An investigation into the current situation of using short term memory in english vietnamese consecutive interpreting of the third year english majors at vietnam national university of agriculture

VIET NAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE FACULTY OF EDUCATION AND FOREIGN LANGUAGES BA THESIS AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE CURRENT SITUATION OF USING SHORT-TERM MEMORY IN ENGLISH - V

VIET NAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE

FACULTY OF EDUCATION AND FOREIGN LANGUAGES

BA THESIS

AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE CURRENT SITUATION OF

USING SHORT-TERM MEMORY IN ENGLISH -

VIETNAMESE CONSECUTIVE INTERPRETING OF THE THIRD-YEAR ENGLISH MAJORS AT VIETNAM NATIONAL

UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE

KHẢO SÁT THỰC TRẠNG SỬ DỤNG TRÍ NHỚ NGẮN HẠN TRONG PHIÊN DỊCH NỐI TIẾP ANH - VIỆT CỦA SINH VIÊN NĂM THỨ BA NGÀNH NGÔN NGỮ ANH TẠI HỌC VIỆN

NÔNG NGHIỆP VIỆT NAM

Student code : 621248

Supervisor : M.A NGUYEN THI HUONG

CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY

I, the undersigned, hereby certify my authority of the study project report entitled AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE CURRENT SITUATION OF USING SHORT-TERM MEMORY IN ENGLISH - VIETNAMESE CONSECUTIVE INTERPRETING OF THE THIRD-YEAR ENGLISH MAJORS 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

Hoang Thi Thuy Linh

Approved by SUPERVISOR

(Signature and full name)

Date:………

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY i

TABLE OF CONTENTS ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iv

ABSTRACT v

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS vi

LIST OF TABLES vii

LIST OF FIGURES vii

PART 1: INTRODUCTION 1

1 RATIONALE FOR THE STUDY 1

2 AIMS AND OJECTIVES OF THE STUDY 2

2.1 Aims 2

2.2 Objectives 3

3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS 3

4 SCOPE OF THE STUDY 3

5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY 4

6 DESIGN OF THE STUDY 5

PART 2: DEVELOPMENT 7

CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 7

1.1 REVIEW OF PREVIOUS STUDIES (AT HOME/ABROAD) 7

1.1.1 Vietnamese Research 7

1.1.2 Foreign Research 10

1.2 REVIEW OF THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 11

1.2.1 Short-term memory (STM) 11

1.2.2 Consecutive interpreting 14

CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY 21

2.1 RESEARCH GOVERNING ORIENTATION 21

2.1.2 Research types: 21

2.2 RESEARCH METHODS 22

2.1.1 Quantitative research methods 22

2.1.2 Qualitative research methods 23

2.1.3 Data analysis method 23

2.3 RESEARCH SETTING/CONTEXT 24

2.4 DATA COLLECTION 24

2.4.1 Data collecting instruments 24

2.4.2 Data collecting procedures 26

2.5 SUMMARY 27

CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 28

3.1 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 28

3.1.1 The student’s personal information 28

3.1.2 The current situation and awareness of short-term in English to Vietnamese consecutive interpreting 31

3.1.3 The difficulties in practicing short-term memory 37

3.1.4 The student’s practice to improve short-term memory 39

3.2 SUMMARY 45

PART 3: CONCLUSION 46

1 RECAPITULATION 46

2 CONCLUDING REMARKS 47

3 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY 50

4 RECOMMENDATIONS/SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY 50

REFERENCES 51

APPENDIX 1 54

APPENDIX 2 58

APPENDIX 3 59

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

During the implementation of this thesis, I received plenty of enthusiastic help and support that guided and encouraged me to overcome all difficulties and finish this hard but meaningful time

Firstly, I would like to convey my sincere thanks to my supervisor Mrs Nguyen Thi Huong, M.A, lecturer of the Faculty of Education and Foreign Languages, Vietnam National University of Agriculture, for her whole-hearted guidance and support Without her valuable recommendations, this thesis cannot come to an end

