Strategies to improve public speaking skills in interpreting for forth year students of english in vinh university

Vinh UniversityForeign languages department ********** Chu THỊ MAI SƯƠNG Strategies to improve public speaking skills in interpreting for forth-year students of english in vinh universi

Vinh University

Foreign languages department

**********

Chu THỊ MAI SƯƠNG

Strategies to improve public speaking skills in interpreting for forth-year students of english in vinh university

(CHIẾN LƯỢC CẢI THIỆN KĨ NĂNG NÓI TRƯỚC CÔNG CHÚNG TRONG MÔN PHIÊN DỊCH CHO SINH VIÊN NĂM THỨ TƯ CHUYÊN NGÀNH PHIÊN

DỊCH Ở TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC VINH)

(CHIẾN LƯỢC CẢI THIỆN KĨ NĂNG NÓI TRƯỚC CÔNG CHÚNG TRONG MÔN PHIÊN DỊCH CHO SINH VIÊN NĂM THỨ TƯ CHUYÊN NGÀNH

PHIÊN DỊCH Ở TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC VINH)

First of all, I would like to take this chance to express my deep gratitude to my

supervisor, Ms Nguyễn Thị Lan Phương, M.A for her invaluable guidance, great sympathy and enormous patience I am deeply grateful to her inspiration which has motivated me throughout the implementation of the project

In addition, I wish to send my special thanks to all the teachers of the English Departmentwhose cooperativeness not only provide me with precious information for the completion of the research but also filled me with renewed energy during my most difficult times Also, my sincere

thanks would go to the forth-year students of the English Department participating in the study They do play a critical role in the success of this paper

Furthermore, I am especially thankful to my parents and my close friends, who have consistently encouraged and supported me in carrying out the project

When communication has become more and more important to people all over the world and English is the international language, it is urgent and common that there are more people who speak English fluently However, not all people can use English as their second language Interpreting was born from the necessaries of communicating between two or more languages speaking people It is not easy to be a good and skillful interpreter because interpreting is a majorthat needs a lot of skills and need much hard-working This research is an attempt to investigate the real situations forth-year students of English in Vinh university practice their public speakingskills in interpreting The triangulation of the questionnaires with students has revealed much useful information on the importance, self evaluation and problems in public speaking skills in interpreting of students nowadays This analysis will help students to improve their public speaking skills in interpreting as well as gives teachers insights their students’ level and method

