An investigation into difficulties faced by third year english majors in learning english vietnamese consecutive interpreting at vietnam national university of agriculture

VIET NAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE

FACULTY OF EDUCATION AND FOREIGN LANGUAGES

BA THESIS
AN INVESTIGATION INTO DIFFICULTIES FACED
BY THIRD-YEAR ENGLISH MAJORS IN LEARNING
ENGLISH – VIETNAMESE CONSECUTIVE
INTERPRETING AT VIETNAM NATIONAL
UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE
TÌM HIỂU NHỮNG KHĨ KHĂN CỦA SINH VIÊN
NĂM THỨ BA NGÀNH NGƠN NGỮ ANH TRONG
HỌC PHIÊN DỊCH NỐI TIẾP ANH – VIỆT TẠI
HỌC VIỆN NÔNG NGHIỆP VIỆT NAM

STUDENT

: NGUYEN THU TRANG

STUDENT CODE

: 621256

MẢJOR

: ENGLISH

SUPERVISOR

: MA. NGUYEN THI HUONG

Hanoi – 2021


VIET NAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE

FACULTY OF EDUCATION AND FOREIGN LANGUAGES

BA THESIS
AN INVESTIGATION INTO DIFFICULTIES FACED
BY THIRD-YEAR ENGLISH MAJORS IN LEARNING
ENGLISH – VIETNAMESE CONSECUTIVE
INTERPRETING AT VIETNAM NATIONAL
UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE
TÌM HIỂU NHỮNG KHĨ KHĂN CỦA SINH VIÊN
NĂM THỨ BA NGÀNH NGƠN NGỮ ANH TRONG
HỌC PHIÊN DỊCH NỐI TIẾP ANH – VIỆT TẠI
HỌC VIỆN NÔNG NGHIỆP VIỆT NAM

STUDENT

: NGUYEN THU TRANG

STUDENT CODE

: 621256

MẢJOR

: ENGLISH

SUPERVISOR

: MA. NGUYEN THI HUONG

Hanoi – 2021


CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY

I, the undersigned, hereby certify my authority of the study project report
entitled An investigation into difficulties faced by third-year English majors
in learning English-Vietnamese consecutive interpreting at Vietnam
National University of Agriculture submitted in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the degree of Bachelor in English Language. Except where the
reference is indicated, no other person’s work has been used without due
acknowledgement in the text of the thesis.

Hanoi, 2021

Nguyen Thu Trang

Approved by
SUPERVISOR

(Signature and full name)
Date:……………………

i

TABLE OF CONTENT

CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY ..................................................................... i
TABLE OF CONTENT ........................................................................................ ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ................................................................................... iv
ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................... v
LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................... vi
LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................. vii
PART 1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................... 1
1.1. Rationale for the study ................................................................................... 1
1.2. Aims and objectives of the study ................................................................... 2
1.3. Research questions ......................................................................................... 2
1.4. Scope of the study .......................................................................................... 3
1.5. Significance of the study ................................................................................ 3
1.6. Design of the study ......................................................................................... 3
PART II. DEVELOPMENT .............................................................................. 5
CHAPTER 1. LITERATURE REVIEW .......................................................... 5
1.1. REVIEW OF THE PREVIOUS STUDIES ................................................... 5
1.1.1. Foreign research .......................................................................................... 5
1.1.2. Vietnamese research.................................................................................... 6
1.2. REVIEW OF THEORETICAL BACKGROUND ........................................ 8
1.2.1. Statement of theoretical framework ............................................................ 8
1.3. SUMMARY ................................................................................................. 21
CHAPTER 2. METHODOLOGY ................................................................... 22
2.1. RESEARCH GOVERNING PRINCIPLES................................................. 22
2.1.1. Research question(s) ................................................................................. 22
2.1.2. Research types ........................................................................................... 22
2.1.3. Data analysis method ................................................................................ 22
ii

