Six Phases in Teaching Interpretation
as a Subject at Universities and Colleges in
Indonesia
By
Izak Morin,
Translator and Interpreter, the LNG Tangguh Project (BP)
izakmorin@yahoo.com
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Abstract
This article discusses six phases in teaching
interpreting in a classroom atmosphere using semi-authentic
and authentic teaching materials to bring the students close
to both English and Indonesian real-life environments and
exposed to different discourse genres and different English
dialects and accents. Phases 1 and 2 are warm-up activities
for preparing students to move up to phases 3 and 4. Up
to this level students are exposed to a semi-real life situation
where they are listening to different English native speaker
dialects and non-native speaker accents through the prepared
tapes/CDs and VCDs and they are also listening to different
Indonesian discourse genres. The last two phases are the
most challenging ones for the students because each student
will demonstrate his/her strategies and capabilities in
performing an interpreting work in a set-up real-life situation
using electronic devices.
1. Introduction
The Department
of National Education of Indonesia has put 'Translation
Theory' in the higher education curriculum as a compulsory
subject taught at all English Programs in universities and
colleges in Indonesia. However, Interpreting is only
one side of the same coin; therefore most universities and
colleges teach it alongside with Translation Theory as an
additional subject. Interpreting, basically, is a
process of transferring the meaning of the source language
into the receptor language in a verbal way. This process
may only occur when someone acts as an interpreter to transfer
the meaning of a message directly from the mouth of a speaker,
from a tape player, from a radio, from a CD/VCD player,
from a television, or from other sources of verbal messages
in a source language to a listener or an audience of a receptor
language.
In order to perform such a challenging job
professionally and responsibly, a person has to have an
adequate understanding of the source language and an adequate
command of the receptor language in their linguistic and
non-linguistic aspects. Such capabilities can be acquired
consciously and unconsciously through a process of learning,
training, and experiencing in a formal learning-teaching
classroom, in a set-up situation, and in a real-life situation.
For a formal learning-teaching classroom I would like to
present the six phases in teaching interpretation as a subject
at my university and universities and colleges in Indonesia.
2. Discourse Genre
One of the first things the students have to know is how
to identify the discourse genre of the talk to be interpreted.
There are seven basic contrasting genres that will be discussed:
narrative, procedural, expository, hortatory, descriptive,
repartee, and dialogue. The differences between these
genres can be best seen by thinking of the purpose of the
speaker. The following descriptions are quoted and adapted
from 'Meaning-Based Translation' pp 365-381 by Mildred
L. Larson.
(a) The purpose of a narrative discourse is to recount
events, usually in the past. The backbone of
the narrative is a series of events which are usually
actions. The agent of the events is usually Third
Person or First Person, that is, the speaker
tells about the things which happened to someone else or
to himself.
(b) The purpose of a procedural discourse is to
prescribe, to give the steps on how to do
something. It consists of a sequentially related series
of steps within each procedure. The agent is not
usually specified, and it is characteristic of procedural
discourse that most of the actions will have an affected
(c) The purpose of an expository discourse is to
explain or to argue. The non-chronological
communication relations (orientation, clarification, logic)
are typical of expository discourse. It consists of information
logically related to a theme.
(d) The purpose of a descriptive discourse is to
describe. It is not basically chronological; instead,
a topic is developed.
(e) The purpose of a hortatory discourse is to
propose, suggest, or command. The backbone of
the structure is a series of actions which are commands.
The second person agent throughout is characteristic
of this genre. Like the expository discourse, the non-chronological
communication relations are also typical of this genre.
(f) The purpose of a repartee discourse is to recount
speech exchanges. The structure is that of a series
of speech exchanges. Each speech is a small discourse, however,
these small discourses are related to one another. The content
of the exchanges may be narrative, expository, hortatory,
procedural, or even dialogue if the speaker is recounting
another set of speech exchanges.
(g) Dialogue discourse is a combination of narrative
and repartee. The purpose is to recount events,
usually in the past, as for narrative. The difference is
that many of those events are speech events; that
is, there is a repartee structure also
3. Features of Each Phase
Each phase consists of three parts, first, teacher's
or students' preparation outside the classroom. Either
the teacher or the student must prepare in advance written
texts and verbal scripts for presentation as well as supporting
electronic devices such as a laptop computer, a projector
(LCD) set, a tape/cassette player, a CD/VCD player, an OHP,
a radio, a television set, and a tape/cassette recorder.
Second, preparation in the classroom before the presentation
/ the broadcasting. Before a presentation the teacher
or the student has to make sure that everything is in place
and in good condition to start. Third, interpreting practice.