of practicing

TABLE OF CONTENT

Page

ACKNOWLEDMENT……… i

ABSTRACT……… ii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS……… vi

LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES.………vii

PART A: INTRODUCTION ……… 1

1 Rationale of the Study……….1

2 Aims of the Study ……… 2

3 Scope of the Study.……….2

4 Method of the Study ……… 2

5 Organization of the Study ……… 3

PART B: DEVELOPMENT ………5

CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND ………5

1.1 INTERPRETING……… 5

1.1.1 Definition……… 5

1.1.2 General Modes of Interpreting……… 6

1.1.2.1 Consecutive Interpreting……… 6

1.1.2.2 Simultaneous Interpreting ……… 6

1.1.2.3 Summary Interpreting ……… 7

1.1.3 Skills Needed in Interpreting ……….7

1.1.3.1 Listening Skill ………8

1.1.3.2 Memorizing Skill ……… 8

1.1.3.3 Note-taking Skill……… 9

1.1.3.4 Transference Skill……… 10

1.1.3.5 Public Speaking Skill……… 10

1.1.4 Process of Interpreting ……… 11

1.1.4.1 Listening……… 11

1.1.4.2 Transference ……….11

1.1.4.3 Delivery……… 11

1.2 PUBLIC SPEAKING SKILL ……… 12

1.2.1 Role of Public Speaking Skill ……… 12

1.2.2 Aspects of Public Speaking Skill ……….13

1.2.2.1 Voice of the Speaker ………13

1.2.2.2 Body Language of the Speaker……… 14

1.2.2.3 Appearance of the Speaker……… 15

1.2.2.4 Attitude of the Speaker ……….16

1.2.2.5 Knowledge of the Speaker ……… 16

1.3 PUBLIC SPEAKING SKILL IN INTERPRETING……….17

1.3.1 Role of Public Speaking Skill in Interpreting……… 17

1.3.2 Aspects of Public Speaking Skill in Interpreting ……….17

1.3.2.1 Voice of the Interpreter……… 17

1.3.2.2 Body Language of the Interpreter ………18

1.3.2.3 Appearance of the Interpreter ……….……… 18

1.3.2.4 Attitude of the Interpreter ……….……18

1.3.2.5 Knowledge of the Interpreter……….…… 19

CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY……….…… 20

2.1 Participants ……….…….20

2.2 Instruments ……….…….21

2.3 Data collection and analysis ……….…… 22

2.4 Findings and discussion ……….…….23

2.4.1 Results and discussion ……….23

2.4.2.1 Question 1: What are the attitudes of forth year students of English toward public speaking skill in interpreting? ……… 23

2.4.2.2 Question 2: How do students self evaluate their public speaking skills in interpreting? ……….25

2.4.2.3 Question 3: How do students prepare themselves before interpreting? ……….34

2.4.2.4 Question 4: How do students practice public speaking skill in interpreting? 36

2.4.2 Major findings of the research ……… 39

CHAPTER 3: RECOMMENDATIONS……… 41

3.1 Recommendations for Public Speaking Skills in Interpreting……… 41

3.2 Some strategies for students when interpreting on stage ………42

PART C: CONCLUSION……….45

1 Limitations of the Research ……….45

2 Contributions of the Research ……… 45

3 Suggestions for Further Studies……… 46

4 Summary……… 46

REFERENCES……… 47

APPENDIX ……… 48

LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES

Figure 1: Responses to the question “What do you think about public speaking skill in

interpreting?”

Figure 2: Students’ feeling when interpreting in front of many people

Figure 3: Responses to the question number 11 in the survey: “Do you contact the speaker

before interpreting?”

Figure 4: Percentage of students who contact speaker before interpreting get prepared in

knowledge and skills

Figure 5: Responses to the question number 3 “How is your voice when interpreting?” Figure 6: Responses to the question number 4: “How is the volume of your speaking when

interpreting?”

Figure 7: Students’ speed of speaking self-evaluation

Figure 8: Responses to the question number 6: “How often do you vary your tone when

interpreting?”

Figure 9: Responses to the question number 7: “How do you use facial expression when

interpreting?”

Figure 10: The way students keep eye-contact when interpreting.

Figure 11: Data of how students use gesture when interpreting.

Figure 12: Data about method to improve public speaking skill in interpreting outside class Chart 1: Listening process

Table 1: A summary of the students’ demographic background

PART A: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale of the Study

The profession of an interpreter is a very old one, which came into existence when the first contacts were established between human groups speaking different languages It has been also one of the finest professions since they established a closer understanding of one another By eliminating the barrier that separates them, the

interpreter directly ushers men and women into the thoughts of others, and thus performs the function of an intermediary, enabling their minds to achieve intellectual

function) and better if keeping its equivalents in the another language (structural

function)

In interpreting process, public speaking skill plays one of the most important roles It is the step that decides whether the speech is successful or not However, public speaking is not a skill but an art which causes students of interpreting many difficulties During the process of learning English in Vinh university, the author has confronted this problem, and that is the reason the author chose the topic “Strategies to Improve Public

Speaking Skill in Interpreting for Forth-year Students of English in Vinh University”, with the hope that this paper might help the learners in the following courses to overcometheir difficulties in public speaking skill in interpreting

2 Aims and Objectives of the Study

The study aims to indentify the current situation of the public speaking skill in interpreting for forth year students of English at Vinh University by seeking answers to the following questions:

1 What are the attitudes of forth-year students of English in Vinh university toward public speaking skill in interpreting?