2.2. RESEARCH METHODS............................................................................. 23
2.2.1. Major method(s) ........................................................................................ 23
2.2.2. Supporting method(s) ................................................................................ 24
2.3. RESEARCH SETTING/CONTEXT ........................................................... 24
2.4. DATA COLLECTION................................................................................. 25
2.4.1. Data collecting instruments ....................................................................... 25
2.4.2. Data collecting procedures ........................................................................ 25
2.5. SUMMARY ................................................................................................. 27
CHAPTER 3. FINDING AND DISCUSSION ................................................ 28
3.1. STUDENTS’ BACKGROUND ................................................................... 28
3.2. FINDING ABOUT DIFFICULTY .............................................................. 34
3.2.1. Problems in the listening stage .................................................................. 37
3.2.2. Problems in using short-term memory ...................................................... 44
3.3. SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS ....................................................................... 47
3.3.1. Solutions to difficulties in listening .......................................................... 47
3.3.2. Solutions to difficulties in note-taking ...................................................... 48
3.3.3. Solutions to difficulties in short-term memory ......................................... 49
3.4. SUMMARY ................................................................................................. 51
PART III. CONCLUSION ............................................................................... 52
1. Recapitulation.................................................................................................. 52
2. Limitation of the study .................................................................................... 52
3. Recommendations/Suggestions for further study ........................................... 53
4. Concluding remarks ........................................................................................ 53
REFERENCES .................................................................................................. 55
APPENDIX 1 ..................................................................................................... 57
APPENDIX 2 ..................................................................................................... 62

iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

In the process of doing the graduation paper, I have received a lot of help,
assistance, guidance, and encouragement from my teachers, family, and friends.
First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my
supervisor Ms. Nguyen Thi Huong M.A, lecturer of Faculty of Education and
Foreign Languages, Vietnam National University of Agriculture, for her wholehearted guidance and valuable advice greatly contributed to the accomplishment
of this study.
I also would like to show my profound gratitude to all the lecturers of
Faculty of Education and Foreign Languages at Vietnam National University of
Agriculture for their precious and useful lessons during my four-year study,
which has been then the foundation of this research paper.
Last but not least, I would like to give my heartfelt thanks to my family, my
friends who always encourage and inspire me to complete this graduation paper.

Ha Noi, 29 July 2021

Nguyen Thu Trang

iv


ABSTRACT

The thesis is: An investigation into difficulties faced by third-year English
majors in learning English-Vietnamese consecutive interpreting at Vietnam
National University of Agriculture. This study will answer two questions: (1)
Investigate some difficulties in learning English Vietnamese consecutively
interpreting of the third-year English majors at VNUA; (2) Propose some

solutions to their learning English – Vietnamese consecutive interpreting. The
reason why I decided to choose this topic is because Interpreting is a rather new
and difficult course for students of English major. There are many factors that
cause difficulties in the process of learning Interpreting, so I chose this topic
with the aim of delving into the difficulties that third-year English language
students are facing to find out the causes. really and offer some solutions to help
students learn interpreting easily and achieve high results. In this research, I will
use a combination of questionnaires and se-mi structure interviews to make
analysis and evaluation based on the collected data. Thus, the difficulties and
suggested solutions have been presented in the thesis.

v


LIST OF TABLES

Table 2.1. Statistics about problems from topics ................................................ 35
Table 2.2. Statistics about problems from the listeners ...................................... 37
Table 2.3. Statistics about problems from listening material and equipment ..... 40

vi


LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 2.1.

Statistics about purposes of students when studying
Interpretation. ............................................................................. 29

Figure 2.2.

Students' frequency self-practice consecutive interpreting
English – Vietnamese................................................................. 30

Figure 2.3.

The currently level of students’ English ..................................... 31

Figure 2.4.

The level of importance of skills used in consecutive
Interpreting ................................................................................. 33

Figure 2.5.

Factors causing difficulties when learning English Vietnamese consecutive interpreting ......................................... 36

Figure 2.6.

Types of information causing difficulty to remember ................ 44

Figure 2.7.

Reasons of difficulties in short-term memory ............................ 45

Figure 2.8.

Element prevents students from taking a good note ................... 46

Figure 2.9.

Students’ strategy when encountering a new word or phrase .... 47

Figure 2.10.

How students deal with difficulty in taking note ........................ 48

vii


PART 1. INTRODUCTION

1.1.