Secondly, I sincerely thank all the Faculty of Education and Foreign Languages teachers, Vietnam National University of Agriculture, for their precious lessons during my four-year study, which have been the foundation of this research paper

Furthermore, I would like to acknowledge the encouragement and strong support from my beloved family, especially my mother Without their excellent love and dedication, I would not do this thesis into reality

I also want to express my most profound appreciation to my classmates and friends for their heartfelt assistance and encouragement

In short, I really thank all the people helping me to finish this thesis successfully

Hanoi, 2021 Hoang Thi Thuy Linh

ABSTRACT

This paper discusses the short-term memory in English to Vietnamese consecutive interpreting, intended for English majors at Vietnam National University of Agriculture (VNUA), from the viewpoint of a fourth-year student

of the Faculty of Education and Foreign Languages, VNUA The paper aims at pointing out the specific difficulties of VNUA students’ use of short-term memory in English – Vietnamese consecutive interpreting, and through which learners will gain a deeper understanding of short-term memory, the critical role

of short-term memory skills; Therefore, several essential techniques to effectively improve short-term memory in English to Vietnamese consecutive interpreting are proposed

In achieving these aims, the paper surveys the current situation of VNUA students’ use of short-term memory in English – Vietnamese consecutive interpreting The survey is carried and assessed under in four main areas: The student’s personal information; The current situation and awareness of short-term in English to Vietnamese consecutive interpreting; The difficulties in practicing short-term memory; The students’ practice to improve short - term memory From the received results, this study would be a reference for students and teachers and the library of the Faculty of Education and Foreign Languages

at VNUA In particular, it can help improve the effective use of short-term memory in the study and practice of interpreting skills as well as assist their future job related to the interpreting field

LIST OF TABLES

Page

Table 2.1 Reasons for difficulties in short-term memory 37

Table 2.2 Types of information causing difficulty to remember 38

Table 2.3 Self-evaluation of interpreting work 39

Table 2.4 Aids/ Techniques supported for short-term memory when interpreting 41

Table 2.5 The Methods adopted to practice short-term memory in interpreting 42

LIST OF FIGURES Page Figure 1.1: Gile Model for Consecutive Interpreting 19

Figure 2.1 The student’s current level of English 29

Figure 2.2 The student’s English listening skills rate 30

Figure 2.3 Average length of information that can be remembered best 31

Figure 2.4 Percentage of information remembered after the first listening 32

Figure 2.5 Percentage of information remembered after the second listening 33

Figure 2.6 Percentage of information remembered after the third listening 34

Figure 2.7 Time needed to rearrange information before interpreting 35

Figure 2.8 Way of remembering the source information 36

Figure 2.9 The Frequency of practicing short - term memory in interpreting 40

Figure 2.10 The Efficiency of Short - term memory practice 44

PART 1: INTRODUCTION

1 RATIONALE FOR THE STUDY

With the explosion of science and technology, the 4.0 revolution was born as an inevitable course of global economic development Parallel to the advent of this revolution is the integration of the world

In the international integration trend, the need for mutual understanding among countries worldwide has been increasing However, the different languages are a significant communication barrier between countries Being considered a bridge of human communicative interaction, interpreting skills are the key to breaking these barriers Thus, an interpreting career is now becoming increasingly potential and attractive However, the work of interpreting is not only demanding but also challenging Interpreting is a compulsory subject of all English majors globally, especially at Vietnam National University of Agriculture (VNUA) It is considered as a complex and challenging subject To achieve the best results, not only do learners need to have good English foundation knowledge such as grammar, vocabulary, … but also possess extensive knowledge and understanding of culture Besides such aspects, it is necessary to have good techniques One of these should be short-term memory, which is a crucial key that decides the interpreting task's success