2 How do students prepare themselves before interpreting?

3 How do students self evaluate their public speaking skills in interpreting?

4 How do students practice public speaking skill in interpreting?

Such findings would provide helpful information to evaluate the effectiveness of the course Accordingly, implications would be drawn to improve the situation Finally, this project can offer useful references including reliable and updated information for further studies and interested individuals and organizations Since formal and vigilant studies on this topic are still in short; this study can be considered a valuable source to people concerned

3 Scope of the Study

Within the scope of an undergraduate thesis and the constraints of time and resources, the researcher only focused on the public speaking skill in interpreting for the forth-year students of English in Vinh university with the total of 72 The data obtained might be different when applied to a different sample

4 Method of the Study

To meet the aims and objectives of the study, quantitative approach was

employed Student survey questionnaire was the research tool

Survey questionnaires includes both closed-ended and open-ended questions The language of the questionnaires was simple English so that the participants could easily understand The terminologies when presented in the questionnaires were immediately followed by their definitions Besides, instructions as well as explanations of keys term were clearly given in advance, and the researcher was always ready to answer any

questions

Once collected, the data were collectively analyzed to address the research

questions Tables, charts and diagrams were used for clearer presentation and

comparison

5 Organization of the Study

The organization of the study consists of three parts:

Part A: Introduction – presents the rationale, the aims, the scope, the methods and the organization of the study

Part B: Development consists of 3 chapters:

Chapter 1: Theoretical Background – provides the literature review of the study, including definition of key concepts and review of related studies

Chapter 2: Methodology – describes the participants and instruments of the study,

as well as the procedure of the research The results of the investigation which present analyzes and discuss the findings were also presented in this chapter

Chapter 3: Recommendations – provides the activities to solve the students’ problems discussed in chapter 2

Part C: Conclusion – summarizes the main issues discussed in the paper states the limitations and contributions of the research, recommendations as well as some suggesteddirections for further studies

contents and structures of the study but will also work as the guidelines for the whole paper.

PART B: DEVELOPMENT Chapter 1: Theoretical Background

This chapter will provide a brief overview of the literature on the research topic, thus, lay thetheoretical basis for the whole study Firstly, a critical explanation of key concept likeinterpreting, speaking skill in interpreting will be given After that, related studies internationallyand nationally will be reviewed to contextualize the research paper, to discover the research gapsand hence, to justify the implementation of this study

Another definition of interpreting provided by Pöchhacker states: “an activity consisting (mainly) in the production of utterances which are presumed to have a similar meaning and/or effect as previously existing utterances in another language and culture.” (2004 p.12).

Comparing to the above definition, Pöchhacker’s one has mentioned about the qualities to assesinterpreting that interpreter has to keep meaning and effect The effect point is a different andinteresting one because from this definition of Pöchhacker, it is understood that interpreter hasnot only to be good at languages but has to be good at culture as well

Besides, Mahmoodzadeh has also given a more detailed definition of interpreting: Interpreting consists of presenting in the target languages - the exact meaning of what is uttered

in the source language either simultaneously or consecutively, preserving the tone of the speaker(1992:231) This definition gave another different point, about tone of speaker, but it is notsufficient enough in meaning compared to Pochhacker’s definition because the speaker’s tonewhich mentioned here is not clearly

1.1.2 General Modes of Interpreting

According to the ways interpreter works, there are 3 modes of interpreting includingconsecutive, simultaneous and summary interpreting

1.1.2.1 Consecutive Interpreting

Consecutive interpreting is the interpreting of passages or groups of a few sentences at atime At small gatherings, where there is no booth equipment available, and/or where thematerial is confidential, the service available is consecutive interpreting During consecutiveinterpreting, the interpreter listens to a delegate delivering a message in SL, for example inVietnamese; at the same time, the consecutive interpreter is taking notes into TL (English) sothat the interpreting takes place during or before the actual note-taking activities When thedelegate chooses to pause, or when he has finished the entire statement, the consecutiveinterpreter uses his notes to deliver the interpreting of the speech presented by the delegate

In addition to the basic task common to all forms of interpreting activity, consecutiveinterpreting is special because of the added factors of the temporal sequence of the translationand the necessity for additional visual cues such as note-taking Thus, consecutive interpretingdraws on cognitive faculties of memory and attention which are not typical of other forms ofinterpreting

Dialogue interpreting is a kind of consecutive interpreting Dialogue interpreting isbasically the interpreting of conversations and interviews, one or two sentences at a time Duringthe consecutive interpreting, the interpreter listens to the first speaker delivering his speech, andtakes note (if necessary, especially the data, figure, ect.) in the TL When he pauses, theinterpreter conducts his interpreting to the second speaker Then the second speaker delivers hisspeech, the interpreter again listens to him, takes notes in the TL; when he pauses, the interpreterconducts his interpreting to the first speaker again The interpreting is carried on with the rhyme

of a conversation

1.1.2.2 Simultaneous Interpreting

In this kind of interpreting, the interpreter transfers the information from the SL into TLand speaks in the TL while the original speaker is still delivering the SL material There is only aslight lag between SL and TL, just long enough for the interpreter to hear and understand theoriginal (SL) material This type of interpreting can only be performed by highly skilled andespecially trained simultaneous interpreters using dedicated equipment

