Consecutive Exercises
Text Analysis (easy)
DESCRIPTION
Speaker gives a short 1-2 minute speech, everyone will thereafter have 30 seconds to write down one sentence that would best encapsulate the content of the text. Each participant reads out their sentence, discuss the different solutions to identify the techniques employed. This is a monolingual exercise (speech and sentence are both in the same language). Do 4-5 of these short texts.
AIM
Identifying the main message and communicating that as briefly as possible.
Chunking (easy)
DESCRIPTION
Speaker gives a short 1-2 minute speech, everyone notes down what they have identified as ‘chunks’ or ‘units of meaning’ in the speech. After the speech, discuss how many chunks have been identified and what those chunks are. Ask participants to share how they have noted these chunks down.
AIM
Analysing the text in order to group information together, thus making it easier to remember and note. Good progression from Visualisation (medium); use the exercise just for text analysis and note-taking purposes and not necessarily to have participants interpret the speeches.
Structure and linking words (medium)
DESCRIPTION
Working in pairs, one person describes a recipe or gives directions to reach a particular place in the source language. The other person takes notes while paying attention to the different linking words/expressions used and provides a consecutive interpretation in the target language. Switch roles and repeat. This is followed by a group discussion on symbols for links and how to note them, as well as ways to identify them in the speech.
AIM
Recognising elements that reiterate the logical flow of a speech. Good progression from Chunking (easy), where the links can serve as the separations between chunks.
Note taking (medium)
DESCRIPTION
Divide participants into small groups of 3-4 and give each group a broad subject matter for which they have to come up with symbols (e.g. agriculture, economy, development, human rights, etc.). Each group should have a large sheet of paper/flipchart on which to draw/write their symbols. They must come up with symbols for the key concepts of their subject matter (e.g. for agriculture – land, crops, farmer, seeds) as well as some key acronyms (FAO, GMO etc.). Also ask them to note concepts that they think are important but were unable to come up with a symbol.
AIM
Brainstorming different ways to take notes, while also activating topic-specific vocabulary. The trainer must stress that note-taking and symbols are very individual-specific, and the objective of this exercise is to share possible techniques, not to assign a specific symbol to a specific concept. The trainer can also go through the following points related to note-taking, while allowing the participants a chance to ask questions and provide input:
Note-taking is not shorthand: focus on meaning. Note the idea, not the words. One word can be a trigger for an entire unit of meaning
Subject, verb/action, object (SVO, or depending on the language in use, SOV, VOS, VSO, etc.): diagonal placement
Line between each chunk/unit as separator
Eyes move left to right (or right to left, depending on which language you take notes in) when referring to notes: They should be visible at a glance. Do not READ your notes (only glance at them)
Develop your own symbols that you can read – they can be pictograms or abbreviations of words (avoid confusing ones like ‘diff’, which could be ‘difficult’ or ‘different’)
Write numbers, names, dates, facts; always note the unit as well (e.g. km, yrs, $)
Use abbreviations, symbols and clear drawings (e.g. arrows, circles to take down words)
Respect the links: use a margin if necessary (e.g. but, so, +)
Don’t overthink: notes should not hinder. They are a means to an end, nothing more.
Consecutive with and without Feedback Criteria (advanced)
DESCRIPTION
Speakers share the vocabulary for the speech, which is brainstormed and activated together. Break into two groups and work in parallel so that as many people as possible get a chance to interpret. Everyone takes notes and two people interpret the speech in each group. Feedback is provided by the participants of the break-out groups themselves. The groups then rotate and work with the other speaker. Before the second speech, one can use the evaluation criteria provided in the Acknowledgements, Resources and Tools section. This will provide a framework within which to evaluate interpretations and also set some tangible objectives to work toward. Short discussion for clarification; interpretation of speech in consecutive as before. After both speeches are done, a short brainstorming on symbols/note-taking and vocabulary all together.
AIM
Combing individual techniques to progress to consecutive interpreting and developing a robust note-taking system. The difficulty level of the exercise can be varied based on the difficulty of the speech itself. Trainer should allow participants to evaluate each other, before providing some addition feedback and tips – always start with what the interpreter did well before going on to mention what they can improve on. Ask what came naturally, what was challenging; touch on presentation and public speaking as well as the importance of vocabulary activation.