This is a learning, training, and experiencing part
in which each student must fully participate. There are
two sections in this part: interpreting from English
into Indonesian and interpreting from Indonesian
into English.
In Phase One the teacher acts as a speaker and a selected
student as an interpreter, whereas in Phase Two each student
plays a double role as a speaker and as an interpreter.
In Phase Two there are two activities: (a) interpreting
a talk from a set-up formal table; and (b) interpreting
a speech from a podium. Materials are selected from descriptive
and expository discourses for both phases either in English
or in Indonesian.
In Phase Three each student is assigned to interpret a
message directly from a speaker in a tape/cassette or in
a CD. Both English and Indonesian recording materials are
selected from narrative, repartee, and dialogue discourses.
Apart from the main English dialects spoken in Great Britain,
Australia, New Zealand, the USA, and Canada, English accents
heard in Asia, the Pacific area, Africa, the Middle-East,
and Europe are taken into account when selecting the materials.
In Phase Four each student has a turn to interpret a message
directly from a speaker in a VCD viewed through a TV monitor
or through a projector (LCD) larger screen. Hortatory and
procedural discourses are selected for interpreting purposes
in this phase. English dialects and accents are also considered
when selecting the materials.
For Phase Five and Phase Six all discourse genres are no
longer practiced in a regular order as done in the previous
phases because these are direct broadcastings, not recorded,
so it is impossible to predict what kind of genre comes
out first and which one is the next and so on (This is a
spontaneous talk or a real-life talk). Each student has
to interpret directly from radio and TV announcers by making
a note of the main points. Each broadcasting is recorded
for replay later on for further discussion and feedback
purposes. Radio and TV broadcastings are selected from Australian
Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), British Broadcasting Corporation
(BBC), and Voice of America (VOA) for radio and CNN for
television.
4. Six Phases To Teach Interpreting
In order to build an interpreting capacity regarding skill,
knowledge, and experience for the students, the six phases
below are strongly recommended. These phases are intentionally
designed to offer various exercises from the easiest to
the most challenging ones. However, before each phase is
begun, a teacher has to have in mind the following: (a)
an interpreting class should be a group of at least ten
with a different teaching schedules. By having this small
number, each student has time to learn, practice, and experience
interpreting during the class session. But, such a division
totally depends on the number of students applying for the
course and the available time a teacher may have; (b) in
Phase One each student has to perform twice as an interpreter
either from English into Indonesian or from Indonesian into
English. In Phase Two A each student has to perform four
times : twice as a speaker and twice as an interpreter from
a well-arranged table, while in Phase Two B each student
has to deliver two speeches from a podium as a speaker;
one is in English and another is in Indonesian; he must
also perform two interpreting jobs in English and in Indonesian.
For Phases Three, Four, Five, and Six each student only
acts as an interpreter twice in each; (c) First Person Singular
Personal Pronoun 'I' in English and 'Saya' in Indonesian
are used in Phase One, Phase Two, Phase Three, and Phase
Four because the interpretation is conducted after each
short statement conveyed throughout the presentation, whereas
the Third Person Personal Pronoun 'He', 'She', and titles
and names such as 'Mr.X', 'Mrs.Y', 'Ms.Z, Dr. John, Professor
Jane in English and 'Beliau', 'Ia', 'Dia', and titles and
names such as 'Bapak X', 'Ibu Y', Dr. Mansoben, Profesor
Kambuaya in Indonesian are used in Phase Five and Phase
Six because the interpretation is made in the form of a
summary or note-taking of the main points right after a
long talk. The common phrases used are Mr. X said that...
Profesor Jane concluded that.... Bapak X mengatakan bahwa.....
Profesor Kambuaya menyimpulkan bahwa....etc.
PHASE-ONE: Teacher — Student acting as
Speaker — Interpreter
1. Teacher's preparation outside the classroom
- Teacher prepares twenty topics of discussion in descriptive
discourse. One-half are in English and the other half
are in Indonesian. S/he may use some selected slides
to support the presentation.
2. Preparation in the classroom before the presentation
- A table with two chairs are well arranged in front
of the class.
- A unit of computer and a projector set are well set
up in the class
- The first five students are randomly selected for
the first session. Each student spends 5-10 minutes
to practice including the teacher's and peers' comments.
- The students are told to give comments and raise questions
after the talk. This practice is conducted in the form
of Presentation-Discussion.