There are two kinds of simultaneous interpreting:

Whispered Interpreting and court interpreting (legal interpreting)

 Whispered interpreting: Also known as chuchotage When equipment for simultaneous interpretation is not available, "one participant speaks and simultaneously an interpreter whispers into the ear of the one or maximum two people who require interpreting services" (Jones, 1998: 6)

 Court interpreting: Also known as legal, judiciary, or forensic interpreting, refers to

interpreting services provided in courts of law and in legal cases of any sort (Gonzalez et

al, 1991)

Legal interpretation refers to interpretation that takes place in a legal setting such as acourtroom or an attorney's office, wherein some proceeding or activity related to law isconducted According to the legal setting, legal interpretation is divided into two kinds:quasi-judicial interpreting and judicial interpreting which is normally referred to as courtinterpreting

1.1.2.3 Summary Interpreting

Summary interpreting describes interpreting in summary form given at the end of apresentation This type of interpreting requires the interpreter at amount of good knowledge ofthe field he/she involves in When the speaker delivers his speech, the interpreter just listens andtakes notes When the speaker pauses, normally after a short paragraph of a piece of information,the interpreter starts conducting his interpreting The interpreting is produced not sentence bysentence but the interpreter summarizes the general idea of what the speaker says

1.1.3 Skills needed in Interpreting

Interpreting is a sophisticated and complex task, thus requires many necessary skills Inthis part, skills that needed in interpreting will be presented in order to give a brief overview forreaders to understand more about the qualities that interpreting requires

1.1.3.1 Listening Skill

What is listening? According to Underwood:“Listening is the activity of paying attention

to what speakers say and trying to work out what they mean (1989, pp.144) There is a

distinction between just hearing the words and listening for understanding When interpreterslisten effectively, they work to understand what the speaker is thinking and feeling

Listening is a three-way process The sender decides what to say, then sends the message.Responsibility is then given to the receiver who must understand the spoken words, feelingsconveyed and body language Good receivers will then give feedback to confirm complete

understanding The chart below sited from website: http://interpreters.free.fr/

Sends Message

Receives Message Gives Feedback

Chart 1: Listening process

As Gentile et al (1996: 44) has noted, "Effective interpreting requires effective listening skills." Many authors has defined the specific kind of listening that interpreters perform as "active listening", and further has pointed out that "[t]his active, attentive listening is quite different from other forms of listening, and has to be learned by the interpreter" (Jones, 1998: 14).

Listening is the most used interpersonal skill, but the least taught and least understood.Listening is hard work and requires great commitment, patience and total concentration When

we listen ineffectively, we fail to understand the entire message and in so doing waste precioustime

1.1.3.2 Memorizing Skill

Memory plays an important role in learning generally and in interpreting particularly; if

we did not remember anything from our experience, we could not carry out even a simpleconversation, let alone interpreting it into another language

In discussing the qualifications required for an interpreter, Phelan has mentioned 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" (2001, pp.4-5)

The role of long-term memory in interpreting has attracted little research interest

Long-term memory (LTM) is defined by Kintsch (1998, pp.217) as “everything a person knows and remembers: episodic memory, semantic memory, as well as declarative and procedural knowledge” Apart from general role of knowledge use in comprehension, there is no evidence to

date of specific LTM skills in interpreting

On the other hand, according to Kintsch, short-term memory (STM) is an important part

which includes "all the mental operations related to storage in memory of heard segments of discourse until either their restitution in the target language, their loss if they vanish from memory, or a decision by the interpreter not to interpret them." (1998, pp.224) The idea of short-

term memory simply means that you are retaining information for a short period of time withoutcreating the neural mechanisms for later recall The duration of STM is very short, just up to 30seconds Memory in interpreting only lasts for a short time Once the interpreting assignment isover, the interpreter moves on to another one, often with different context, subject and speakers.Therefore, the memory skills which need to be imparted to trainee interpreters are STM skills

