Simultaneous Exercises
Shadowing (easy)
DESCRIPTION
A speech is read out and participants have to repeat exactly what is being said. This is a monolingual exercise. Avoid using very dense texts like newspaper articles – something like an opinion piece or editorial could still work. Testimonials or keynote speeches are perfect; you can also consider reading a section from a novel. The speech should be 5-7 minutes and participants should be working in pairs, with one listening and the other working. At least two speeches should be done for this exercise so that everyone gets a go.
AIM
Learning to listen to speak at the same time. The idea is to get participants used to this essentially unnatural activity and to prevent them from defaulting to mini-consecutives, where a lot of information is lost. Encourage participants to only focus on repeating and to not worry too much about analysing or understanding the text.
Reformulation (easy)
DESCRIPTION
A speech is read out and this time around, the participants have to repeat the content but in their own words. Feel free to repeat the speeches used for the shadowing exercise as the participants will already be familiar with the content and so will find it easier to reformulate. This is a monolingual exercise as well.
AIM
Building on the previous exercise, participants must now get used to listening to one thing while saying something else. They have to start analysing and understanding the text to make it their own. It is very likely that many will shadow for the most part, making just minor changes, but that is not a problem (definitely ask how many did this in the feedback post the exercise). If participants say they found it very difficult, tell them not to worry because it is complicated! Explain some of these commonly-used techniques after the exercise:
Generalisation (dog, cat, goat = animals)
Explanation (moon = the satellite revolving around the Earth)
Salami technique (chopping up sentences into units of information to ensure a constant output).
Quick decision-making (if you do not know something and trying to figure it out is putting you too far behind the speaker, cut your losses, leave it out and catch up to what the speaker is saying)
Decalage (the interval between when the speaker starts speaking and the interpreter comes in. The interpreter must play with decalage, getting closer and further away from the speaker based on density of information coming in and the speaker’s style)
Beginners’ simultaneous (medium)
DESCRIPTION
Working in pairs with the same language combination, participants interpret speeches in simultaneous. The pertinent vocabulary is provided before the speech, thus demystifying the content. After each speech, they provide feedback to each other (see evaluation criteria in Acknowledgements, Resources and Tools section) and there is also a general discussion about the exercise and possible solutions to difficulties. Speeches should be 7-10 minutes so that participants can start working on developing the mental stamina for interpreting.
AIM
The vocabulary discussion beforehand will ensure that participants can fully focus on the task of interpreting and not have to struggle to find the right words. Tell them to develop the habit of noting down the vocabulary discussed, so that they can just read it off the page while interpreting (noting numbers is also a useful tactic). This is also a good opportunity to emphasis the usefulness of the glossary and how it has to be a living document that is the product of teamwork. This aspect of interpreting as a collaborative task is further underlined by the peer feedback. In the discussion after each speech, participants will probably say that it was very difficult – and it is! Explain the importance of communicating the message of the speech in case it is not possible to include all the details; in any case, distorting the message or contradicting the speaker is not acceptable – when in doubt, leave it out.
Simultaneous of proceedings (medium)
DESCRIPTION
Appoint individual participants to take 20 to 30-minute shifts to interpret the proceedings of a discussion, as if it were a real-life situation. This will be an opportunity to cover all sorts of conversational styles that invariably punctuate a live debate, and gives students a chance to practise beyond fully-fledged speeches. If there is no equipment, whisper interpreting can be used.
AIM
It is a way to capitalise on the relatively limited time available during training workshops and keeps participants engaged with the activity of interpreting. It will also show other participants what it is like to listen to interpretation, allowing them to incorporate what they think works in their interpreting as well.
Simultaneous with text (advanced)
DESCRIPTION
Each interpreter is given a written copy of the speech that is going to be used and is given a few minutes to go through it and identify specific linguistic difficulties and terminology. The speech is interpreted in simultaneous in pairs, one as interpreter and the other as listener. Before switching roles, a short discussion on how the interpreters used the text and some tips on what can be done. Repeat with role reversal, followed by similar discussion and additional tips, as well as difficulties that arise from adding one more element – the text.
AIM
Learning how to use a written version of the speech as an interpreting aid as well as quickly skimming through a document to identify what could potentially be problematic. It is also important to realise if/when this additional factor is getting in the way rather than helping, and see if it might, in fact, be better to put the text aside and just focus on listening to the speaker. Highlight that speakers might not stick verbatim to their written speech, so the text cannot be a substitute for listening.