Memory is one of the significant elements affecting the process of storing and conveying information Lack of mnemonic capacities may prevent people from getting access to sources of data quickly and accurately However, due to brain formation, humans cannot remember everything they have heard or read, which is likely to be too complicated

or unnecessary for long-term use Generally, there are two forms of memory: long-term memory and short-term memory

In this, the role of short-term memory is analyzed and highlighted

to encourage the best use of memory in the context of interpreting classes

at VNUA Short-term memory is not only necessary but also obligatory for learners of foreign languages After four years of academic training at the University, the target set by the Faculty of Education and Foreign Languages as well as most English majors is to become proficient translators and interpreters However, due to the limitation of interpreting training time which only consists of 4 credits, students do not have many chances to practice and improve their short-term memory Although some learners can be aware of its essential role, many of them have not applied this skill effectively Therefore, it is vital to take up a short-term interpreting training course With this regard, the objective of this study is for students of the Faculty of Education and Foreign Languages how to use short-term memory in English - Vietnamese consecutive interpreting

in the most helpful way

2 AIMS AND OJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

2.1 Aims

This study mainly focuses on finding the current situation of using short-term memory in English – Vietnamese consecutive interpreting of the third-year English majors at VNUA and giving some solutions to improve short-term memory in English – Vietnamese consecutive interpreting

2.2 Objectives

The overall purpose of this survey is to investigate the following issues:

 Investigate the current situation of using short-term memory in English – Vietnamese consecutive interpreting of the third – year English majors at VNUA

 Propose some solutions to improve short-term memory in English – Vietnamese consecutive interpreting

3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

Due to the aims, the study is conducted by two following questions:

1 What is the current situation of using short-term memory in English – Vietnamese consecutive interpreting of the third – year English majors at VNUA?

2 What are some solutions to improve short-term memory in English - Vietnamese consecutive interpreting of the third-year English majors at VNUA?

4 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

- Research subjects:

Short-term memory is beneficial and essential in interpreting; however, it is a comprehensive and challenging skill Therefore, to obtain the most remarkable findings and enhance the effectiveness of the study,

it is scoped with one hundred and twenty (120) third-year English major students at the Faculty of Education and Foreign Languages in VNUA

using short-term memory in English - Vietnamese consecutive interpreting

The total numbers of the third-year English majors: 120 students

- Time: From January 2021 to July 2021

Note: They are selected because they have already learnt the course

of Interpretation And in this course, they have already studied about the theory and practice of using short - term memory in consecutive interpreting

5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This project focuses on researching and learning about short-term memory in consecutive interpreting From that time forward, point out specific difficulties for learners to grasp As a result, learners will gain a deeper understanding of short-term memory, the meaning of short-term

memory in translation, and how to use it efficiently and improve term memory

short-6 DESIGN OF THE STUDY

This study consists of following three parts:

+ Chapter 1: The literature review

It provides the theoretical background for the study, including definitions of short-term memory, interpreting, consecutive interpreting The relationship between short-term memory and English to Vietnamese consecutive interpreting is provided in this chapter Additionally, the author also shows the role of short-term memory in interpreting, the relationship between short-term memory and consecutive interpreting, and short-term memory in English to Vietnamese consecutive interpreting Many previous Foreign and Vietnamese studies are included in this chapter

+ Chapter 2: Methodology

It focuses on the methodology used in the research including the research governing orientation, data collection instruments, participants, the procedures employed to carry out the research

+ Chapter 3: Findings and Discussion

It reports and discusses the usage of short-term memory in English to Vietnamese consecutive interpreting It also presents the results from the data collection through survey and interview

- Part 3: Conclusion

It summarizes the main issues raised in the study and suggests several solutions, the limitations of the study as well as the suggestions for further study

- References

- Appendix

PART 2: DEVELOPMENT

CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW

1.1 REVIEW OF PREVIOUS STUDIES (AT HOME/ABROAD)

1.1.1 Vietnamese Research

There have been many studies about short-term memory in general

as well as short-term memory in consecutive translation in particular:

Hue, Le Thi (2018) conducted a study about "How to use term memory in English to Vietnamese consecutive Interpreting effectively." This research aims to introduce the importance of short-term memory for interpreting studies and find out the difficulties students face when using memory in interpreting More importantly, the study also aims to present to the third-year English major students of the English Department in Hanoi University of Business and Technology how to improve short-term memory in support of effective interpreting to orient students who begin to study this subject in the excellent manner of study After doing the research, she found that the current situation and students' awareness of STM in English to Vietnamese consecutive interpreting, the difficulties of using short-term memory, and teachers' crucial role in STM application for a student's interpreting skill

short-Besides, In the study “Short-term memory in English to Vietnamese consecutive interpreting” of Van (2013), the author highlights the critical role of short-term memory skill, find out the shortcomings and difficulties of the third and fourth-year English major at Hai Phong University’s English majors in learning and applying this skill Therefore,

English to Vietnamese consecutive interpreting are proposed Moreover, she gives a lot of useful memory training games All procedures are extremely helpful for everybody, especially English major students Short-term memory can be used effectively if we know how to practice it with a good method

Duong (2006) conducted a study about How to Improve Short-term Memory in Interpreting at Hanoi University This study investigated the Application of Short-term memory in Interpreting, intended for the English Department students, Hanoi University of Foreign Studies (HUFS), from the viewpoint of a fourth-year student of the English Department, HUFS The paper aimed to analyze the benefits of using short-term memory to interpret the study and, more importantly effectively, suggest how to improve short-term memory in interpreting It has been pointed out to make the best use of short-term memory to facilitate language learning is an issue considered in many eloquent articles and publications In the process of interpretation learning, recognizing the usefulness of short-term memory as a tool to enhance the language acquisition and the challenges posed to my peer learners of utilizing this helpful tool, she strongly desires to help the students in English Department in exploiting more techniques from short - term memory Additionally, she analyzed some valuable techniques which can assist in training short-term memory, which includes listening improvement, visual short-term memory improvement, retelling in the source language, and mnemonic to memory:

First is improving listening, which aids in increasing short-term memory capacity To improve listening skills, two fundamental approaches of auditory short-term memory training are comprehensive listening and intensive listening The appropriateness of the tapes is determined by the individual as much as the input must be of high interest about comprehensive listening There is no pause or stop during the listening process to attract listeners' concentration to encode information and summarize the content after And about intensive listening, it is listening to specific details, then repeating the items as exact as possible

Second is visual short-term memory improvement Visual input exposure approach and word performance was proposed When applying

a visual input exposure approach, units of associated high interest pictures can be rapidly flashed, often displayed for 3 seconds before a response is requested Thanks to short-term memory, visual processing can be improved by asking trainees to name the pictures in sequence or reorganize the pictures in proper order And word performance method, which uses a list of words (preferred in foreign language) in different forms or parts of speech At the simple level, trainees are asked to rewrite

as many words as possible

The next technique is retelling in the source language (English) According to this method, the instructor either reads or plays a recording

of a text of about 200 words for the trainees to retell in the same language The trainees should not be allowed to take any notes In the first instance, trainees should be encouraged to retell the text in the same words as the original to the largest possible extent

Mnemonic to memory is the last technique Mnemonics are methods for remembering information that is otherwise quite difficult to recall The basic principle of Mnemonics is to use as many of the best functions of the human brain as possible to encode information There are

5 Mnemonic Techniques and Specific Memory Tricks to improve term memory: Acronyms (Formed by using each letter from the group of words to form a new word); Sentences/ Acrostics (Like acronyms, the first letters of each word are used to make a sentence in the easiest way to remember); Rhymes and songs ( Use Rhyme, repetition, melody, and rhythm to memory); Method of Loci (combine the use of organization, visual memory, and association); and Chunking (decrease the number of items held in memory by increasing the size of each item)

short-1.1.2 Foreign Research

Zhong (2003) analyzed the significant characteristics of Short-term Memory (STM) and their implications for interpreters' memory training The author believes that interpreting is an STM-centered activity, which includes encoding of information from the Source Language, storing of information, retrieval of information, and decoding of information into the target language The training of STM skills is the first step in training a professional interpreter Tactics for memory training for interpreters like retelling, categorization, generalization, comparison, shadowing exercises, mnemonics, etc., are presented in this paper From this analysis, the author can conclude that effectively designed exercises could acquire memory skills in interpreting With a well-trained short-term memory, interpreters are equipped with an effective tool for encoding and decoding information It is, therefore, advised that institutions of interpreter training include "memory training" in the design of their courses