Among all the skills and techniques which are required for a good interpreter, memoryskill is the first one which should be introduced to trainee interpreters

1.1.3.3 Note-taking Skill

The interpreter's notes provide support to the memory, when the interpreter has to waitfor the speaker to complete the whole speech, or a substantial part of it, before he or she can startworking into the TL

According to Luciano, G & Scimone, E (1995), there are no rigid rules for note-taking

in interpreting, as the conditions vary with the interpreter's writing habits, previous experience ofnote-taking at school or university, languages spoken, etc

Besides, note- taking is just a supported tool which cannot replace the memorizingability So, it is understood that interpreter who is the best in note taking is not the bestinterpreter in the world However, note taking skill is a very necessary skill in interpreting

Simultaneous interpreter usually has to work with speech which lasts from 15 to 30minutes and he usually has just a little of second to write because he has to keep up with speaker.Note-takings of simultaneous interpreter are often clues to recall, and numbers For interpreterwho has a deep experience in interpreting note-taking might not be important because when thespeaker stops, the interpreter already has a sufficient version in TL in his mind However, note-taking is very important to new interpreter who is not very experienced in interpreting

One problem that interpreter needs to avoid is to take too many notes Someinexperienced interpreter writes down almost every word from the speaker which actually isshorthand writing Interpreter must remember that note taking in interpreting is only the prompt

signs, association of ideas to help the interpreter easy to recall the information that he has notedbefore, not to reproduce the discourse

1.1.3.4 Transference Skill

One of the important skills that needed in interpreting is transference skill which consists

of some sub-skills that an interpreter needs to practice such as paraphrasing and simplification

Paraphrasing is to make a restatement of a text, passage or work giving the meaning inanother form In interpreting, sometimes the speaker uses or phrases that hard to understand, theinterpreter then has to paraphrase them in order to make them easy to understand

On the other hand, simplification also is another important skill in interpreting This is theskill that helps the interpreter and audience to overcome languages’ difficulties The interpreterusually has to use this skill when the speech is too technical or too hard to understand

1.1.3.5 Public Speaking Skill

Most people associate speaking skills with appearances before large audiences at publicevents such as congresses, assemblies, or press conferences Public speaking is indeed a keycomponent in the training of all types of interpreters Weber (1984) has pointed out that evenliaison or community interpreters, who generally interpret in more intimate settings, need to be

able to express ideas well: "Effective speaking skills range from quality of voice to choice of idiom, vocabulary, phrasing etc So both what comes out of the mouth of the interpreter and the way it comes out is important in the overall effectiveness of the interpretation."

In any interpreting situation, an interpreter should not mumble, stutter or speak tooquickly or slowly It is obviously necessary to have a clear, well-modulated voice and a smoothstyle of delivery Interpreting learners who feel insecure when speaking in public should practice

or join a club to develop their public speaking skills

1.1.4 Process of Interpreting

The whole process of interpreting is broken down into three stages: listening,transference and delivery (or understanding, analyzing and re-expressing) The three steps are allimportant and un-omitted

1.1.4.1 Listening

Listening is the first step in the interpreting process, in which the interpreter listens towhat the speaker say in SL Listening is a highly complex, interactive process by which spokenlanguage is converted to meaning in the mind The interpreter must have excellent hearing and

receive the message without interference This is an important part of the process because if theinterpreter cannot listen to the speaker, the interpreting will fail at the first moment

1.1.4.2 Transference

The second step in the interpreting process is transference This is the most importantstage of the interpreting triangle because misunderstanding will result in a breakdown ofcommunication This step happens in the interpreter’s mind He understands the speech, takesnote and transfers it into TL in his mind

1.1.4.3 Delivery

Delivery is the final step in the interpreting process A number of skills and prerequisites,obtained through study and training, are demanded of an interpreter to carry out the delivery ofthe interpretation in a professional way

Delivery requires a highly fluent public speaking skill Without this step, the two stepsabove are useless If the audience cannot understand the speaker’s speech, it is the interpreter’sfailure Delivery need to be clear, brief and adequate in terms of information This is the mostimportant step which decides the success of the interpreting

1.2 Public Speaking Skill

As stated in the aims of the research, public speaking skill will be the focus Thus, in thispart, researcher will present the brief roles as well as the characteristics of public speaking skill

in general Public speaking skill in interpreting, accordingly, will be followed in the next section.

