How can senior students improve consecutive interpreting skills

Graduation Thesis

HANOI OPEN UNIVERSITY

CODE: 04

FACULTY OF ENGLISH
-----------------------------

GRADUATION THESIS
B.A DEGREE IN ENGLISH STUDIES
HOW CAN SENIOR STUDENTS IMPROVE
CONSECUTIVE INTERPRETING SKILLS
Supervisor

: Nguyễn Thị Kim Chi, M.A

Student

: Phạm Khắc Vĩ

Date of birth

: 20/3/1993

Course

: K18A4 (2011-2015)

Hanoi, 2015

Graduation Thesis

DECLARATION
Title: HOW CAN SENIOR STUDENTS IMPROVE
CONSECUTIVE INTERPRETING SKILLS

I certify that no part of the above report has been copied or reproduced by me
from any other’s work without acknowledgement and that the report is originally
written by me under strict guidance of my supervisor.

Hanoi, 4 May, 2015

Student

Supervisor

Phạm Khắc Vĩ

Nguyễn Thị Kim Chi

Phạm Khắc Vĩ – K18A4


Graduation Thesis

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
First and foremost, I would like to express my gratitude to all those who
gave me the possibility to complete this thesis. I want to thank the English
Department of Hanoi Open University for giving me permission to commence this

thesis in the first instance and to do the necessary research work.
I am deeply indebted to my supervisor Mrs. Nguyễn Thị Kim Chi, whose
reference materials, support, stimulating suggestions and encouragement
helped me in all stages of this research.
My classmates from class K18A4 (2011-2015) supported me a great deal
and I want to thank them for all their support, cooperation and valuable
suggestions. I would like to express my sincere appreciation to other fellow
students of Faculty of English for providing me honest answers to my
questionnaire. Especially, I am thankful to my friends who looked closely at the
final version of the thesis for English style and grammar, correcting both and
offering suggestions for improvement.
Finally, I cannot fully express my gratitude to all the people who directly
and indirectly support helped me complete my thesis in time.

Phạm Khắc Vĩ – K18A4


Graduation Thesis

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES
PART A – INTRODUCTION……........................................................................1
1.
2.
3.
4.

5.
6.

Rationale .................................................................................................... 1
Aims of the study........................................................................................ 1
Scope of the study ...................................................................................... 1
Research question ...................................................................................... 2
Method of the study ................................................................................... 2
Design of the study ..................................................................................... 2

PART B – DEVELOPMENT .................................................................................. 3
CHAPTER 1 – LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................. 3
1.1.
1.2.

1.3.

The definition of interpretation ............................................................. 3
Interpretation and translation ................................................................ 3
1.2.1. Spoken and written...................................................................... 3
1.2.2. Real-time and delay .................................................................... 4
1.2.3. Level of accuracy ........................................................................ 4
1.2.4. Direction and fluency .................................................................. 4
1.2.5. Intangibles ................................................................................... 5
Modes and types of interpretation ......................................................... 6
1.3.1. Modes of interpretation ............................................................... 6
1.3.1.1. Simultaneous ............................................................... 6
1.3.1.2. Consecutive ................................................................. 8
1.3.1.3. Whispered .................................................................. 10

Phạm Khắc Vĩ – K18A4


Graduation Thesis

1.4.

1.5.

1.3.1.4. Relay .......................................................................... 10
1.3.1.5. Liaison ....................................................................... 10
1.3.2. Types of interpretation
1.3.2.1. Conference ................................................................. 11
1.3.2.2. Judicial ....................................................................... 11
1.3.2.3. Escort ......................................................................... 12
1.3.2.4. Public sector .............................................................. 13
1.3.2.5. Medical ...................................................................... 13
1.3.2.6. Sign language ............................................................ 14
1.3.2.7. Media ......................................................................... 14
Senior students’ common interpretation problems
1.4.1. Difficulties in understanding source language ......................... 15
1.4.2. Limited vocabulary ................................................................... 16
1.4.3. Inefficient note-taking skills and bad memory ......................... 17
1.4.4. Speaking anxiety ....................................................................... 18
Summary ............................................................................................. 20

CHAPTER 2 – The Study ..................................................................................... 21
2.1.
2.2.
2.3.

2.4.

Subject of the study ............................................................................. 21
Method of the study............................................................................. 21
Data analysis........................................................................................ 22
Summary ............................................................................................. 31

CHAPTER 3 – Suggestions for improvement for senior students of Faculty of
English, H.O.U ........................................................................................................ 32
3.1.

