CONSECUTIVE INTERPRETING CHINESE I [CHINESE PATHWAY] - 2025/6

Module Overview

This module lays the foundation of a career in Consecutive Interpreting. It enables students to acquire the principles of consecutive interpreting and to practise consecutive interpreting between Chinese and English in a variety of business and political situations. The module focuses on unilateral situations (e.g. speeches) and bilateral situations (dialogues), providing students with the practical skills and knowledge required to perform consecutive interpreting effectively and confidently.

 

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 1

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

None

Module content

Indicative content includes:

* Initially the module focuses on developing the students’ understanding of the basic requirements of a consecutive interpreter. Subsequently, the focus is on the skills, techniques and strategies for one-way and two-way consecutive interpreting between Chinese and English. Priority will be given to speeches, presentations and dialogues with a predominantly informative purpose.

* Practical exercises are designed to develop and systematically improve analytical skills required for active listening and source language comprehension, memorisation, retrieval and target language production as well as the co- ordination of the interaction in bilateral situations. Students also learn how to take notes and how to develop their own note-taking system. Further practice includes basic presentation skills and the use of breathing techniques to control nerves and reduce stress.

* Throughout the semester, students analyse and discuss their own practice in relation to professional interpreting requirements and standards in order to reflect on the difficulties and to develop their solutions.

* Furthermore, the module provides an introduction to professional interpreting situations and interpreter's work environments. It includes discussions of the role of the interpreter and basic rules of conduct.

* Students also learn how to prepare for an interpreting assignment, including gathering information from clients, researching relevant terminology etc.

* Materials include live and recorded materials from general and semi-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 outcome, 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 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 summative assignments. The criteria are made available to and explained to the students in class.

Module aims

• The module aims to: Provide students with an introduction to an interpreter's work in professional settings, developing students¿ practical knowledge and understanding of the professional requirements of working in different settings
• enable students to acquire essential interpreting skills and strategies for consecutive interpreting between Chinese and English
• enable students to learn how to relay information conveyed by the speaker accurately and how to reproduce the speaker's intended effect in the target language through a range of targeted exercises
• encourage students to develop reflective skills and a thorough understanding of an interpreter's role through in-class discussions and analyses of different interpreting situations

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to:

* combine teacher-led input and discussion (approx. 30%) and hands on practical exercises (approx. 70%) allowing for extensive practice using the School’s facilities
* enable collaborative learning through small group discussions (tutor-directed and peer-supported) allowing students to develop their practical skills and expertise in interpreting
* give students confidence in the fundamentals of Consecutive Interpreting practice, regardless of academic backgrounds
* encourage critical self- and peer-evaluation of the students’ performance


The learning and teaching methods include:

1. Practice interpreting workshops that enable students to further develop their interpreting skills through extensive and reflective practice and to receive a large amount of formative feedback from their tutors and peers. Workshops include opportunities for tutor-led deliberate practice based on designated teaching, thus enabling students to gain the fundamental skills of consecutive interpreting.


2. Regular (self-)recording to analyse and enhance different aspects of students’ interpreting performance. Interpreting problems arising from regular daily practice and assignments are discussed in class through group discussion and independent evaluation.


3. Students are encouraged to be active participants throughout the practical sessions, and support one-another during the process, and in doing so, 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 practising 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: TRAM395

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 interpreting-related areas.

This module provides students with the basic knowledge and skills required for Consecutive Interpreting (English-Chinese/Chinese-English), preparing them for advancing these skills in TRAM396 (Consecutive Interpreting Chinese II) to be employment ready. In this module, students make use of 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. This module will also develop students’ intercultural awareness and emphasize the importance of engaging effectively with people from diverse language and cultural backgrounds in the process of working as an interpreter. Weekly tests 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 in this module and future modules. Successfully completing the module requires resilience, consistent and regular practice (both individually and in small groups), as well as persistence to engage in the process of trial and error that is needed to develop such skills and manage an inherently multitasking activity like interpreting. 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 theme of sustainability is approached in more focused or more diffuse ways in this module. 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 2025/6 academic year.