1.2.1 Role of Public Speaking Skill

Public speaking is the art of communicating speaker’s opinion and idea to an audiencewho is ready to hear The power of expression cannot be belittled in the least, for it is thisexpression of idea and opinion that has been behind revolutions and reforms and has been at thebase of maintaining democracies in the world

The thinking that only actors and motivational speakers need to be good at talking to anaudience is a mistaken All professions at some points of time will require everyone to speakpublicly, in the form of making a presentation, addressing a meeting or conference, airing viewsgenerally on a discussion, etc Hence there is no escape but to get the better of this fear.Moreover, there is a lot of value addition through public speaking like:

- Enhances your personality growth: There is a sense of self worth when people dosomething good and everybody appreciate it Admiration is a confidence booster and everyone

all needs it When people applaud speaker’s point of view and the way he presents it, he wouldrise in his own eyes and it leads to immense personal satisfaction Also through systematicpreparation of research organization and conceptualization every speakers are able to put theirpoints across effectively and gain audience confidence of the superiors and subordinatesapproval.

- Influences the surrounding: From childhood through life, people already make publicspeeches as in reciting a poem in school, gathering support from co-workers, voicing views onnational issues or others, everybody say what they think and these thinking influences in societyover and over

- Professional opportunities: Confidence is the most important factor in becoming a goodpublic speaker When speaker feel confident, he definitely captures the other person’s attention.This is where he opens doors for better professional opportunities As speaker advances in hisprofessional hierarchy, he will need to be more influential and inspiring for the people workingaround and under him It is here that his ability to command will be at display and a goodspeaker can do it most effectively

1.2.2 Aspects of Public Speaking Skill

Public speaking can be a nerve-wracking, complex process However, one importantaspect should never be forgotten: good speakers are made, not born Even the most polishedpublic speakers today, whether politicians, motivational speakers, spokespersons, etc., had tolearn and apply the basics of public speaking Aspect of public speaking skill includes voice,body language, appearance, attitude and knowledge of speaker

The first quality is volume This is the loudness or softness of the words In publicspeaking, speaker desires to be heard by everyone in the audience in, and he should raise hisvolume to emphasize important points

The second quality is the pitch or the highness or lowness of the words Speech ismusical Every voice has a "natural register" meaning the range of notes on the musical scale inwhich they most comfortably and naturally speak Even a person who speaks in monotone stillhas pitch, it's just unvarying (and quite boring) The trick for use of voice in public speaking forspeaker is to vary his pitch enough to keep his audience interested while sticking only to thosenotes in his register most pleasing to the human ear Speaker should avoid excessive pitch,speaking too high or too low, unless it's briefly and to make a point.

The third quality of voice is the tone A tone can be harsh and gravelly Tone can belilting and airy It can be filled with laughter and joy or fear and anxiety, insecurity orconfidence In order to please the listeners, and appropriate for the content of the speech, speakershould find a balance of the tone that most natural to him An educational speech, for example,should have an easygoing, pleasant, and inviting tone While a speech at a politicaldemonstration might be more effective with a bit of anger, provocation, and solidarity in thetone

The last quality is the pace or the speed at which the words are spoken A fast pace at itsbest is stimulating and promotes a sense of urgency, and at worst can come off as jittery, unclear,and aggressive A slow pace at its best is comforting, relaxing, and contemplative, and at worstcan come across as boring, unprepared, and disinterested

1.2.2.2 Body Language of Speaker

Recent researches have shown that when people communicate with others, only 7% oftheir feelings are conveyed with words, 38% of what people communicate is through their tone

of voice and an amazing 55% is by using body language cited in Lien, T.T (1998, pp.8) Bodylanguage is what people “say” to one another without the use of words This non-verbalcommunication can come in several forms: eye contact, facial expressions and gesture

The first aspect in body languages of a speaker is eye contact In public speaking, eyecontact is a prerequisite for human communication Eyes can reveal moods and feelings as well

as intentions and interest For example, if a person is having a one-on one conversation, yet islooking around and not at the person to whom he or she is speaking, it might tell you that thesender is more interested in something else