Rationale for the study

Today, in the era of globalization and internationalization, English has
become an indispensable "weapon" in all countries, especially countries in the
stage of economic development and international integration. No English means
no communication; without communication, there is no way to express thoughts,
ideas, and feelings. And how can the country's economy develop when the
countries tend to integrate international economy for the whole development?
English becomes a common language that helps people understand each other
more in diplomatic relations and economic cooperation, and many other fields in
today's era. English is the most influential international communicative
language. It is also the official language in a large number of countries.
English is the third language that is widely used only just after Chinese and
Spanish. All most international events and global organizations are using
English as the default language of communication. We again cannot deny the

advantages English bringing to us, especially in the booming age of information
and technology. Because knowing English and using the computer more
effectively are demands of job's requirements if you want to get one's dream job
in any international company, earn more money or communicate more
effectively with more people around the world. When Vietnam became one of
the members of World Trade Organization in 2006, encountering difficulties in
communicating with international friends, it has more and more requirements
for Vietnamese to have expert English skills, especially interpreting skills,
which is considered as a bridge helping Vietnam connect with partners, enhance
the international economy and exchange our culture with other countries in the
world. Therefore, the demand for professional interpreting is getting more
necessary than ever.

1


Interpreting is essential to learn, but it doesn't mean it is simple for learners.
To master interpreting is not easy for almost all English learners. Many
Vietnamese people have faced many challenges when translating their mother
tongue into English. It can be very difficult for learners who begin to study
interpreting or even for those fluent in several languages, and there is no
exception for English majors at VNUA or other universities. How to deal with
this actual situation is still a question.
That's cause to promote me to carry out this study: "An investigation into
difficulties faced by third-year English majors in learning EnglishVietnamese consecutive interpreting at Vietnam National University of
Agriculture (VNUA)". I hope it will be new and contributive to help students
understand their difficulties and overcome these obstacles in learning process.
1.2.

Aims and objectives of the study

The main aim of this study is to investigate some difficulties in learning

English Vietnamese consecutive interpreting of junior students of English
majors at VNUA. From there, I will propose some possible solutions to
overcome the difficulties.
The overall purpose of this survey is to investigate the following issues:
➢ Investigate some difficulties in learning English Vietnamese consecutive
interpreting of the third-year English majors at VNUA.
➢ Propose some solutions to improve their learning English – Vietnamese
consecutive interpreting.
1.3. Research questions
To achieve the aims, this research is carried out by answering a following
research question:

2


• What are the difficulties faced by the third-year English majors at VNUA
in learning English - Vietnamese consecutive interpreting?
• What are some solutions to improve their learning English - Vietnamese
consecutive interpreting?
1.4. Scope of the study
Due to the limitation of time and knowledge, this thesis only focuses on
analyzing and emphasizing the main problems in learning consecutive
interpreting with which interpreting students deal the most difficulties in
learning English- Vietnamese consecutive interpreting. Regarding interpreting
perspective,

the subjects can be divided

into two

groups including

professional interpreters and students or would-be interpreters. However,
in this thesis, my subjects are all third-year students at Faculty of Education and
Foreign Language (K63) at VNUA with the hope to help them find out their
difficulties when learning consecutive interpreting and the way to study this
subject effectively.
The total numbers of the third-year English majors : 120 Students
Time: From January 2021 to July 2021.
1.5. Significance of the study
This project will focus on researching and learning about the difficulties
that third-year students face when studying consecutive interpreting. From that
time forward, point out specific challenges for learners to grasp, and learners
will offer effective learning methods and overcome their weaknesses.
1.6. Design of the study
Apart from acknowledgements; Abstracts; List of abbreviations, graphs,
tables, and figures; References; Appendix, the study consists of three main part:

3


PART I: INTRODUCTION
The first part gave readers an overview of the study including rationale of
the study, aims and objectives of the study, the scope as well as significance of
the study.
PART II: DEVELOPMENT
This part consists of three chapters:
• Chapter 1: Literature Review

It focused on knowledge theories related to interpreting: definitions of
interpretation, consecutive interpreting, consecutive interpreting stages
and main difficulties in English- Vietnamese consecutive interpreting.
• Chapter 2: Methodology
In this chapter, the writer described the methodology used in the research
including the context research, data collection instruments, data collection
procedures and data analysis to carry out the research.
• Chapter 3: Finding and discussion
The writer focused on analyzing common difficulties to report ang
suggested solutions
PART III: CONCLUSION
Summarized the main issues raised in the study, gave limitation of the
study and suggestion for further study

4


PART II. DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 1. LITERATURE REVIEW
In this chapter, the author mentions issues related to difficulties in
learning English-Vietnamese consecutive interpretations. There are three parts
to this chapter. The first part is a Study on the challenges in learning EnglishVietnamese serial interpreters abroad as well as in Vietnam. The second part is
the views on the definitions: Interpreting, Consecutive Interpreting, Consecutive
interpreting stage, and the main difficulties in interpreting. This chapter ends
with a summary.
1.1.

