Consecutive Interpreting

This study aims to explore the relationship between Iranian undergraduate translation students’ level of anxiety and emotional intelligence (EI) when performing consecutive interpreting, and the quality of their interpreting performance. To this end, thirty Iranian undergraduate English translation students were invited based on convenience sampling to participate in this study. A researcher-made questionnaire was designed to measure students’ interpreting anxiety. Participants completed Schering's emotional intelligence and interpreting classroom anxiety scale (ICAS) to measure their level of EI and anxiety. The participants were then asked to consecutively interpret a three-minute video clip from English into Persian about anxiety disorder. Students’ interpreting performance was assessed by three experienced raters based on Carroll’s model of translation quality assessment for consecutive interpreting. The results showed that there was no statistically significant relationship between the students’ total score of EI and the quality of their consecutive interpreting performance. However, there was a negative correlation between students’ interpreting anxiety and the quality of their interpreting performance. Additionally, a negative association was found between students interpreting classroom anxiety and emotional intelligence. Consequently, the findings demonstrated that negative emotions and thoughts such as anxiety and stress reduce translation students interpreting ability. Moreover, based on the results, the interpreting theoretical instructions, as well as teaching psychological factors should be included in the translation teaching syllabus to train proficient and skillful interpreters in Iranian universities.

Given the cognitive demands of consecutive interpreting and the psychological pressures faced by novice interpreters, the present quantitative study aims to identify the most frequently occurring disfluencies in the output of English-Persian interpreter trainees and to explore how interpreting anxiety influences different types of disfluencies. A total of 23 translation trainee students were selected based on convenience sampling. Data were gathered through the Interpreting Classroom Anxiety Scale and a CI exam. After classifying the disfluencies =, it was revealed that hesitation, silent pauses, and prolongation are the predominant disfluency features. These types of disfluencies indicate cognitive overload and failures in language planning. Statistical analyses showed a significant correlation between high levels of anxiety and an increased frequency of these disfluencies; however, no meaningful relationship was found between interpreting anxiety and disfluency in general. This suggests that anxiety adversely affects fluency and overall interpreting performance. This study highlights the critical role of psychological factors, particularly anxiety, in interpreter performance and training. The findings call for the inclusion of anxiety-reduction techniques in interpreter education and suggest future research on experience-based disfluency patterns and Persian-specific disfluency classification.

Given the importance of consecutive interpreting as a key mode of communication, various factors influencing its effectiveness must be examined to enhance overall performance. This study explored the relationship between working memory (working memory), interpreting delivery rate, and the number of pauses. To achieve this, two working memory tests and a consecutive interpreting task were administered to 30 MA translation students. The analysis revealed a significant positive correlation between one working memory measure (reading span) and interpreting delivery rate. However, no significant relationship was found between working memory and the number of silent or filled pauses in the interpreting output. Additionally, working memory was identified as a predictor of interpreting delivery rate. These findings suggest that while working memory may be associated with certain variables, such as delivery rate, it may not be linked to others, such as the number of pauses in consecutive interpreting.

This empirical investigation examines the repair strategies used by trainee interpreters in English-Persian simultaneous (SI) and consecutive interpreting (CI) modes. The research seeks to investigate two main questions: whether there are differences in the frequency of repairs between SI and CI, and whether there are variations in the sorts of repair strategies employed in both modes. The study involved nine trainees from Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman who were learning interpreting. The study employed a 4-minute speech from Voice of America English News, which discussed the influence of vitamins on preventing the advancement of AIDS in women. Occurrences of self-repairs were detected using Tang’s (2020c) framework. The findings revealed a notable disparity in the frequency of repair strategies between CI and SI modes, with CI trainees utilizing a greater number of repairs. In addition, the trainees in the CI mode achieved superior scores in explicitation and synonym techniques. The results emphasize the unique patterns of repair strategies in both consecutive and simultaneous interpretation, reflecting the importance of focused training to improve interpreters’ abilities in both modes. Interpreter training programs may consider including explicit instruction on repair procedures and placing emphasis on evaluating their use in performance assessments.