CONSECUTIVE INTERPRETING CHINESE II [CHINESE PATHWAY] - 2023/4

Module Overview

This module builds on the module “Consecutive Interpreting I” and focuses on the advanced practice of consecutive interpreting between Chinese and English in high-level business and political settings. It covers different types of speeches and bilateral situations, speeches with visual aids and persuasive source texts, providing students with advanced skills and practical knowledge to perform interpreting tasks professionally and confidently to a high standard.

Module provider

Literature & Languages

Module Leader

WANG Fang (Lit & Langs)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 7

Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A

Module Availability

Semester 2

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

Consecutive Interpreting I (TRAM395)

Module content

Indicative content includes:

• The module focuses on the intensive practice of one-way and two-way consecutive interpreting. Particular emphasis is on different types of unilateral situations, e.g. political speeches, dinner speeches, keynote speeches


• By executives, the interpretation of speeches with a persuasive purpose, the interpretation of presentations that include visual aids (e.g. presentation slides) and the processing of scripts that are provided in advance of an interpreting assignment. Due attention is paid to the projection of a speaker’s image and the interpretation of language that is intended to persuade and influence others


• Equally importantly, the module covers bilateral situations (meetings, negotiations, discussions and debates) to enable students to deal with the bi-directionality of many interpreting situations. This will include learning to handle communicative situations with shared and conflicting goals as well as developing appropriate strategies for creating a rapport between the participants, rendering politeness, managing turn-taking and co-ordinating the interaction effectively


• Further practice covers bilateral interpreting to enable students to deal with the bi-directionality of many interpreting situations


• Students will also review how to prepare for an assignment and how to continue learning after an assignment


• In-class analysis and discussion are based on the students’ own performance as well as prototypical interpreting scenarios, their respective challenges, and the knowledge and strategies required to master them. The module also includes discussions of potential clients' needs, the interpreter's role and relevant codes of conduct for interpreting


• Materials include live and recorded materials from semi-specialised and specialised registers

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

Resits may exceptionally require an alternative form of assessment. In such cases, the topic of the assignment may be modified, or the assignment may be done on the basis of recorded spoken material. The achievement of the learning outcomes is measured in the same way as in the first attempt, using the criteria for oral interpreting assignment.

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy is designed to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate their practical interpreting skills alongside the module outcomes via both formative (weekly assignment) and summative assessment (end of semester assignment). Through this strategy, this module enables students to be exposed to sufficient opportunities to practise interpreting in simulated interpreter-mediated events and receive constructive comments from tutors and reflect on their own performance throughout the semester.
 

Thus, the summative assessment for this module consists of:

• Weekly Consecutive Interpreting Assignment during normal class time (30%).
  Students are required to consecutively interpret a short audio clip by using notes. Tutors provide immediate feedback to students’ performance in different aspects including notes. Constructive feedback are communicated to students including coping techniques for future interpreting improvement.


• One Assignment of Consecutive Interpreting (both-ways) at the end of the semester (70%)
  Students are required to interpret a short audio clip by using notes. Marks and feedbacks are provided in marking sheets indicating the strengths and weaknesses of students’ interpreting performance.

 

          Formative assessment

Students receive regular comprehensive feedback and feedforward from tutors, peers and clients on their preparation and interpreting skills during the practice in class, which allows them to monitor their progress week by week. In the formative interpreting exercises, tutors use the same assessment criteria as in the two summative assignments. The criteria are made available to and explained to the students in class.

 

Module aims

• The module aims to: enable students to acquire advanced skills and strategies for consecutive interpreting between Chinese and English
• enable students to consolidate and expand the skills developed in Consecutive Interpreting I (TRAM395) and to apply them in a professional capacity through a range of self-reflective exercises and role-play simulations. The focus of practice is on different types of speeches, visual aids and persuasive texts
• help students to prepare for professional practice in a wide variety of political and corporate communication situations through critical reflection upon different source texts and interpreting situations
• enable students to develop a critical self-assessment system with which to review their own performance after each interpreting assignment

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching methods include:

1. Practice interpreting workshops that enable students to further develop their interpreting skills through extensive and reflective practice in simulated interpreting scenarios and to receive a large amount of formative feedback from their tutors and peers. The first part of teaching includes role plays simulating interpreter-mediated events in real life scenarios, thus enabling students to gain the fundamental skills of consecutive interpreting in authentic environment. The second part of teaching provides feedback from tutors and peers’ discussion on individual students’ performance, enabling students to understand their strengths and weaknesses in interpreting performance


2. Regular (self-)recording of student interpreter’s performance in each week’s role play to analyse and enhance different aspects of students’ interpreting performance. Interpreting problems arising from regular practice are discussed in class through tutor-led evaluation


3. Students are encouraged to be active participants throughout the practical sessions, and support one-another during the process. In doing so, students develop as informed, confident, collaborative and independent learners


4. self-practice by students during which students are expected to spend at least 6 hours per week practicing on interpreting materials, individually and in groups


5. independent study during which students are expected to spend at least 4 hours per week researching the subject areas and are encouraged to develop Internet and research skills to enable them to find appropriate materials for preparation.

Teaching is normally a minimum of 3 hours per week.

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: TRAM396

Other information

Native or near-native competency in English and Chinese

Surrey's Curriculum Framework is committed to developing graduates with strengths in Employability, Digital Capabilities, Global and Cultural Capabilities, Sustainability and Resourcefulness and Resilience. This module is designed to allow students to develop knowledge, skills and capabilities in a range of areas.

This module provides students with the knowledge and advanced skills required for Consecutive Interpreting (English-Chinese/Chinese-English), preparing them to be employment ready. It is closely linked with TRAM395, which equip students with basic consecutive interpreting knowledge and skills. In this module, students continue to use the Virtual Learning Environment for real-time in-class learning as well as guided learning and self-study activities making use of specialist digital resources tailored for interpreting training. This module is taught by Dr Kevin Lin, the lead interpreter of British Foreign Affairs Office and his team, who bring into the classroom invaluable experience and insights on interpreting in high-end contexts. Students will be equipped with all the core competences required of professional interpreters working in political and business scenarios. This module will also develop students’ intercultural awareness and emphasizes the importance of engaging effectively with people from diverse language and cultural backgrounds in the process of working as an interpreter. Weekly tests employing the format of role plays where students act as interpreters in simulated interpreter-mediated events will improve students’ self-monitoring, self-reliance, and resilience. In this process, students will develop their own resourcefulness and reflective skills that will benefit their critical thinking and ability to identify appropriate solutions and strategies to cope with a range of different challenges arising from interpreting practice. To prepare for such weekly tests, students will be able to navigate and utilize a wide range of digital and technological resources for terminology extraction and subject knowledge mining. Tutor-led and peer-supported small group leaning will enable students to become collaborative and independent learners for this module and future modules. Employability is enhanced by completion this module as students will not only gain advanced skills for interpreting in a range of settings but achieve in-depth understanding of professional requirements of high-end interpreting based on Dr Lin and his team’s training. Employability and sustainability are also enhanced by the fact that Dr Kevin Lin, as the director of KL Interpreting company, provides a wide range of internship opportunities for students before and upon graduation The module approaches the theme of sustainability in more focused or more diffuse ways. On a more local level, the topics of environmental sustainability, decent work and economic growth and sustainable consumption are addressed in practical interpreting practice. In a more diffuse way, students discover which interpreting solutions may best serve future tasks through group discussion or self-reflections, thus consolidating resources, saving time and preparing them for greater volume of work and work diversification in the future.

Programmes this module appears in

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2023/4 academic year.