Pedersen, E S., & Dam, H V (2017) researched Short-Term Memory in the Production Phase of Sight Translation This article reports

on an empirical study on short-term memory in sight translation The present research aims to investigate the role of short-term memory in what, for convenience of expression, will be referred to here as the production phase of sight translation, even if source-text reception and target-text production insight translation strictly speaking occur in overlapping rather than separate phases In line with the study results, the hypothesis that guides the research is that sight translators need to draw

on their short-term memory to perform and monitor their target-text production

Because the study is about short-term memory in English to Vietnamese consecutive interpreting, foreign researches related to this topic are limited

1.2 REVIEW OF THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

1.2.1 Short-term memory (STM)

1.2.1.1 Definition of the short-term memory

Before studying short-term memory (STM), it is necessary to understand the definition of memory Memory is essential to all our lives

so there are a lot of definitions for it For example, “Memory is the means

by which we draw on our past experiences in order to use this information

in the present’ (Sternberg, 1999), “Memory is the process of maintaining information over time.” (Matlin, 2005), “Memory is today defined in psychology as the faculty of encoding, storing, and retrieving information

(Squire, 2009)

In short, memory is the mental activity of recalling information that you have learned or experienced Psychologists have found that memory includes two important categories: short-term and long-term Some researchers (e.g Eugen Tarnow) have proposed that there is no real distinction between short-term and long-term memory at all, and certainly

it is difficult to demarcate a clear boundary between them

Robert G Crowder Memory & Cognition, 1993 21 (2), 142-145, indicated that short-term memory must surely exist in two senses: Memory in the short term First of all, people must be able to retain information over brief intervals of time This is beyond argument as a general proposition, even though the necessity of verbatim memory in psycholinguistics has recently come under interesting criticism by Potter and Lombardi (1990) But, needing to retain information over brief intervals really means that human beings require memory, not that it needs to be a dedicated subsystem with different properties from other

subsystems.

Short - term memory, sometimes referred to as “primary” or “active”

memory, is the part of memory which stores a limited amount of information for a limited amount of time, roughly 15-30 seconds (Zhong, 2001)

That is, short - term memory is a system for temporarily storing and managing information required to carry complex cognitive memory

Information is involved in short - term memory in three basic processes (Mayer, 2003):(1) Recently processed sensory input; (2) Items recently retrieved from long-term memory; (3) The results of recent mental processing

Those are different definitions; however, all of them refer to the capacity for holding a small amount of information in a short period of time and readily available state Short - term memory allows recall of information for a relatively short time (such as a few seconds to a minute) without rehearsal.

1.2.1.2 Major characteristics of short-term memory

Firstly, according to the findings of Crowden (1982) regarding

Input of information, information enters the short-term memory as a result

of applying attention to the stimulus, which is about a quarter of a second

Secondly, as mentioned above, the Capacity of short-term memory

is limited and small There are three basic possibilities in short-term memory:

 It is seven items of information (give or take two) (Atkinson and Shiffrin, 1968)

 It is seven "chunks" – implied as an integrated piece of information

(Miller, 1956)

 It may be that the limiting factor is not the STM's storage capacity, but its processing capacity (indicated by other researchers)

Thirdly, by sharing the common feature of memory, it cannot be

avoided the loss of information in short-term memory Some studies have

explained the reason why we forget information in the process Keppel and Underwood (1962) emphasized the interference which is other information in the storage at the same time which distorts the original information According to Waugh and Norman (1965), existing information is replaced by newly received information when the storage

capacity is full Additionally, Baddeley, Thompson and Buchanan (1975), supposed that information decays overtime.

