Interpreter’s Role On Remote Course Interpreting From The Perspective Of Goffman’s Participation Framework

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic,an unprecedented surge for remote courses has arisen.In particular,many overseas education courses have switched to online courses due to the restrictions of public health and location.Despite the convenience of online courses,many problems still exist,such as language barriers and internet issues,requiring interpreters to facilitate seamless communication between teachers and students.As a result,interpreters have become increasingly important and are expected to fulfill various roles.This report aims to explore interpreter’s role in remote course interpreting by analyzing discourse from a micro perspective through Goffman’s Participation Framework.This practice report is based on the author’s first-hand experience,an EC-CE consecutive interpreting conducted by the author during a summer course of a Ph.D.program in education at an overseas university from June 28,2022 to September 2,2022.The author transcribed 152 rounds of dialogues and divided each round under the“Production Format” and “Reception Format” of Goffman’s Participation Framework.According to that,under the “Production Format”,interpreter’s role can be as a “animator”,“author” and “principal”,which can be further subdivided into various roles such as “coteacher”,“host”,“re-teller”,etc.;while under the “Reception Format”,the interpreter can also act as “unaddressed recipient” and “addressed recipient”.According to the transcribed texts,the author quantified and analyzed the different roles of interpreters,and refined the roles and responsibilities of interpreters.The results show that the interpreter is not a “speaker” or “listener”,but undergoes a dynamic shift between different roles.The shift of roles often represents different participatory identities and modes of participation in the discourse,thus affecting the efficiency and results of remote course interpreting.In remote course interpreting,the multiple roles of interpreters are often overlooked,and determining where their responsibilities lie can be a developing process.The interpreting strategies or coping methods may vary as the roles of interpreter shift.Additionally,this study aims to enhance the knowledge of interpreter’s role in remote course interpreting and provide inspiration and references to improve their work.