Factors Affecting Listening Comprehension And Coping Strategies In Videoconference Interpreting

In business talks,the listening comprehension of the interpreter determines the completeness and fluency of information delivery in consecutive interpreting.Since2020,many major international conferences have been switched from offline to online due to the COVID-19 pandemic,bringing both new opportunities to the development of videoconference interpreting and challenges to interpreters.The working environment and difficulties of interpretation have changed accordingly.The way that the interpreter receives information is changed from on-site listening to listening through video software.The instability of software and equipment makes interpreters’ listening comprehension more difficult.By analyzing the author’s experience of a videoconference interpreting,this practice report aims to sort out the factors affecting the interpreter’s delivery in this interpreting and proposes strategies based on actual cases.By reviewing related literature of videoconference interpreting,this practice report analyzes listening difficulties in this kind of interpreting under the guidance of schema theory.It is found that the interpreter failed to construct linguistic schemata,content schemata and formal schemata in the preparation stage.Besides,because information was received and expressed through video software,the integrity and fluency of the information received by the interpreter was inevitably affected by the quality of network signals.In addition,due to the lack of a sense of presence,the interpreter could not truly immerse herself in this videoconference interpreting.Based on the analysis,this practice report proposes three strategies: improve targeted preparation and training;use stable network and professional equipment and if possible,ask all the participants of a videoconference to test equipment and network conditions in advance;and simulate the environment of a conference interpreting.