Fourthly, in terms of Modality, to store information in short-term

memory, it must be encoded, and there are a variety of assumptions as to how this operates Short-term memory has three main possibilities:

(1) Acoustic (Phonemic) coding is rehearsing through sub-vocal

sounds (Conrad, 1964 and Baddeley,1966);

(2) Visual coding is, as implied, storing information as pictures rather

than sounds (Posner and Keele, 1967);

(3) Semantic coding is applying meaning to information, relating it to

something abstract (Baddeley, 1990 and Goodhead, 1999)

In conclusion, there are four main characteristics of short-term

memory related to four factors including input of information, feature of

modality, capacity of storing and information loss.

1.2.2 Consecutive interpreting

1.2.2.1 Interpreting

Interpreting has been defined in different ways by various scholars

The term is usually called "interpreting" rather than "interpretation".

Mahmoodzadeh (1992) gives a detailed description about Interpreting: Interpreting consists of presenting in the target language, the exact meaning of what is uttered in the source language either simultaneously or consecutively, preserving the tone of the speakers

To arrive at a convincing answer to the question: What is Interpreting? Phelan (2001) classifies sight translation, translation of a written text into spoken words, as a type of interpreting Hence, in order for the definition to include sight translation, we could define interpreting

as "rendering information from one language into speech in another

language".

While Pöchhacker & Shlesinger (2002) believes interpreting was an

"interlingual, intercultural oral or signed mediation, enabling

communication between individuals or groups who do not share, or do not choose to use, the same language (s)".

Nevertheless, if we consider Suttleworth and Cowie proposes that

interpreting is "a term used to refer to the oral translation of a spoken

message or text." They add the history of interpreting is not well

documented, although it is generally agreed that, as an activity, it is older than written translation Thus, interpreting is transferring the messages from source language into target language orally

1.2.2.2 Consecutive interpreting

The classification of interpreting is concerned, 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 time as the original utterance of a speech; consecutive, which follows a chunk of speech varying in length from very few sentences to an entire speech lasting several minutes

A more detailed picture of differences between the two main modes

of interpreting can be seen clearly with the definition given by Jones

(2002, p.56) He stated that a consecutive interpreter “listens to the totality

of a speaker’s comments, or at least a significant passage, and then reconstitutes the speech with the help of notes taken while listening; the interpreter is thus speaking consecutively to the original speaker, hence the name.” And he explained the second mode as follows: “Here the interpreter listens to the beginning of the speaker’s comments then begins interpreting while the speech continues, carrying on throughout the speech, to finish almost at the same time as the original The interpreter is thus speaking simultaneously to the original, hence again the name”

From the above brief description, it is clear that the difference between consecutive interpreting and simultaneous interpreting is the time gap between the delivery of the speaker’s message and the beginning of the interpretation Whether working consecutively or simultaneously, the interpreter must listen to the speaker, correctly understand and logically analyze what is being said, and restructure the speech in an appropriate equivalent in a different language

Russell (2005) gives a more detailed description of Consecutive interpreting (CI): “the process of interpreting after the speaker or signer has completed one or more ideas in the source language and then pauses while the interpreter transmits that information.” And Gonzalez et al (1991/2012) state that when using CI in the court setting, the duration of the source language can be anywhere from a few seconds to several minutes

In short, consecutive interpreting is when the interpreter has to listen to a speech in one language and translate it orally into another Of course, a time-lapse between the address and its interpretation is available

The interpreter begins their interpretation of a complete message after the speaker has stopped producing the source utterance