Another kind of body language is facial expression The movements of speaker’s eyes,mouth, and facial muscles can build a connection with his audience Alternatively, audiences can

undermine his every word Eye focus is the most important element in this process No part ofspeaker’s facial expression is more important in communicating sincerity and credibility.Nothing else so directly connects speaker to his listeners-whether in a small gathering or a largegroup Effective presenters engage one person at a time, focusing long enough to complete anatural phrase and watch it sink in for a moment This level of focus can rivet the attention of aroom by drawing the eyes of each member of the audience and creating natural pauses betweenphrases The pauses not only boost attention, but also contribute significantly to comprehensionand retention by allowing the listener time to process the message

The other elements of facial expression can convey the feelings of the presenter, anythingfrom passion for the subject, to depth of concern for the audience Unfortunately, under thepressure of delivering a group presentation, many people lose their facial expression Their facessolidify into a grim, stone statue, a thin straight line where the lips meet Speaker should try tounfreeze his face right from the start For example, when he greets the audience, he should smile.The speaker will not want to smile throughout the entire presentation, but at least at theappropriate moments It's only on rare occasions that may need to be somber and seriousthroughout

And the last one is gesture which means the body movement Movement can be anenormously effective way of engaging the audience into your message Speaker should clean hisstage by removing obstacles, taping wires to the floor, so he will not trip over them

Using hand is an idea that speaker should think of Hands do not belong on hips or inspeaker’s pockets or folded across his chest either or held behind his back Speaker should thinkabout using them-to help to emphasize a point, to express emotion, to release tension, and toengage his audience

Most people have a gestural vocabulary at their disposal Anyone can all think of agesture that supports words such as "short" or "tall;" however, the gestures of everydayconversation tend to be too small and often too low to use in front of a large audience Presentersneed to scale their gestures to the size of the room The most effective gestures arise from theshoulder, not the wrist or elbow Shoulder gestures project better across the distance and releasemore of the presenter's energy, helping combat any tension that can build in the upper body(particularly under pressure)

1.2.2.3 Appearance of Speaker

The first audience’ expression on the speaker is very important The way that a speakerappears in front of his/her audience makes their audience to pay attention on the speech or not.Appearance includes speaker’s clothes and making ups

The manner in which one dresses tells a little about his or her personality and character

A speaker should always know his/her situation of speech in order to choose clothes suitably

Besides, the way he/she makes up has to be different from making up for a singer oractress It should be a way that gives audience comfort and sympathy

be more confident than the others

On the other hand, some speakers always feel nervous standing in front of audience Thisfeeling sometimes ruins the speech The way to overcome nervous is very important to a publicspeaker if he/she wants to be successful

Besides, standing in front of crowed, speaker should relax himself otherwise he willforget what he intends to say and destroy his own speech

In addition to, a speaker should always express his friendliness and politeness during the speech.This is the way to make his audience comfortable and have good impression on the speaker andthe speech

Communication skill is a helpful and important aspect for a public speaker to improve.Being good at this skill, the speaker can use funny stories, proverbs or audio/visual aids for thespeech, it will then be more interesting and attract audience better

Besides, the speaker should always know the subject that he/she will work on, know theaudience who will listen and watch him/her These things will help the speaker to understand

about his/her situation, then the speech will be more prepared

1.3 Public Speaking Skill in Interpreting

As stated in the aims of the study, public speaking skill will be the focus of the research Inthis part, the researcher will present the roles as well as aspects of public speaking skill ininterpreting

1.3.1 Role of Public Speaking Skill in Interpreting

As mentioned in above section, we all understand the role of public speaking Besidesthat, an interpreter will be very important to the speaker in situation that he speaks in front ofaudience who cannot understand his language Here, he needs an interpreter, who can transfer hiswords, his mind and his purposes

In three steps of interpreting process, delivery is an un-omitted stage in which publicspeaking skill plays the most important roles Without public speaking skill, the interpreter isobviously unsuccessful because no one is going to understand the speech

Undoubtedly, public speaking skill is the skill that an interpreter has to pay most attention

to

1.3.2 Aspects of Public Speaking Skill in Interpreting

Public speaking skill in interpreting is an important skill which every interpreter must bewell trained from the first lesson of interpreting In this part, the author would love to clarify thecharacteristics of the aspects of interpreting which includes voice, body language, appearance,attitude and knowledge of an interpreter