3.2.

Strategies to improve listening skills .................................................. 32
3.1.1. Pre-listening .............................................................................. 33
3.1.2. While-listening .......................................................................... 39
3.1.3. Post-listening ............................................................................. 43
Strategies to develop interpretation skills ........................................... 44
3.2.1. Improving memorizing skills .................................................... 45
3.2.2. Improving note-taking skills ..................................................... 53

Phạm Khắc Vĩ – K18A4


Graduation Thesis

3.3.

3.2.3. How to overcome speaking anxiety .......................................... 59
3.2.4. How to broaden your vocabulary and background ................... 64

Summary ............................................................................................. 70

PART C – Conclusion ............................................................................................ 71
REFERENCES
APPENDIX

Phạm Khắc Vĩ – K18A4


PART A – INTRODUCTION
1.

Rationale
Interpretation is considered the ultimate goal of every language
learners. However, it also is the most challenging skills. Over the last few
years, the importance of interpretation has been stressed as we are living in a
flat world and dealing with oversea customers is normal.
Today, English plays an important role in our daily conversation
because the demand to communicate with foreigners is increasingly rapidly.
Therefore, those who are bilingual have much greater job opportunities.
However, a great number of senior students at HOU find it difficult to
learn Consecutive Interpreting. There are a lot of causes contributing to their
fear of interpreting, both subjectively and objectively. Therefore, this study
is made to help them.

2.

Aims of the study
The purpose of this study is to improve the interpretation skills of
senior students in Faculty of English, H.O.U. Moreover, this also aims to

help them understand the relation between listening, note – taking and
speaking as well as how to do all these tasks simultaneously.

3.

Scope of the study
Based on my own knowledge as well as textbooks and reference
books, I would like to give some suggestion to help fourth-year students
tackle their problems. Therefore, the subjects of this graduation paper are
students who are not very good at interpreting.

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4.

Research questions
With a view to achieving the aims of the study, the research questions
will be addressed as follows:
1. What are the current problems of senior students in Faculty of
English when doing consecutive interpreting?
2. What are some solutions to improve consecutive interpreting skills
of K18 students in Faculty of English, H.O.U?

5.

Design of the study
The study consists of 3 parts. It begins with the introduction which

deals with the rationale and the structure of the study.
The next part is the main study which is divided into 3 chapters:
Chapter 1: Giving a review of literature, the differences between
translation and interpretation, types and modes of interpretation and
the problems students have when dealing with consecutive
interpreting.
Chapter 2: Finding and analyzing data, describing the current
situation of students in Faculty of English.
Chapter 3: Suggesting some effective strategies to improve
interpreting skills for senior students in Faculty of English.
The last part is the conclusion which gives brief summary of the
study.

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PART B – DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER I – LITERATURE REVIEW
1.1. The definition of interpretation
Interpretation is the act of explaining, reframing, or otherwise
showing your own understanding of something. A person who translates one
language (source language – SL) into another (target language – TL) is
called an interpreter because they are explaining what a person is saying to
someone who doesn't understand. Interpretation requires you to first
understand the piece of music, text, language, or idea, etc... and give your
explanation of it.
Interpretation

can

be

defined

in

a

nutshell

as

conveying

understanding. Its usefulness stems from the fact that a speaker’s meaning is
best expressed in his or her native tongue but is best understood in the
languages of the listeners.

1.2. Interpretation versus translation
People often confuse translation with interpretation. While both
services involve adapting from one language to another, there are a number
of important differences.
1) Spoken versus written:
Interpretation is the transference of meaning between spoken
languages, while translation is the transference of meaning between written
languages.

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2) Real-time versus delay:

Interpreting occurs in real time. It happens in person, on the phone, or
through a television/video service. Because translation involves the written
word, it typically takes place long after a text is created, which gives the
translator time to access resources (dictionaries, glossaries, subject matter
experts, etc.) to produce an accurate and effective end document (or website,
help file, etc.).

3) Level of accuracy

Interpretation and translation demand different levels of accuracy.
While interpreters aim to be completely accurate, it’s difficult to achieve in a
live conversation. They may omit some details of the original speech as they
interpret into the target language. Conversely, translators have time to
evaluate and revise each word and sentence before delivering their product,
so they can achieve a greater level of accuracy and greater fidelity to the
original.

