The Effect Of Paraphrasing Exercise In Simultaneous Interpreting Training

This is an empirical study on the effect of on-line paraphrasing exercise in the simultaneous interpreting (SI) training. Supported by the research on comprehension during interpreting and information processing model and divided attention, and within the framework of Effort Model put forward by Gile, the author endeavors to find out whether paraphrasing exercise plays a positive role in the improvement of simultaneous interpreting quality in terms of the level of accuracy and fluency during simultaneous interpretation from English to Chinese.To examine the effect of paraphrasing exercise, an eight-week experiment was designed and carried out. Fifty-two fourth-year English majors from two interpreter classes in Guangdong University of Foreign Studies participated in the experiment. They were divided into experimental and control groups. Two tests, a pretest and a posttest, were conducted on the two groups before and after the experiment in order to score the subjects on proposition generation and speech rate. The data were analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively. The results of the experiment showed that the student interpreters displayed a significant difference in the level of accuracy, but no significant difference in fluency.This experiment provided empirical support for the fact that paraphrasing exercise, aiming at improving the performance of simultaneous interpretation, is actually an effective one that should be integrated in the SI training. The significance of the research lies in the proof of the role of on-line paraphrasing exercise in simultaneous interpreting training which throws light to the innovation of the SI training.