REVIEW OF THE PREVIOUS STUDIES

1.1.1. Foreign research

This part is produced to review previous researches on interpreting in
general and consecutive interpreting in particular. Especially, it is relevant
information on consecutive interpreting. As Melville Jackson stated in his
article: Consecutive Interpreter – What They Have To Do (Retrieved October
14), one of the primary problems related to consecutive interpreting is the fact
that it is made up of a number of operations which have to be done at the same
time. These require a high rate of processing capacity of the interpreter. A
consecutive interpreter has to perform a number of tasks at the same time like:
Listening: He has to listen to the speaker and also analyze what he is saying.
Short-term memory: This is one of the most difficult parts of the entire
process. He has to remember the information from the speaker until it can
be altered in the target language.
Production: He has to come up with a target language to reproduce the
speech of the speaker.
On the other hand, during the reformulation process an interpreter has to
go through another set of operations which include:
5


Note reading: An interpreter is needed to understand and if required
decipher the notes which he has written.
Long-term memory: This is another difficult part of any consecutive
interpreter's work. He has to retrieve all the information which is stored in the
short-term memory and construct the content of the speech in the target
language.
Production: Finally he has to reproduce the entire speech from the speaker
in the target language.
Because the nature of the thesis is to study the difficulties in learning
English-Vietnamese consecutive interpreting, so the search for relevant foreign
research articles related to this topic is limited. Therefore, it is mainly to learn about

domestic dissertations with the same topic or research topics related to this topic.
1.1.2. Vietnamese research
In Vietnam, some authors also research on topics related to EnglishVietnamese serial interpretation: Hanh (2006) " Note taking in consecutive
interpreting English" , Nguyen Thi Mai Anh (2012) " Difficulties and suggested
solutions in learning English-Vietnamese consecutive interpreting for the thirdyear English majors at Hai Phong Private University"
Research topic of Pham Hong Hanh (2006) is "note-taking in consecutive
interpreting English". In the study, the author used the quantitative survey
method to explore how interpreting students think about the skill of note-taking
in consecutive interpreting, thereby assessing how important note-taking skills
are, the requirements the basics of taking good notes and what they will do in
certain situations during the note taking process. The tool used in this study is
the group administested questionnaire. From the research results, the author has
come to opinion : note-taking skills are very important skills in serial
interpreting. In addition, the author also did the following research on issues
related to notes: what to note, how to note and when to note. Through the
6


research, the author came to the conclusion "taking notes in consecutive
interpreting involves various techniques that are quite easily grasped if well
learn and regularly practiced. However it is important to notice that although
note-taking is one of the most required skills. of consecutive interpreters"
Nguyen Thi Mai Anh (2012) with the tittle “Difficulties and suggested solutions
in learning English-Vietnamese consecutive interpreting for the third-year
English majors at Hai Phong Private University” – a topic as a graduation thesis
and the scope of research at a university in Hai Phong, the aim of research
pointed out difficulties in session learning and gave some solutions to help
student reach good results in this subject. In the research paper of Nguyen Thi
Mai Anh, the author used quantitative survey method with an aim of exploring
the main difficulties that interpreting students meet when learning English to

Vietnamese consecutive interpreting and how they overcome their problems in
reality with questionnaire . The questionnaire included 11 questions with four
main areas: (i) Students' opinions about consecutive interpreting in general and
skills used in English – Vietnamese consecutive interpreting in particular; (ii)
Problems in the listening stage; (iii) Difficulties encountered when using shortterm memory in English - Vietnamese consecutive interpreting; (iv) Problems in
note-taking. After doing the research, Nguyen Thi Mai Anh pointed out three
factors that make learners difficult in consecutive interpreting is that “students
often have troubles mainly with listening, memory and note-taking skil”l. From
the above three reasons, the author has given specific solutions for each
difficulty based on the questionnaire conducted survey from students.