4) Direction and fluency:

An interpreter must be fluent enough in both the original language and
the target language to be able to translate in both directions, on the spot,
without any reference material. Interpreters are highly qualified people, and
the work is quite demanding. It’s so demanding that interpreters work in
pairs and must switch off every 20 minutes or so to prevent mental fatigue.

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Typically, professional translators only work in one direction—
translating into their native language. As such, translators do not have to be
as fluent in the source language as an interpreter must be. The key skills of a
translator are to understand the source language and to use their knowledge
of the target country’s cultural and language norms to create an effective
translated product. That is the reason why interpreters tend to have higher
wages.

5) Intangibles:

Both translators and interpreters are faced with the challenge of
making metaphors, analogies, and idioms understandable to the audience in
the target language. However, interpreters must also capture tone, inflection,
voice quality, and the other intangible elements of the spoken word and
convey those meaningfully to the audience. Despite the differences in the
skills of translators and interpreters, both are bilingual professionals who
share a passion for conveying meaning to people who would otherwise be
unable to understand the information at hand.

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1.3. Modes and types of interpretation
1.3.1

Modes of interpretation
1.3.1.1

Simultaneous

Typically, while performing Simultaneous Interpreting (SI), the
interpreter sits in a booth wearing a pair of headphones and speaks into a
microphone. Strictly speaking, "simultaneous" is a misnomer: the interpreter
cannot start interpreting until he or she understands the general meaning of
the sentence. Depending for example, on how far apart in the sentence to be
interpreted the subject and the verb are located, the interpreter may not be
able to utter even a single word until he or she has heard the entire sentence.
At the dawn of interpretation research, there have been debates over
the simultaneity of SI. Some suggested that SI is not truly “simultaneous”.
Such arguments emphasized the fact that there were pauses in speaker’s
speeches, and that interpreters speak during these pauses. If interpreters try
to put as much as possible into these pauses, the nature of SI is not speaking
and listening at the same time, but speaking when there is no need to listen
(Paneth 1957, Barik 1975).
These arguments were later refuted by Gerver (1971, 1975). Through
his experiments, Gerver found that interpreters have to split their attention
and that there is a limited total processing capacity available (Gerver 1971).
It is also proposed that the pauses in source speeches are too short for
interpreters to say very much. In fact, more than 75% of the time interpreters
are speaking and listening at the same time (Gerver 1975).

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One of Gerver’s important findings is that interpreters can recall more
of the content of the speech after listening, than after simultaneous
interpreting. In one experiment, nine interpretation trainees were required to
listen to, shadow (repeat it as they heard it) or simultaneously interpret from
French to English. After each task, they were immediately given questions
that test their comprehension and recall of the original speech. The result
showed that their score of the test after listening is significantly higher than
after simultaneous interpretation (Gerver, 1974).
This study should make it evident how difficult the task of the
interpreter really is: the interpreter must translate the sentence into the target
language while simultaneously listening to and comprehending the next
sentence. You can experience the difficulty of the task even if you only
speak one language: try paraphrasing someone's speech with a half-sentence
delay while making sure you understand the next sentence and paraphrasing
the previous one.
One of the key skills of the simultaneous interpreter is decisiveness:
there is simply no time to weigh the merits of variant translations, or to
recall just the right idiom in the target language. Any delay and a few words
(and possibly a complete thought) that the speaker uttered could be lost, and
since the speaker may be far away, or even in a different room than the
interpreter, the loss may be permanent.

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1.3.1.2

Consecutive

During Consecutive Interpreting the speaker stops every 1–5 minutes
(usually at the end of every "paragraph" or complete thought) and the
interpreter then steps in to render what was said into the target language. A
key skill involved in consecutive interpreting is note-taking, since few
people can memorize a full paragraph in one hearing without loss of detail.
Interpreter's notes are very different from those of, say, a stenographer,
because writing down words in the source language makes the interpreter's
job harder when he has to translate the speech into the target language.
Many professional interpreters develop their own "ideogramic"
symbology, which allows them to take down not the words, but the thoughts
of the speaker in a sort of language-independent form. Then the interpreter's
output is more idiomatic and less source-language bound.
Consecutive Interpreting is divided into "short CI" or "long CI". In
short CI, the interpreter depends on his/her memory and every message
fragments being sufficiently brief to remember. In long CI, the interpreter
takes notes of the message to support rendering long passages. In general,
clients lean toward long CI as they don't need to interruption frequently.
These casual divisions are made with the client before the interpretation is
done, contingent on the subject, its unpredictability, and the purpose of the
interpretation.
Consecutively interpreted speeches, or sections of them, have a
tendency to be short. Fifty years prior, the CI interpreter would render
speeches of 20 or 30 minutes; today, 10 or 15 minutes is considered too