- The students are told to follow the
process of interpreting in this practice such as Speaking:
presentation (by the teacher) à
Interpreting (by the student)
à Speaking:
comments and questions (by the students as audience)
à Interpreting
(by the student) à
Speaking: responses to the comments
and questions from the audience (by the teacher) à
Interpreting (by the student).
- An assessment sheet is distributed
to each student to assess the performance of their peer.
3. Interpreting Practice ( the first 10 topics in descriptive
form are from English into Indonesian and the next 10 topics
are in the opposite direcction)
- Teacher speaks on a particular topic
in English / Indonesian
- Student interprets into Indonesian / English
- The rest of the students listen, fill in the assessment
sheet, and note down things to give comments and questions
on in Indonesian / English.
- Teacher and the students give comments on the student's
performance regarding strategies and language use.
PHASE-TWO (A): Student — Student acting
as Speaker — Interpreter (giving a presentation
from a formally set up table)
1. Student's preparation outside the classroom.
- Students are assigned to prepare two topics of discussion
one is in English and the other is in Indonesian. Both
are expository (argumentative) discourses.
2. Preparation in the classroom before the presentation.
- A table with two chairs are well arranged in front
of the class
- The students are told to form pairs. Each pair spends
5-10 minutes to practice including the teacher's and
peers' comments.
- The students are told to give comments and raise questions
after the talk. This practice is conducted in the form
of Presentation-Discussion.
- The students are told to follow the
process of interpreting in this practice such as Speaking:
presentation (by the student speaker) à
Interpreting (by the student interpreter)
à Speaking:
comments and questions (by the students audience) à
Interpreting (by the student interpreter)
à Speaking:
responses to the comments and questions from the audience
(by the student speaker) à
Interpreting (by the student interpreter).
- An assessment sheet is distributed
to each student to assess the performance of their peer.
3. Interpreting Practice (the first 10 topics in expository
(argumentative) form are from English into Indonesian and
the next 10 topics are in the opposite direction)
- Student speaker speaks on a particular
topic in English / Indonesian
- Student interpreter interprets into Indonesian
/ English
- The rest of the students listen, fill in the assessment
sheet, note down things to give comments and questions
in Indonesian / English
- Teacher and the students give comments on the student
interpreter's performance regarding strategies and language
use.
PHASE-TWO (B): Student — Student acting
as Speaker — Interpreter (standing on a podium
and delivering a speech )
1. Student's preparation outside the classroom.
- Students are assigned to prepare two speeches one
is in English and the other is in Indonesian. Both are
expository (argumentative) discourses.
2. Preparation in the classroom before the speech delivery.
- A podium is well arranged in front of the class if
available.
- The students are told to form pairs. Each pair spends
5-10 minutes to practice including the teacher's and
peers' comments.
- The students are told to give comments on their peers'
performance after the speech. This practice is conducted
in the form of 'Lecturing' (one-way communication)
- The students are told to follow the
process of interpreting in this practice such as Speaking:
speech delivering (by the student speaker) à
Interpreting (by the student interpreter).
- An assessment sheet is distributed
to each student to assess the performance of their peer.
3. Interpreting Practice (the first speech is in English
and the second is in Indonesian)
- Student speaker gives a speech on a
particular topic in English / Indonesian
- Student interpreter interprets into Indonesian
/ English
- The rest of the students listen, fill in the assessment
sheet, and note down particular things to comment on.
- Teacher and students give comments on the student
interpreter performance regarding strategies and language
use.
PHASE-THREE: Tape Player / CD Player — Student
acting as Speaker — Interpreter
1. Teacher's preparation outside the classroom.
- Teacher selects particular short talks both in English
and in Indonesian from various recordings. All are narrative,
repartee, and dialogue discourses
- Teacher plays the tapes / CDs to ensure they are in
good condition
- Teacher copies or records the selected topics from
different tapes / CDs into a new tape / CD
- Teacher checks and tests the tape player / the CD
player
2. Preparation in the classroom before the presentation
- A table with a chair is well arranged in front of
the class
- A tape player / CD player is put on the table and
it is reachable for the teacher to operate.
- The students are told to give comments on their peers'
performance after the talk. This practice is conducted
in the form of 'Talk' or 'Lecturing' (one way communication)
- The students are told to follow the
process of interpreting in this practice such as Speaking:
presentation (through the tape player / the CD player)
à Interpreting
(by the student).
- An assessment sheet is distributed
to each student to assess the performance of their peer.
