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The course will introduce the basic understanding of consecutive interpreting and help students to develop fundamental skills of interpreting from a source language (English) to their native language (Chinese), such as active listening, note-taking, memory retention, delivery and multi-tasking. Various activities including guided individual performance, peer reviews, group discussions and assignments based on speeches and texts used in different situations and for different purposes will assist students to acquire these skills. Students are expected to play an active and central role in these activities.
This book serves for student interpreters to study the system for note-taking in consecutive interpreting. Part I spreads out the stages through which the note-taking system is built with. Chapters 1-3 present the basic elements of the note-taking system. Chapter 4 starts to discuss how to link these basic elements together. Chapters 5-7 discusses the differing levels of values coming from the speaker, the use of symbols, and memory prompts respectively. Part II provides tips and ideas used within the note-taking system from the perspectives of clauses, rules of abbreviation, verbs, etc. Part III is exercise-oriented, providing sample speeches, their notes and commentaries on these notes, etc.
This book is loosely based on an earlier publication, Conference Interpreting – A Students’ Companion published in 2001 in Poland. It offers some guidelines for effective practice and a compilation of practice exercises drawn from conference interpreting literature and teachers. The book consists of four parts. Part 1 offers general principles for effective practice drawn from the author’s own extensive experience as an interpreter and interpreter-trainer. Part 2 covers language enhancement at very high level. Part 3 and Part 4 cover the key sub-skills needed to effectively handle the two components of conference interpreting- simultaneous and consecutive interpreting.