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long, especially since crowds usually favor not to sit during 20 minutes of
speech they can't get it.
Sometimes, if not advised in advance, the source-language speaker is
unconscious that they may talk more than a single sentence before the CI
understanding is rendered and may stop after each sentence to anticipate its
target-dialect rendering. Then again, contingent on the setting or topic, and
upon the translator's ability to memorize, the interpreter may request that the
speaker pause briefly after every sentence or after every clause. This is
sentence-by-sentence interpreting - it requires less retention and thusly,
lowers probability for omissions. Despite the fact that this technique
supports the interpreter in understanding long, complex sentences, he/she
may miss the gist and the general message sometimes is harder to render
both as a result of absence of setting and interrupted delivery (for instance,
imagine a joke told in odds and ends, with breaks for interpretation in the
middle). This method is regularly utilized as a part of rendering speeches,
statements, recorded proclamations, court witness confirmation, and
medicinal and job interviews, however it is normally best to finish an entire
thought before it is interpreted.
On the contrary, full consecutive interpreting of whole thoughts
enables the full meaning of the source-language message to be understood
before the interpreter renders it in the target language. This affords a truer,
more accurate, and more accessible interpretation than does simultaneous
interpretation. However, this particular method requires interpreters to have
extraordinary memory.

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1.3.1.3

Whispered

The speaker keeps speaking while the interpreter follows it in a
whispering voice. Because the interpreter simultaneously hears both his/her
own voice and the speaker, accuracy tends to suffer, especially when the
acoustics are poor. This is a great mode of interpreting natural speech (not
reading from speech notes) when the atmosphere is relaxed and accuracy of
numbers and facts is of less importance. The listener receives a more
immediate feel of what is going on. However, whispering may interfere with
the listening of other people in the same room, and for this reason the use of
a wireless device is recommended. Whispering requires a team of at least
two interpreters.

1.3.1.4

Relay

Relay interpreting is usually used when there are several target
languages. A source-language interpreter interprets the text to a language
common to every interpreter, who then renders the message to their
respective target languages. The chosen common language usually is
English. For example, a Japanese source message first is rendered to English
to a group of interpreters, who listen to the English and render the message
into Arabic, French, Vietnamese and other target languages. Relay

interpreting is used extensively in multilingual meetings.

1.3.1.5

Liaison

Liaison translating includes relaying what is spoken to one, between
two, or among numerous individuals. This could be possible after a short

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speech, or sequentially, sentence-by-sentence, or as whispered interpreting;
beside notes taken at the time, no equipment is utilized.
1.3.2

Types of interpretation
1.3.2.1

Conference

Conference interpreting is the interpretation of a conference, of a
meeting, either at the same time or successively, despite the fact that the
appearance of multi-lingual gatherings has thusly diminished the
consecutive translation in the most recent 20 years.
Conference interpretation is separated between two businesses: the
institutional and private. International institutions (EU, UN, EPO, and so
forth) hold multi-lingual gatherings and regularly support translating foreign

languages to the translators' native languages. Local private markets have a
tendency to bi-lingual gatherings (the local language in addition to another)
and the interpreters work both into and out of their mother tongues; the
businesses are not fundamentally unrelated. The International Association of
Conference Interpreters (AIIC) is the only worldwide association of
conference interpreters. Established in 1953, it assembles more than 2,800
expert conference interpreters in more than 90 nations.