3. Interpreting Practice (the first part is from English
into Indonesian and the second part is in the opposite direction)
- Teacher plays the tape / the CD of
an English / Indonesian short talk with a pause
each time to give the student a chance to interpret
- Student interprets into Indonesian
/ English
- The rest of the students listen, fill in the assessment
sheet, and note down particular things to comment on.
- Teacher and the students give comments on the student
interpreter performance regarding strategies and language
use.
- Teacher replays the tape / the CD to check the language
used for a discussion and correction purpose.
PHASE-FOUR: VCD player — Student acting
as Speaker — Interpreter
Teacher's preparation outside the classroom.
- Teacher selects particular short talks both in English
and in Indonesian from the VCDs stored in the library
/ resource center or if permitted records from / through
any websites. All are hortatory and procedural discourses.
- Teacher plays the VCDs to ensure they are in good
condition
- Teacher makes a copy of the selected topics from different
VCDs into a new VCD
- Teacher checks and tests the VCD player set or built-in
VCD player in the portable computer
- Teacher tests the TV monitor or the projector (LCD)
set and a screen
Preparation in the classroom before the presentation
- A table with two chairs are well arranged in front
of the class
- A VCD player and a TV monitor or a projector are well-arranged
and they are reachable for the teacher to operate.
- The students are told to form pairs. Each pair (one
interprets the interviewer's talk and the other one
interprets the interviewee's) spends 5-10 minutes to
practice.
- The students are told to give comments on their peers'
performance after the talk. This is conducted in the
form of 'Interactive Talk'
- The students are told to follow the
process of interpreting in this practice such as Speaking:
presentation (through VCD player) à
Interpreting (by a pair of students).
- An assessment sheet is distributed
to each student to assess the performance of their peer.
Interpreting Practice (the first part is from English into
Indonesian)
- Teacher plays the VCD on an English / Indonesian
talk with a pause each time to give chance to the
student to interpret.
- Student interprets into Indonesian / English
- The rest of the students listen, fill in the assessment
sheet, and note down particular things to comment on.
- Teacher and the students give comments on the student
performance regarding strategies and language use.
- Teacher replays the VCD to check the language used
for a discussion and correction purposes.
PHASE-FIVE: Radio — Student acting as
Speaker — Interpreter
1. Teacher's preparation outside the classroom.
- Teacher checks the condition of the radio and tests
its sound quality
- Teacher prepares a blank tape to record the news and
other programs broadcasted during the class for a discussion
and feedback purpose
2. Preparation in the classroom before the radio broadcasting
- A table with a chair is well arranged in front of
the class
- A radio and a tape recorder with a blank tape in it
to record the news and other programs are well arranged
and are reachable for the teacher to operate.
- All students are told make notes of the main points
of the news or talks from the radio programs and do
the interpreting afterwards. Each student spends 5-10
minutes to do the job. The teacher and the peers also
provide comments and questions.
- The students are told to follow the
process of interpreting in this practice such as Speaking:
presentation (through radio) à
Interpreting (by each student
in the way of noting down the main points or making
a summary) à
Conveying (by the student) the
message based on the points or a summary made.
- An assessment sheet is distributed
to each student to assess the performance of their peer.
3. Interpreting Practice (first part is from English into
Indonesian)
- Teacher switches on the radio on an English / Indonesian
news or talk show and presses the recording button at
the same time
- Each student interprets into Indonesian / English
by making a note of the main points or making a
summary on a piece of paper
- Each student is randomly selected to speak to the
class by elaborating on the main points written down.
- The rest of the students listen, fill in the assessment
sheet, and make notes of particular things to comment
on.
- Teacher and the students give comments on the student
interpreter performance regarding strategies and language
use.
- Teacher plays the recording to check the language
used for a discussion and correction purpose.
PHASE-SIX: TV News Broadcasting — Student acting
as Speaker — Interpreter
Teacher's preparation outside the classroom.
- Teacher checks the condition of the TV set
- Teacher prepares a blank VCD to record the news or
other programs for a discussion and feedback purpose
Preparation in the classroom before the broadcasting
- A table with a chair is well arranged in front of
the class
- A ready-to-switch-on TV set and a blank VCD in the
player to record the news program are well arranged
and are reachable for the teacher to operate.
- All students are asked to make note of the main points
of the news or talks from the TV programs. Each student
spends 3-5 minutes to retell, from his notes, the points
in the receptor language.
- The students are told to follow the
process of interpreting in this practice such as Speaking:
presentation (through TV) à
Interpreting (by each student
in the way of making note of the main points or making
a summary) à
Conveying (by the student) the
message based on the points or a summary made.