1.2.2.3 Short-term memory and English to Vietnamese consecutive interpreting

(1) Role of short-term memory in interpreting

Short-term memory is an essential part of the process of interpreting Depending on different modes of interpreting, Short-term memory has different roles in the interpreting process; however, its role is undeniable When he gets input, the most important thing to the interpreter is that he has to remember what he has just heard He may have excellent analyzing skills or professional public speaking capacity, but he will have nothing to say if he does not remember what he has heard Thus, his interpretation fails That is the reason why Phelan (2001: 4-5) mentions that “The interpreter needs a good short-term memory to retain what he or she has just heard and a good long-term memory to put the information into context Ability to concentrate is a factor as is the ability to analyze and process what is heard” For interpreters, short-term memory is extremely important because they cannot omit any part of the source language Thus, not only transferring skills but also memory is necessary for interpreting

(2) Short- term memory and consecutive interpreting

According to Gile's Effort Model (a Processing Capacity Account), short-term memory is an essential part in the process of interpreting It is believed that interpreting is an STM-centered activity, which includes encoding of information from the Source Language, storing of

information, retrieval of information, and decoding of information into the target language.

They are based on the concept of Processing Capacity and on the fact that some mental operations in interpreting require much Processing Capacity” (1992, p 232).The stage of short - term memory in interpreting process is different due to each mode of interpreting:

Formula:

I = Interpreting

L = Listening and analyzing the source language speech

M = short-term memory required between the time information is heard & the time it is written down in notes

Read = reading the note

P = producing the Target-language speech

Figure 1.1: Gile Model for Consecutive Interpreting

It can be seen clearly from the figure above that STM appears very soon, at the first phase of a consecutive interpreting process It is the link between what is heard and what is noted down Thus, the interpreter will have nothing to take note of and then interpret if he cannot memorize.

(3) Short-term memory in English to Vietnamese consecutive interpreting

As Lin Yuru et al put it, "Memory in consecutive interpreting

consists of nothing more than understanding the meaning, which is conveyed by the words" (Lin et al., 1999:9) or otherwise STM is the

connection of what has been heard and what will then be noted down and finally the target language utterance

In English – Vietnamese interpretation, students possess more benefits in producing the target language speech They do not have to speak English instead they will utter in their mother tongue so they do not have problems with speaking skill In fact, many students get difficulties

in pronouncing English such as ending sounds, intonation, aspirated consonants, etc These shortcomings sometimes cause misunderstanding when interpreting However, the speaking speed is always fairly high in interpreting process

On the contrary, the learners have to face up with barrier of listening skill As Figure 1 shows, STM effort appears right after listening and analyzing effort so that listening ability can disturb the short-term memory Several problems will happen such as loss of information and mishearing, Hence, improvement of STM must combine with the practice of listening ability to achieve the best results in English – Vietnamese consecutive interpreting

• The second research question: “What are some solutions to improve short-term memory in English - Vietnamese consecutive interpreting of the third-year English majors at VNUA?” After collecting data from the survey and interview, the author analyzed and found the answer to this question

2.1.2 Research types:

To achieve the mentioned aims, this study included both quantitative and qualitative approaches Different theorists agreed that the combination and integration of qualitative and quantitative approaches could be beneficial in research because they enabled the scope of the study to become broader and deeper Therefore, the quantitative data was collected first, and after that, the qualitative data was gathered to explore more details to understand the situation better Therefore, the quantitative aspect in this study was the questionnaire used to investigate the current situation of using short-term memory in English – Vietnamese consecutive interpreting And the qualitative aspect was the interview to

study more clearly to make an accurate assessment from that propose effective solutions

2.2 RESEARCH METHODS

Research methods refers to the tools that one uses to do research This study adopted a mixed methods research approach Kemper, Springfield and Teddlie (2003) defined mixed methods design as a method that includes both qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis in parallel form (concurrent mixed method design in which two types of data are collected and analyzed in sequential form) Bazely (2003) added this method as the use of mixed data (numerical and text) and alternative tools (statistics and analysis), but apply the same method