1.3.2.2

Judicial

Judicial or court interpreting happens in courts of equity, authoritative
tribunals, and wherever a lawful continuing is held (i.e., a police
headquarters for an examination, a gathering space for a deposition, or the
locale for taking a sworn statement). Legal interpreting can be the
consecutive translation of witnesses' affirmation, for instance, or the
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simultaneous interpretation of whole procedures, by electronic means, for
one individual, or the greater part of the individuals attending.
The privilege to a competent interpreter for any individual who does
not comprehend the language of the court (particularly for the charged in a
criminal trial) is normally viewed as a key guideline of justice.
Subsequently, this right is frequently ensured in national constitutions,
presentations of rights, central laws securing the equity framework or by
points of reference set by the most elevated courts. Then again, it is not a

naturally obliged system (in the United States) that a certified interpreter be
present at police session.
In the US, contingent on the regulations and gauges stuck to every
state and venue, court interpreters generally work alone when interpreting
consecutively, or as a team, when interpreting simultaneously. Not
withstanding reasonable dominance of the source and target languages,
intensive learning of law and legal and court procedures is needed of court
interpreters. They are regularly required to have formal approval from the
State to work in the Courts — and afterward are called certified court
interpreters. In numerous courts, the interpretation is viewed as a
fundamental piece of the proof. Negligent interpretation, or basically
inability to swear in the interpreter, can cause a mistrial.

1.3.2.3

Escort

In escort interpreting, a translator goes with an individual or a
delegation on a visit, on a tour, or to an interview or meeting. An interpreter
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in these situations is called an escort interpreter or an escorting interpreter.
This is liaison interpreting.

1.3.2.4

Public sector

Also called community interpreting, is the kind of interpreting
happening in fields, for example, legal, health, and local government, social,
housing, ecological health, education & training, and welfare services. In
community interpreting, elements exist which focus and influence language
and communication production, for example, , speech's emotional content,
threatening or enraptured social surroundings, its created stress, the force
connections among members, and the interpreter's level of obligation — in
many cases more than extreme; in some cases, even the life of the other
person relies on the interpreter's work.

1.3.2.5

Medical

Medical interpreting is a branch of public service translating,
comprising of communication among medicinal staff and the patient and his
or her family or among medical personnel speaking different languages,
aided by an interpreter, usually formally educated and qualified to give such
interpretation services. In a few circumstances medical employees who are
multilingual may take a part-time as member of internal banks. The medical
interpreter must have a solid knowledge of medicine, basic medicinal
procedures, the patient interview, the patient interview, the medical
examination processes, ethics, and the daily workings of the hospital or

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clinic where he or she works, so as to efficiently serve both the patient and
the medical personnel.
However, most interpretation in hospitals in Vietnam is done by the
doctors who are proficient enough in both Vietnamese and English in his/her
specialty. When a patient needs English language service in a Vietnamese
hospital, more often than not the patient will be directed to a staff member in
the hospital, who is recognized by his/her colleagues as proficient in
English.

1.3.2.6

Sign language

A sign language interpreter should precisely pass on messages
between two distinctive languages. An interpreter is there for both deaf and
hearing individuals. The act of translating happens when a hearing
individual speaks, and an interpreter renders the speaker's speech into sign
language, or other forms used by the deaf party. The translating likewise
happens backward: when a deaf person signs, a translator renders the
meaning in the signs into the oral language for the hearing party, which is in
some cases referred to as voice interpreting or voicing. This may be
performed either as simultaneous or consecutive interpreting.

1.3.2.7

Media

By its very nature, media interpreting has to be conducted in the
simultaneous mode. It is given especially for live television coverage such as
press conferences, live or taped interviews with political figures, artists,

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musicians, sportsmen or people from the business circle. In this sort of
interpreting, the interpreter has to sit in a sound-proof booth where ideally
he/she can see the speakers on a monitor and the set. All gear ought to be
checked before recording starts. In particular, satellite connections have to
be double-checked to ensure that the interpreter's voice is not sent back and
the interpreter gets to hear only one channel at a time. In the case of
interviews recorded outside the studio and some current affairs program, the
interpreter interprets what he or she hears on a TV monitor. Background
noise can be a serious problem. The interpreter working for the media has to
sound as smooth and sure as a television presenter.

1.4

Senior students’ common interpretation problems
Being competent in interpreting is the ultimate goal of every English
learners. Interpreting requires the learners to be good at not only the source
language (SL) but also the target language (TL) as well. However, a
majority of senior students of Faculty of English, Hanoi Open University are
facing a number of problems which hinder them from delivering a good
interpretation.

