Кубракова М. В.

 Кубракова М. В.

 (г. Луганск, ЛНР) 

INTERPRETER TRAININGS 

 Nowadays the specific of professional activity of future interpreter presupposes a high level of interaction and motivation from the student in the educational system. Such contextual learning can be implemented in the form of interactive learning, namely in the form of business/role-playing games [1]. In our case, these are interpreter trainings, which are classes that simulate various practical situations and form certain professional skills and behavioral skills characteristic of the professional activity of an interpreter. Therefore, interpreter trainings should be: 1) self-developing; 2) aimed at consolidating the skills of resiliency, focused on developing the ability to act in non-standard situations and overcoming embarrassment and discomfort of public performance; 3) filled with up-to-date information about the real processes that occur in the professional activity of the interpreter. Thus, the goals of training sessions should be highlighted.

1) Analysis of typical problems associated with the practice of professional interpretation. There is no doubt that the most common way to consolidate the information received in the classroom is the frequent usage of the studied material in the course of practical exercises. The constant involvement of students in the practical activities of the interpreter effectively influences the conscious mastering of the material. The translation process requires students to have a clear algorithm according to which they should act. It is important not only to transfer information from one language into another one, but also to convey it competently and correctly: observing the style, applying adequate lexical means, grammatical structures and various translation techniques. The main thing is to draw out the material learned and the translation experience, which was accumulated during the practical exercises for accomplishing a translation task. In interpreters training, students will evaluate the “work” of their fellow students, analyze syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic relationships in the source text and the target text, analyze the translation techniques the speaker has resorted to, and suggest and discuss possible solutions to problems.   In turn, the student interpreter is advised to respond analytically to the comments of the instructor and those present at the training, to focus on the mistakes made and draw appropriate conclusions.

2) Formation of the behavioral competence. As it was stated, behavioral competence implies the interpreter’s correct behavior and responsibility for the quality of his or her work.  According to the observations of A. M. Novikov [2, p. 30], novice interpreters already experience fear before the work ahead. They worry in advance that they will not be able to translate at the proper level and avoid mistakes, which will later be negatively discussed by the employer; they like to apologize for the work they think is unworthy. Almost everyone is stressed, finding the subject matter difficult and the emotional climate (e.g., the presence of a large number of negotiators or dignitaries) depressing.  A similar situation is observed in the first interpreter trainings. Students who have not yet had any real experience as an interpreter experience a great deal of psychological discomfort when playing this role in front of their fellow students. They have a trembling, uncertain voice; they cannot control their facial expressions (wide-open eyes and raised eyebrows when perceiving the initial message and forming an oral statement) and, trying to cope with fear, make many unnecessary movements with their hands. While for some students the fear of speaking causes dry mouth and confusion, for others there is hyperactivity, expressed in the desire not to miss the important, not to seem unoriginal at the stage of generating thoughts, as a result of which words are crumpled or confused, speech is confused and lacking in consistency. Another factor that affects the translation process is low responsibility for the quality of the work performed. On the one hand, this can be explained by the fear of speaking in front of the public, on the other hand, by the lack of realizing of one’s responsibility as an interpreter.

This factor manifests itself in different ways [3, p. 27]. Thus, the novice translator:

- does not analyze the contextual features of the outgoing message;

- bypasses unfamiliar words (shyness or not bothering to ask an unfamiliar word in a foreign language);

 - does not try to use descriptive formulations of unfamiliar words from the native language, which can lead to the loss of important information;

 - tolerates a familiar attitude when communicating with clients and the employer, unacceptable even when they are intimately acquainted with them;

- ignores the accepted norms of etiquette and dress code;

- shows tactlessness in conflict situations or when transmitting obscene expressions;

- does not improve in the chosen profession.

Thus, during the translation training, the student should get used to public speaking. We tend to believe that such “habituation” accelerates the process of adaptation to the future profession and subsequently makes it more exciting. Over time, the student will learn to focus on certain practical translation tasks, which then will help to translate faster and more effectively. As solving translation tasks becomes a habit, the student’s psychological difficulties in the process of translation fades into the background, and he or she feels more confident and free.

 

ЛИТЕРАТУРА

 

1.   Вербицкий, А. А. Активное обучение в высшей школе: контекстный подход : метод. пособие / А. А. Вербицкий. – М. : Высш. шк., 1991. – 207 с.

2.   Новиков, А. М. Введение в методологию игровой деятельности / А. М. Новиков. – М. : Издательство «Эгвес», 2006. – 48 с.

3.   Оберемко, О. Г. Современные требования к профессиональной подготовке переводчика / О. Г. Оберемко // Вестник Нижегородского университета им. Н. И. Лобачевского. – 2013. – № 4 (1). – С. 26–28.