2.1.1 Quantitative research methods

Herbst, F & Coldwell, D (2004) defined that quantitative research

“describes, infers, and resolves problems using numbers Emphasis is placed on the collection of numerical data, the summary of those data and the drawing of inferences from the data” In other words, quantitative research methods are those methods where a systematic approach is used

to collect quantifiable of data by performing computational, mathematical,

or statistical techniques The data collected through quantitative research methods are usually in numerical form The proper outcome can be deduced by analyzing the data in a systematic form The results obtained through quantitative research methods are statistical, logical, and unbiased Quantitative data collection method in this study was survey (Questionnaire used to investigate the current situation of using short-term memory in English – Vietnamese consecutive interpreting

2.1.2 Qualitative research methods

The qualitative research method, on the other hand, is used to collect in-depth and detailed data about the research topic Herbst, F & Coldwell, D (2004) expressed that "qualitative research is based on words, feelings, emotions, sounds and other non-numerical and unquantifiable elements."

Weinreich (2009) indicates that the purpose of qualitative research

is to provide the researcher with the perspective of target audience members through immersion in a culture or situation and direct interaction with the people under study This implies that in the qualitative paradigm the researcher becomes an instrument of data collection, and results may differ greatly depending on who conducts the research

In conclusion, qualitative research methods are designed in such a way that reveals about the behavior and perception of people under research Due to data collected from qualitative research methods are descriptive, it is easy to draw inferences from it Qualitative data collection method in this study was Interview used to make an accurate assessment about the current situation of using short-term from that propose effectively solutions

2.1.3 Data analysis

The data from the questionnaire and the interview were collected and analyzed After delivering 120 questionnaire samples and collecting the same number of answers, all the information was analyzed by Microsoft Excel software to facilitate the information process Then, the number of respondents choosing the same answer was arranged in a

category with its proportion Due to the percentage, the degree of a category’s importance will be emphasized, with some possible explanations and suggestions included Finally, the results from the questionnaire were presented in tables and figures (pie and column charts) And the data from the interview were expressed in words and which provided more detailed information on the issues to be solved 2.3 RESEARCH SETTING/CONTEXT

This study was conducted at the Vietnamese National University of Agriculture The survey was performed in about one month and 15 days (From 10th March 2021 to 25th May 2021) This study is aimed to make benefits for interpreters in general and language students in particular The respondents of this survey are 120 students in the Faculty of Education and Foreign Languages, VNUA They are selected because they have already learned the course of Interpretation And in this course, they have already studied the theory and practice of using short-term memory in consecutive interpreting in their curricula during the survey period

2.4 DATA COLLECTION

2.4.1 Data collecting instruments

For the needs analysis in this study, the researcher used two instruments:

Questionnaire:

W J Goode & K Hall (1968) defines that “In general, the word questionnaire refers to a device for securing answers to questions by using

a form which the respondent fills in himself” Kirakowski (1998) adds a questionnaire in a more structural way as "a method for the elicitation, and recording and collecting information" In usability glossary, Brehob (2001) defines a questionnaire to be "a form that people fill out, used to obtain demographic information and views and interests of those questioned"

The questionnaire is a form prepared and distributed to secure responses to certain questions It is a device for securing answers to questions by using a form which the respondent will fill by himself It is a systematic compilation of questions It is an important instrument being used to gather information from widely scattered sources In short, a questionnaire is a research instrument consisting of a series of questions for the purpose of gathering information from respondents

The questionnaires were created to find out the actual appliance of short-term memory in English to Vietnamese consecutive interpreting of English majors The questionnaires were designed for one hundred and twenty (120) third-year English majors of the Faculty of Education and Foreign Languages at VNUA Multiple choice questions were designed with eighteen (18) questions about theoretical and practical short–term memory in interpreting (see Appendix 1) They were adapted from questions already present in a study of Hoang Thi Thanh Van (2013) and Tran Thuy Duong (2006) The students were answered questions relating

to the following issues:

 Investigate the current situation of using short-term memory in English – Vietnamese consecutive interpreting of English majors

at VNUA