7


1.2. REVIEW OF THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
1.2.1. Statement of theoretical framework
1.2.1.1. Introduction
This chapter is produced to review different viewpoints and previous
researches on interpreting in general and consecutive interpreting in particular.
Especially, it is intended to demonstrate relevant information on consecutive
interpreting. It is started with a brief description of interpreting, interpreting
classification, then a focus on consecutive interpreting and the rest of the chapter
completely refer to English major students’ difficulties when learning
consecutive interpreting.
1.2.1.2 Interpreting
To grasp obviously "what is interpretation?" I have studied the works of a
number of linguistic scholars on the subject of interpretation and translation, I
have to conclude that there is not any regular definition of translation. To give a
clear definition of interpreting, at first, I will relate it to translation which
interpreting is often mistaken for. According to Catford (1965), translation is

described as an “operation performed on languages, a process of substituting a
text in one language for a text in another”.
A big amount of people confuse translation with interpreting. So, what is
Interpreting? In the research paper on the same topic by Nguyen Pham Mai Anh,
she also give some comments of the researchers as follows: Pochhacker (2004)
stated that interpretation is oral, a special form of translation or “it is immediate
oral translation” as Roderick Jones (2002, p.3) said. So, the main difference is
that translation is written, while interpreting is verbal. Mahmoodzadeh gives a
more detailed definition of interpreting: Interpreting consists of presenting in the
target language, the exact meaning of what is uttered in the source language
8


either simultaneously or consecutively, preserving the tone of the speaker (1992,
p.231). Interpreting requires the ability to accurately express information in the
target language. Interpreting is not a matter of substituting words in one
language for words in another. It is a matter of understanding the thought
expressed in one language and then explaining it using the resources and cultural
nuances of another language, so they can express the source text or speed so that
it sounds natural in the target language (2012, p.7)
In the domestic country, a study has also indicated about interpreting.
According to Hanh (2006), “Interpreting, just like translation, is fundamentally
the art of re-expressing. The interpreter listens to a speaker in one language,
gets the content of what is being said, and then immediately verbally reexpresses his or her understanding of the meaning in another language”. Like
this, both interpretation and translation have same target of processing
information in one direction from one source to target language and the issue of
direction is more complex at the level of the communicative event. However,
interpreting is described as an active process of communicating, by oral, not by
text with the interpreter making informed choices based on knowledge and
understanding of language by Martin and Garces (2008). Hanh (2006) also noted

in her work that “both interpreters and translators are required to have a good
command of the native language and at least a foreign language, analytical
ability, high concentration, subject matter knowledge and sensitivity to cultural
issues” (p.10). However, while a translator must be both a sharp writer and a
skilled editor, it is indispensable for an interpreter to have special listening
ability, a good memory, good note-taking techniques and excellent public
speaking skills. Interpreting requires superior language ability in at least two
languages, so interpreters must be able to transform idioms, proverbs,
colloquialisms into the target language immediately. In addition, interpreters

9


have to convey the oral message under time pressure without the opportunity of
revising or polishing their interpretation. For these reasons, whether novice or
experienced, all interpreters find this profession extremely demanding and
challenging.
According to Listiani (2010), interpreting plays key role in bridging the
gap between languages, helping two or group of people of different languages to
understand what is being said. The goal of interpretation is that a message makes
the same impact on the target audience that a speaker intends for an audience of
her/his same language. Without interpreting, there will be no good
understanding between people of at least two languages and global
communication will drop in thousands of troublesome issues, especially, adverse
effect to economy.
1.2.1.3. Consecutive interpreting
According to Andrew Gillies , consecutive interpreting is one of the three
modes that go to make up what we call conference interpreting. It involves
listening to what someone has to say and then, when they have finished
speaking, reproducing the same message in another language. The speech may

be anything between a minute and twenty minutes in length, and the interpreter
relies on a combination of notes, memory and general knowledge to recreate his
or her version of the original (2017, p.5). In classification of interpreting, most
people get involved into linguistic study and give their attention to what is
meant by consecutive interpreting and simultaneous interpreting. As Hanh
(2006) said, “consecutive and simultaneous are the two sub-types of
interpreting, based on the interpreting mode used by the interpreter:
simultaneous, which occurs nearly at the same as the original utterance of a
speed; consecutive, which follows a chunk of speed varying in length from very
few sentences to an entire speed lasting several minutes” (p. 11).
10


