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It was around the year 2000 when Chinese interpretation and translation classes were set up in undergraduate courses. The fact that language courses and further Chinese interpretation and translation classes were added to the curriculum having revolved around Chinese literature classes reflects the trend that emphasizes the practicality of learning. This study examined the current situations and problems about interpretation and translation classes offered by China-related departments at four-year colleges and then tries to suggest effective teaching methods based on my teaching experience since September 2000. In conclusion, by suggesting that undergraduate courses have interpretation and translation classes not just for would-be interpreters, this thesis discusses the necessity of setting up at least a class linked to interpretation and translation if the curriculum in undergraduate courses involves Chinese language classes.

Building upon previous research on punctuation, this paper aims to expand the current literature by exploring the various functions of the semicolon and by presenting useful translation strategies that can be employed in English-Korean translation. Explanation of semicolon’s functions is based on a number of widely-used style guides and grammar books, and the examples used herein are mostly taken from children’s literature; the punctuation points used in such genre are relatively clear and in conformity with the standard usage. Based on a clear understanding of the functions and usage, this paper selects and classifies effective translation strategies and discusses how such strategies can be deployed and what attention should be paid in the process of translation. Although there are a number of punctuation marks in the English language system, this paper limits its scope to semicolon, which often invites confusion and disagreement of interpretation in the process of translation, as there is no equivalent mark in the Korean language system. The author hopes the research will contribute to triggering further discussion on the translation of punctuation and to offering guidelines for those in the translation profession.

The performance of simultaneous interpreters has been reported to be affected by varied factors including sound and vision, accent and intonation, speed of input delivery and source text complexity. Among these factors, input rate or the speed of input delivery has been considered one of the most significant factors affecting the performance of interpreters. In actuality, a number of researchers have talked about the effects of input rates on the performance of simultaneous interpreters. However, there has not been sufficient empirical data concerning the factors affecting interpreters’ performance with a few exceptions like those of Gerver’s (1969). The analysis by Gerver, however, was based solely on quantitative data. While acknowledging his contribution, this paper aims to gain a deeper understanding of the complicated processes involved in interpreting through more of an introspective research method. Informed by the analysis of simultaneous interpreting texts as well as interpreters’ retrospective think-aloud protocol, this paper proposes that input rates have significant effects on interpreters’ rate of coverage and flow of logic, but have little effect on the types of errors interpreters make while interpreting. Rather, the types of errors were affected more significantly by the direction of interpreting.

Though anticipation is often talked about as a simultaneous interpretation (SI) strategy, it is an everyday occurrence among monolingual speakers who dialogue within a given context. Since anticipation is used effortlessly in normal conversation, the purpose of this study is to determine whether anticipation is used effortlessly in simultaneous interpretation as well or whether it should and needs to be taught as a separate SI strategy. In Korean into English simultaneous interpretation, because the verb comes at the very end of the sentence, it is important to fully understand the context and anticipate the thought direction in which the speaker is moving. Two cloze tests – one in Korean and one in English - will be conducted on students who have just begun SI. For the comparison, a group of students in the second year and another in the first year will be given the same cloze tests. Then, the SI students will take part in an experiment using two texts to determine when and how students anticipate.

With growing demands for increased volume and improved quality in interpreting and translation training programs in undergraduate courses, specific teaching methods in interpreting, appropriate for undergraduate programs, are also being sought after. Sight translation (ST) has largely been viewed as an exercise done before learning consecutive and simultaneous interpreting. And now it is being recognized as an effective training method for practicing interpreting for foreign language learners in undergraduate programs. Unlike other interpreting methods,　ST is　often criticized for bing vulnerable to language interference from the source text. However, research results indicate that ST can be an effective way for learners of foreign language to improve their language usage skills. This study introduces ST methods in undergraduate interpreting and translation classes and purposefully exposes the students to language interference. By experiencing the negative aspects of language interference and translationese, the students are encouraged to first become acutely aware of the phenomenon and then learn to avoid them in their language usage. In the earlier stages of the class, the students produced ST in translationese, with many incidents of language interference in grammar and vocabulary. However, as weeks go by, the students showed improvement in their ability to both avoid and overcome such incidents in their performance, illustrating that ST training in the undergraduate programs are indeed helpful.