1.4.1 Difficulties in understanding source language
Interpreters cannot fulfill their role if they don’t understand the source
language. A considerably amount of interviewed students shared that the
inability to understand the given discourse, together with poor speaking

skills, are their most common phobias. Sadly, of all four language skills
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(speaking, listening, reading, and writing), listening is often neglected and it
is the exact cause of difficulties in understanding source language.
The neglect of the listening skills was accompanied with an ongoing
debate about which of the four language skills is the most crucial for the
learning and acquisition of a second language. However, past research has
thus far revealed that a large proportion of the research findings indicates
that listening is the most important skills for language learning because it is
the most widely used language skills in normal daily life (Morley 2001; Rost
2001), and it develops faster than the three other language skills, which in
turn suggests that it can facilitate the emergence of the other language skills
(Oxford, 1990).

1.4.2 Limited vocabulary
“You can't build a house without nails and wood”. Vocabulary plays
and indispensable role in any fields related to foreign languages and an
interpreter is the one that needs the broadest vocabulary. When learning a
foreign language, it is recommended to constantly enrich our vocabulary as
Henry Widdowson’s saying: “The more one considers the matter, the more
reasonable it seems to suppose that lexis is where we need to start from, the
syntax needs to be put to the service of words and not the other way round.”
(Widdowson in Lewis, 1993: 115)
Vocabulary teaching and learning is a constant challenge for teachers
as well as students because historically there has been minimal focus on
vocabulary instruction in classroom. Due to this, an increased emphasis on

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vocabulary development is crucial for the English language learners in the
process of language learning.
According to Colorado (2007, as cited in Adger, 2002) the average
native English speaker enters nursery school knowing at least 5,000 words
while the average English language learner may know 5,000 words in his/
her native language but only a few words in English. The reality is that
native speakers continue to learn new words while English language learners
face the double challenge of building that foundation and closing that
language gap. The same problem is clearly illustrated in Faculty of English.

1.4.3 Inefficient note-taking skills and bad memory
“Why should I take note?” is the question students often ask
themselves most. Early on in our academic careers we learned that we need
to take notes. But have you ever stopped to think about why note taking is
important? Is there really value in taking notes during a lecture, a listening
task or is it just what you’re “supposed” to do? Are the students who sit in
class without taking notes going to score better than you, the traditional note
taker? Do we really need to develop clear strategies or we just try to write
down as many words as possible?
Most students tend to use “hack and slack” method. They try to write
down everything they hear, even a complete sentence. Rarely does someone
use their own abbreviations. That is exactly where the problem lies. We
can’t properly handle two things at the same time and at the moment we put

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too much attention to taking long notes, we also miss some of the remaining
speech.
This serious problem is worsened by bad memory or memorizing
capacity. There are a number of reasons affecting students’ memory:
- Their negative attitude towards studying
Our attitude greatly affects us in everything we do. It is much better to
approach learning with positivity and activity rather than put ourselves in
passive roles.
-

Their laziness

The human mind is limitless but laziness limits it. It is worrying to see
some students only listen to English news in their class and do nothing
English-related at home. It goes without saying that one-and-a-half-hour
Interpretation class a day (when you’re at school and are “forced” to study)
cannot make you a good interpreter.
-

Subjective reasons

Experts use to believe that memory loss resulted from inactivity, but
many experts now believe that stress, anxiety, and environmental
distractions contribute more to memory loss than inactivity. Mental
distractions can be reduced with focused reading and studying, personal
reflection, meditation, and organized study sessions. It’s important to avoid

cramming and unorganized studying. In fact, this will increase stress, thus,
inhibiting memory retention.

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In the end, your memory probably isn't as bad as you think. It just
takes some regular maintenance and a little training to keep it in shape. You
can't magically just improve your memory by studying. If you're the type
who forgets your keys, you'll probably always do so. That said, you can
employ certain techniques to help you with memory retention, and perhaps
more importantly, your initial perception. We've talked about this later.

1.4.4 Speaking anxiety

Speaking anxiety has a great impact on one’s self-confidence since it
often makes one experience failure when not being able to speak out and
show what one knows. Irregular heartbeat, perspiration, stumbling and an
inability to act are a few symptoms that block ones capacity to act and speak.
This issue often turns into a vicious circle because one bad experience from
speaking often becomes a reminder when the next opportunity arises. If a
student with speaking anxiety experience failure he or she will rather remain
quiet than take the risk of failing again. This situation drags them into a
silence that becomes more and more difficult to break since it contributes to
a role as “the quiet one” in class. Speaking anxiety creates a low selfconfidence which makes students remain quiet in all situations, even if they
have the capacity to express themselves and knowledge that is worth
hearing.

Phạm Khắc Vĩ – K18A4

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