1.3.2.1 Voice of the Interpreter

Apart from the four aspects of a speaker’s voice, which are volume, pitch, tone, and pace,

an interpreter always has to pay attention to another aspect of his voice

Here as the interpreter is not the main character of the stage his voice has to be suitablewith the speaker’s voice If the speaker’s voice is a little bit loud, the interpreter cannot speak asloud as the speaker, otherwise the speech will sound like an argument

1.3.2.2 Body Language of Interpreter

An interpreter also has to use body language but obviously with a different aims from thespeaker’s The body language of an interpreter is to make the audience understand more about

the speaker’s speech Sometimes, the interpreter uses body languages to explain the speaker’sintention

An interpreter should never use body language to attract the audience as a singer or anactress/actor

1.3.2.3 Appearance of Interpreter

In an interpreting, the stage belongs to the speaker, and the interpreter is his helper, thatmeans the interpreter should never be more fascinated than the speaker An interpreter alwayshas to take care of his/her clothes They should never too be attractive but should be formal andpolite

The position of an interpreter on the stage also is one of the things that should be cared

of An interpreter’s position on the stage cannot be higher than the speaker’s The speaker is thefocus and he/she plays the most important role in the presentation Interpreter is the assistant whohelps them to give an unforgettable and interesting speech It should never be the interpreter whoacts like the earth’s center on that day, otherwise the speech will be unsuccessful

1.3.2.4 Attitude of Interpreter

Like a public speaker, an interpreter also should be confident on himself, and on hisability to do the interpreting job He should not be nervous in front of the audience otherwise hewill forget what he hears and what he intends to interpret Moreover, without the interpreter, thespeech will definitely be failed The interpreter should always realize his role and try his best to

do the job

On the other hand, an interpreter should also be friendly and polite with the speaker andaudience as well Being polite and friendly will help him/her to get more confident and theaudience as well as the speaker’s impression on the interpreter will be positive

Additionally, the interpreter always has to concentrate on the job, and do not ever try tostand out of relief They should never dim the speaker out

1.3.2.5 Knowledge of Interpreter

Different from public speakers, who need to know the ways to use sense of humor,proverbs, audios/visual aids, people who want to become interpreters must add to them theability to recognize the subject matter presented for interpreting and to work competently in it

To be able to do so, an interpreter must have a wide culture: the larger the culture, the better theinterpreter's chances of success Ideally, interpreters will be well versed in all current issues

affecting their country at national as well as at international level They will also have knowledge

of history, geography, economics, politics, medical sciences, law, and other subjects of specialinterest, not least all that concerns government organization and public administration

Interpreters, however, must display a thorough and accurate knowledge of all subjectmatters concerning their work, including the use of appropriate terminology, to reflect theirunderstanding of the concepts to which it applies

Summary

This chapter has provided a critical review of literature related to the research topic Keyterms have been clearly elaborated to lay the theoretical basis as well as to eliminate possibleambiguity and confusion in later part of the research The brief review of related studies has alsorevealed the research gaps that the study is striving to bridge and justified the significance of thestudy

CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY INTRODUCTION

In the previous chapter, a brief overview of the literature on the research topic hasbeen given, which laid the theoretical basis for the whole study In this chapter, the methodemployed to answer the research questions would be described in details The participants,the instruments and the procedure of data collection and analysis would be justified.Besides, findings and discussions from the survey results would be presented in this chapter

In total, 72 students from 2 classes of 46B English of interpreting training in ForeignLanguages Department, Vinh university with varying backgrounds were involved in the datacollection process The demographic features contributed to maximization of the diversity ofthe samples The participants’ gender, age, time of learning English and their self-assessment of their mastery in speaking skill and interpreting skill were also taken intoconsideration

Such information was presented in the following table:

DEMOGRAPHIC BACKGROUND NUMBERPARTICIPANTS OF

Table 1: A summary of the students’ demographic background

The gender imbalance of the participant was obvious However, this proportioncorresponds to the actual percentage of male and female students in the department.Therefore, this does not mean that the participants chosen were not representative

The survey questionnaire was designed with 13 questions of which there are 11multiple choice questions and 2 open questions The survey questionnaire was designed to