Teaching Oral Consecutive Interpretation

Abstract

The paper describes the research conducted in interpreter-training based on the experience of teaching oral consecutive interpretation in two groups of undergraduate students approximately of the same level of linguistic and translation skills. In one of the groups – key informants – metacognitive approach was applied to have the would-be interpreters conscious of what they are expected to be successful interpreters.  As many scholars in this field claim, metacognitive competence developed in the process of education is believed to form the ability to meet the challenges an interpreter can face executing oral consecutive interpretation. Since attentiveness and memory are viewed as important mechanisms of psychological base of the type of interpretation under consideration, special sets of exercises directed to developing these properties in interpreters-to be elaborated by contemporary scholars according to special methodology were given in this group. The next group – focus group – was also provided with the same educational technologies and other facilities as the group of key informants, but metacognitive approach and aforementioned sets of exercises were not used in it. Long-term memory tests held at the beginning and at the end of the semester in both the groups demonstrate that metacognitive approach in combination with special sets of exercises lead to much better results in long-term memory developing.