A Research Report On Lecture Interpretation In Educational Seminars For Developing Countries

I worked as a consecutive interpreter in four terms of educational seminars fordeveloping countries hosted by the Ministry of Commerce from April to July2012.Chaired by professors and administrators from Northeast Normal University, theseminars provided a platform for education-related personnel to exchange views onthe education’s history and status quo from national documents, teaching system,personnel’s selection to specific pedagogies. It was my most systematic andheavily-burdened interpreting practice which deepened my understanding tointerpretation in terms of preparation, strategy utility, listening comprehension and soforth. This report is a retrospection to the whole process of the interpretation task.The report is divided into four chapters. Chapter One introduces the backgroundinformation of the program which is the research target of this report. Chapter Twoexplains the multi-dimensional preparation carried out weeks earlier. This chapterstarts with the review of two lecture handouts which is followed by a brief analysis ofthe accent of Africans, the majority of the audience. Finally, I recall what was learnedfrom the communication with the lecturers beforehand. Informed weeks before, I hadsufficient time to prepare which offers my detailed discussion with rich materials. InChapter Three, after studying the recording and its script, I summarize the strong andweak points of the interpretation and seek theoretical support for both of them. Theweak points are serious disfluency and many lexical and grammatical mistakes whilethe strong ones are proper utilization of instantaneity and expression of subjectivity.Chapter Four is a conclusion of the former three chapters. Interpreters are advised topay due attention to self-examination after each practice.Taking my being a beginner into consideration, I am satisfied with myinterpretation. All numbers were correctly conveyed and the general idea was timelydelivered. Nevertheless, as a MTI major who is supposed to pursue a professionalcareer, I still have much to improve, such as listening ability and fluent expression.Through analyzing my advantages and disadvantages in being an interpreter, I intendto enhance my professional ability and meanwhile share my inspiration.