Jones (2002) stated that a consecutive interpreter “listens to the totality of a
speaker’s comments, or at least a significant passage, and then reconstitutes the
speed with the help of notes taken while listening; the interpreter is thus
speaking consecutively to the original speaker, hence the name”. With
simultaneous interpreting, he explained it as follows: “Here the interpreter
listens to the beginning of the speaker’s comments then begins interpreting
while the speed continues, carrying on throughout the speed, to finish almost at
the same time the original. The interpreter is thus speaking simultaneous to the
original, hence again the name” (p. 6). The amount of time that elapses between
the delivery of the source utterance and the delivery of the interpretation is the
primary difference between consecutive interpreting and simultaneous
interpreting. Simultaneous interpreting has advantage of quick delivery, but a
disadvantage in terms of the amount of information delivered. In contrast,
consecutive interpreting takes time but may transfer more accurate information
(Phelan 2001).
1.2.1.4. Consecutive interpreting stages
According to Liu Minhua, there are five stages of in process consecutive

interpretation: hearing and listening; analysis and comprehension; memorizing
and note-taking; loading from memory and notes; delivery. Hearing is called a
passive process without attention, part of the speech can be heard and few
message stays. Interpreters are regarded as an active listener who gets the
experience of listening actively and attentively and message can stay in their
mind for a while, be it short or long. Actually the listening effort requires more
than attentiveness. While an interpreter is doing listening, the process of analysis
is involved which, according to the information processing, is for meaning
seizing and information comprehension. As the processing capacity or volume
of memory of an interpreter is limited, they grasp the major ideas and let go the
11


minor ones. In this sense, note-taking is also an excellent assistant to memory.
Being a good helper for analysis and comprehension, note-taking plays the role of
filtering. Only under analysis can the interpreter put note-taking to the effective
use. During the consecutive process, once the interpreter begins to deliver, his
performance is under assessment. If he does a good job in this phrase, all the
previous phrases are confirmed. If he fails, the other four phases will lose the
presentation opportunity. According to the nature of two-phase process of
consecutive interpretation, namely the listening and reformulation phase, Gile’s
effort model is divided into two parts: the operation of listening, note-taking,
short-term memory and the coordination of remembering, note-reading and
production of the target language speech. They are modeled as follows:
CL=L+M+N+C (Gile, 1995:179).
L is the listening and analysis component. M is the short-term memory
operation. N refers to the note-taking component. As the note-taking functions
as the filter to help analyze the information, choose the main points and logical
links, it is also a non-automatic process which occupies some mental energy. C
is the coordination components which help to make a balance of their interaction

when actually the three components are happening simultaneously.
CL (reformulation) =Rem+Read+P (Gile, 1995:179)
The Rem component refers to recalling of the segments from memory.
The Read component means the reading of notes taken during the listening
phrase. Actually the two components are complimentary and interacting. Clear
and logic notes help the interpreter to recall the meaning of source-language
speech. And they both serve the basis for P-production of the target-language
speech.

12


1.2.1.5. Main difficulties in English to Vietnamese consecutive interpreting
A very high standard of accuracy prevails in consecutive interpreting. Not
only must the content of the source language message be conveyed, but also
structural elements of that message that are not contained in the words: pauses,
tone of voice, stress, etc. Many interpreters regard consecutive as the most
difficult mode of interpreting because it is so hard to retain all of these aspects
of the source language message, particularly when a speech is very lengthy or is
not entirely coherent. These require a high rate of processing capacity of the
interpreter. A consecutive interpreter has to perform a number of tasks at the
same time like:
➢ Listening: He has to listen to the speaker and also analyze what he is
saying.
➢ Short-term memory: This is one of the most difficult parts of the entire
process. He has to remember the information from the speaker until it can
be altered in the target language.
➢ Production: He has to come up with a target language to reproduce the
speech of the speaker.
On the other hand, during the reformulation process an interpreter has to go

through another set of operations which include:
➢ Note reading: An interpreter is needed to understand and if required
decipher the notes which he has written.
➢ Long-term memory: This is another difficult part of any consecutive
interpreter's work. He has to retrieve all the information which is stored in
the short-term memory and construct the content of the speech in the
target language.
➢ Production: Finally he has to reproduce the entire speech from the speaker
in the target language.
13