In this paper, I present the evolution of an ongoing training workshop for community interpreters who provide interpreting services to members of ethnic minorities in Hong Kong. This is a case study using participatory action research (PAR) methods of reflective examinations and multi-stakeholders participation. The focus of this paper is on training materials and assessment methods. The concept of evolution is key to this study because the design and delivery of the skill-based training workshop have been evolving. One of the reasons why constant modification has been necessary is that literature that deals specifically with the design and delivery of training for community interpreters is scarce. Related works are general in nature, such as a description of a BA program (van den Boaerde, 2007) or a general introduction to different training program available in one country (Niska, 2007). Due to the lack of a readily available training template, when I conducted the first workshop, the design resembled closely the format of training workshops for conference interpreters, the only form of training I was familiar with. But as I learned more about the nature of community interpreting and the needs of participants and stakeholders, I had to make changes in how the workshop was conducted. This paper focuses on training materials and assessment methods because these are the two most challenging issues faced by me as a trainer. Normally, interpreting trainers are familiar with both the source and target languages that trainees work with. In this workshop, however, participants are from different countries and speak different languages. The only language that we all have in common is English, a second language to both me and all the participants. At the same time, English cannot be the target language because I do not know their native languages, therefore it is impossible for me to identify appropriate source language training materials in their native tongues. But when the source language is English, it is equally impossible for me to assess if the target language renditions are accurate. Consequently, I have had to constantly change the training materials and assessment approach. In the process of modification, I had to reconcile my own ignorance about community interpreting, strike a balance between the voices of different stakeholders and participants, and discover the needs of participants attending the workshop and explore ways to meet their needs. Since the purpose of this workshop is to train newly recruited interpreters, the backgrounds and needs of each batch of participants vary and constant adjustment is needed. Therefore, this is a report not of a completed project, but of a project in progress.

Simultaneous interpreting (SI) into the B language (usually English) is commonplace in the Asian markets, therefore SI into English is a compulsory course in many interpreting schools. However, due to insufficient English proficiency and underdeveloped multitasking skills, students’ performances are often not ideal. The paratactic nature of the Chinese language taxes students’ cognitive load and exacerbates performance. Class sessions get bogged down when the instructor spends too much time on fixing the output. Shifting the focus from the (English) output to the (Chinese) input may be a more effective strategy (and rewarding experience) for both students and teachers, at least in the Taiwanese classroom. This paper introduces a teaching method adopted in the SI into English classroom which is taught by the author. This step-by-step, process-oriented approach aims to familiarize students with the expressions they will need in the assigned topics, so as to minimize the interference and setbacks caused by inadequate B language proficiency. This will allow more time for the instructor to focus on SI strategies pertinent to the Taiwan context. The most important ones are being assertive when necessary and keeping the interpretations short and simple.

Interpreting is a complex skill, involving many sub-skills. For students to acquire the skills and develop from a novice to a journeyman, feedback is one important component of the training process. This presentation hopes to explore the relationship of feedback and skill development, the various forms of feedback and how they can be effectively used to contribute to students’ learning process.

As Japan becomes an increasingly multilingual and multicultural society, there is a pressing need for the cultivation of community interpreters who can serve as a bridge between foreign residents and the host society in accessing public resources such as government, education, medical and legal services. This need was further emphasized by the recent earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear accident that struck Eastern Japan on March 11th, 2011. Building on its 26 language departments, the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies initiated its Community Interpreting Program in the summer of 2010 in order to provide practical training not only to current college students, but to employees of regional government offices and international centers, whose jobs involve frequent contact with foreign residents. The program is unique in the diversity of the languages covered and its dedication to cultivating interpreters with the flexibility and expertise to offer interpreting services for such high-stake situations as professional consultations and disaster situations. The Community Interpreting Program offers its graduates opportunities to acquire professional experience through practicums coordinated with external organizations such as bar associations. During these practicums, the graduates are given the opportunity to collaborate with clients to review and critique their own interpreting performance. Given that there is no national qualification system for community interpreters, there is a need to create infrastructure that enables participants to continuously sustain programs of self-study, while maintaining “mileage” logs of their interpreting work. Meanwhile, with current community interpreting courses deriving their content mostly from conference interpreting training methods, there is a need to carefully assess the actual needs of the market and design multilingual, interactive curricula tailored to those demands.

The purpose of this paper is to review what was achieved during the first seven years of the Conference Interpreting Program at Tokyo University of Foreign Studies (TUFS). In starting the program, the utmost challenge was how to optimize the Program to suit the students’ needs and the market’s needs in Japan where traditionally the interpreter- agency-related schools were strong and did most of the training. The three pillars of the Program set out from the beginning were (1) to incorporate interpreting theory and thesis into the Program (2) to provide the participants with the opportunity to acquire background knowledge and (3) to enhance the interpreting/translating skills of the participants. The TUFS Interpreting Symposium held in October, 2009 by TUFS in partnership with universities from Paris, Moscow, Shanghai and Seoul provided an opportunity to discuss common issues in conference interpreting. A particularly useful reflection was on how to incorporate practicum, which is a key component in the training of interpreters. It is the author’s belief that TUFS can continue to play its unique role based on its educational aim to train students to become intercultural mediators. This belief is also manifest in the fact that TUFS has started to offer short term intensive interpreting courses for the general public from 2010.