- An assessment sheet is distributed
to each student to assess the performance of their peer.
Interpreting Practice (the first part is from English into
Indonesian)
- Teacher switches on TV on an English / Indonesian
news and other intended programs then presses the recording
button on the VCD player at the same time
- Student interprets into Indonesian / English
by making note of the main points or making a summary
on a piece of paper.
- Each student is randomly selected to speak to the
class by elaborating on the main points written down
with a support of a replay recording.
- The rest of the students listen, fill in the assessment
sheet, and note down particular things to comment on.
- Teacher gives comments on the student interpreter
performance regarding strategies and language use.
5. Assessment On Students' Performance
Students do not sit for a final exam like
for most other subjects. Each student is assessed during
his/her performance in the classroom throughout the semester.
It is an on-going assessment. Each time a student performs
a task, s/he is assessed by both teacher and peers using
a designed assessment format as shown below.
Interpretation
Assessment Sheet
Date : _______________________________________
Name of Student Assesses : _______________________________________
Topic/Title/Theme : _______________________________________
Text-Type : _______________________________________
| No |
Items |
Scores |
| 1 |
Accuracy
|
1 2 3
4 |
| 2 |
Clarity
|
1 2 3
4 |
| 3 |
Fluency |
1 2 3
4 |
| 4 |
Eye Contact |
1 2 3
4 |
| 5 |
Self-Confidence |
1 2 3
4 |
| |
Total |
|
This format is distributed to the students
before an interpretation is done and, after the class, the
filled-in assessment sheets are collected and the teacher
summarizes the result and makes a copy for the students
who perform a task in order to keep in their own portfolio
as a performance record. Teacher also keeps the same assessment
format in each student's file for his/her final assessment
at the end of the semester.
Each student is told on how to assess a
peer's performance in the classroom. The following are the
descriptions of assessed items and a grading system used:
Assessed Items
Accuracy : - pronounce each
word correctly using right stress and intonation;
- use good grammatical structures with correct
tenses;
- choose appropriate words relevant to the
topic;
Clarity : - talk loudly with
a clear voice;
- convey a meaning in a clear and natural
way;
- use appropriate communicative
body language to make a meaning clear and understandable;
- improvise a message correctly
Fluency : - express the meaning
easily with a normal speed, no hesitation and no excessively
long pauses;
- convey the message smoothly using familiar
concepts, examples, and other matters relevant to the topic;
Eye-Contact : - maintain eye-contact
with the audience by looking across the whole class;
Self-Confidence : - convey the correct
meaning with full confidence and no hesitation;
- talk confidently even when a mistake was
made regarding the meaning, the grammatical structures and
tenses, and word choices.
Grading Systems
Excellent 4 A 80 - 100
Good 3 B 70 - 79
Fair 2 C 60 - 69
Poor 1 D 50 - 59
Fail 0 E < 50
6. Summary
Interpreting is a language skill that a student can acquire
consciously or unconsciously through an intensive process
of learning, training, and experiencing in a formal classroom,
in a set-up situation, or in a real-life situation. Six
phases in teaching interpreting are designed intentionally
to assist the students to be skillful prospective interpreters
after graduation. The six phases benefit the students in
some ways: (a) students are trained to be familiar with
different English dialects and accents; (b) students are
trained to be anticipative with different idiolects both
in English and in Indonesian; (c) students are exposed to
different genres both in English and in Indonesian; (d)
students are trained to be familiar with human voices and
the normal speed of speakers from a tape/cassette player,
a CD/VCD player, a radio, and a television; (e) students
are trained to make quick decisions on what to omit and
what to convey only by hearing without looking at the speaker
and/or by hearing and looking at the speaker and supporting
background pictures; (f) students are trained to be quick
and skillful writers in writing a summary of the main points
from both radio and television broadcastings; (g) students
are trained to improvise and speak from the main points
written down; (h) students are trained to keep the Short-Term
Memory system in their brain working properly; (i) students
are trained to keep their self-confidence in front of the
audience; (j) students are trained to keep their eye-contact
with the audience; and (k) students are trained to judge
and give comments on an interpreting performance.
References
Dulay, H., M. Burt & S. Krasen. 1992.
Language Two. Oxford: Oxford University Press
Ellis, Rod. 1997. Second Language Acquisition.
Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Larsen-Freeman, Diane. 2000. Techniques
and Principles in Language Teaching.
Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Larson, Mildred L. 1984. Meaning-Based Translation:
A Guide to Cross-Language
Equivalence. Lanham: University Press
of America, Inc.
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