time and the analysis of the answers to closed questions is straightforward The questionnaires (see Appendix) were made up of ten questions They were carefully designed to identify the students lack and problems Phạm Khắc Vĩ – K18A4 21 when interpreting, as well as their attitudes and strategies to improve their skills Question 1 is to find the general attitude of K18 students