In fact, students have a great advantage in English – Vietnamese consecutive
interpretation because they do not have problem with speaking skill. In English
– Vietnamese interpretation, English is the foreign language of students and the
speaker often makes a fast speech. Therefore, students often have troubles
mainly with listening, memory and note-taking skill. If they can use those skills
well, interpretation is not a big deal.
a. Listening
The first essence of interpreting is to hear clearly and understand what
the speech is about in order to grasp the keynote. Listening is the major vehicle
to obtain information. It’s a complex cognitive process from “listening” to
“understanding”. According to some researches, “listening” is not a totally
passive process but rather a process of active and interwoven processing of
information, so the task of interpreter is must try his best to recreate the
speaker’s words as complete and accurate as possible. It is for this reason that
interpreters need to be more focused in order to process bulks of information
rapidly. To meet this end, information analysis, categorization and arrangement
become imperative.
In the research's Nguyen Thi Mai Anh said “many interpreting students

normally face and encounter many difficulties in listening English, so what are
their problems? A numbers of researches have been carried out to pick out the
problem in listening. The problems were believed to cause by the speech rate,
vocabulary and pronunciation (Higgins, 1995). As Flowerdew & Miller (1996)
assumed that the problems of the students were for the speed of delivery, new
terminology and concept, difficulty in focusing and the physical environment.
As Nguyen Ngoan stated in his article “listening to VOA: advantages, problems
and solutions” the students have to face these three problems. First of all, the
students find it hard to understand proper names as they have never heard about
14


it before. In other words, they have no background knowledge about what they
are listening. The second problem is believed to rise from the unfamiliar,
uninteresting and too long listening which makes the students feel strange,
discouraged and bored of what they are hearing. The last one is assumed to be
about the sound connections and intonation spoken by native speakers with
different accents. According to Yagang (1994), the problems in listening were
accompanied with the four following factors: the message, the speaker, the
listener and the physical setting.” ( 2012, p.13)
The problems are divided three categories, namely problems from the
listeners, listening materials and equipment, and physical settings.
• Problems from the listeners
The first problem students have is cannot predict what speakers are
going to say, whether it is a news report on the radio, an interviewer’s questions,
an everyday conversation, etc. According to Hasan (2000), the problem is
believed to cause by the habit of listening to word by word. They do not focus
on any particular cues which help them predict what is going to be talked about.
The second problem is poor vocabulary, the listeners themselves do not
have enough rich vocabulary to be able to hear and understand the content. On

facing a new word, they tend to find out the meaning rather than infer it from the
context (Hasan, 2000).
The third problem is to recognize the main point in all listening. Most
students cannot grasp the main points in the lesson because they have the habit
of listening to each word one by one. It is for that reason that they cannot
determine the keywords or the content of the listening tasks.
• Problems from the listening material

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Strange topics will give learners difficulty listening. For example, it is a
financial news or a business newspaper, that will confuse the listener when
receiving the information, because there are specialized terms of the field that
the listener may have never encountered.
An issue that cannot be ignored is the variety of accents. English is a
common language all over the world, so each region will have different accents.
For example, if learners listen to Indians talking, they will find it very difficult
to hear and understand the content of the conversation. Especially, during the
process of learning interpreting in class, students have to not only deal with a
variety of British, American and Australian accents, but might also have Indian
or French, etc…thrown in. Yagang (1994) assert that the listeners have tendency
to get familiar with the accents which they mostly listen. If listeners are exposed
to standard British or American accents, they will face problems in
understanding other accents.
Besides, it is the real language or authentic material that causes a great
difficulty to students. Students have been exposed themselves to materials which
are designed for teaching and listening purposes. Therefore, the language in
these materials, to some extent, have been simplified and contained less
colloquial English. In addition, students in our university mostly learn English

with non-native teachers. As for that, if students listen to an informal
conversation, it is for sure that it is much harder than listening to a formal
conversation used mostly in English classroom. Unlike the recordings in the
ESL classroom, the informal conversation consists of a number of words that
sounds weird to students. Consequently, they do not know what they are
listening to. The real language includes colloquial words, expressions and even
slang which absolutely hardly bring the students any concepts about them.
Heron and Seavy (1991) highlight the importance of authentic material for their
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