From general to translation-oriented listening: challenges and solutions

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The article is devoted to the problem of teaching listening comprehension for interpreting purposes in translation-oriented foreign language training based on its specific character and related difficulties. Listening comprehension plays a vital role in consecutive interpreting as it involves listening to and analysing the content and message of the source text and accounts for a large number of difficulties that affect the process and the quality of consecutive interpreting. The aim of the present study was to identify the skills essential to listening for translation purposes which, however, pose significant challenges to trainee translators starting a senior phase of their professional training (year 3). The development and practice of these skills should be made an integral part of translation-oriented foreign language training. The participants were 3rd-year full-time translation students (29) enrolled on a 5-year translation training programme. After listening to a recording in English and reproducing it in the same language, the participants were asked to comment on the problems and difficulties they encountered; the teacher also monitored the participants’ performance during the listening and reproduction task. The data revealed (a) some specific obstacles mentioned by the participants which hampered the complete and profound understanding of the recording and (b) some deeper underlying problems identified by the teacher. Based on these observations, we identified four groups of difficulties caused by (a) the students’ approach to the perception of the text, (b) factors hindering the perception of information, (c) the topic and the characteristics of the information in the text, (d) psycholinguistic factors. However, the key problem is believed to be the students’ approach to the perception of the text, i.e., their inability to perceive a text as a complete structural and semantic unit which can cause or exacerbate other listening comprehension difficulties. To address this problem, we proposed a number of recommendations and professionally oriented learning activities which have proved effective in developing the skills required for listening comprehension for interpreting purposes. This effort can ensure continuity between language and interpreting courses and provide a solid basis for teaching consecutive interpreting.

About the authors

Jana Borisovna Emelyanova

Linguistics University of Nizhny Novgorod

Email: yemelyanova2007@yandex.ru
Nizhny Novgorod, Russian Federation

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