A Comparative Study Of Advanced-and Beginning-level Interpreting Students In The Ability To Extract Key Messages In English Impromptu Speech

This paper explores whether secondary information distracts the key message (primary information) extraction in simultaneous interpretation of English impromptu speeches by comparing the performance of beginning-level student interpreters and advanced-level interpreting students.In the literature review part, Daniel Gile’s Effort Model is introduced to lay a theoretical foundation for the thesis. Next, the paper reviews comparative studies on professional interpreters and student interpreters based on which the paper defines advanced level and beginning level student interpreters. Then, the paper elaborates on the definition of key message and secondary information based on previous researches and papers.In the empirical study part, the author chooses a session on "Digital Advantage and the Reshaping of Global Competitiveness as Result of Technological Readiness" and invites five students from the Graduate School of Translation and Interpretation of Beijing Foreign Studies University who have learned SI for one semester to participate in the experiment.The paper finds that with a higher interpretation rate of primary information, secondary information interpretation rate actually shows signs of decline. Qualitative study reveals that beginning level student interpreters waste much effort on secondary information. As the total effort is limited, secondary information obviously distracts their key message extraction by exerting huge pressure on the listening and analysis, production and memory of primary information. Hence lower primary information interpretation rate and higher secondary information interpretation rate than advanced level students.