INTEERVIEWER: Thank you for taking part in this interview. I am doing the research on the topic of “Professional interpreters‟ note-taking in consecutive interpreting”. I have some questions for you help student to improve their note-taking skills
First of all, what do you think about the roles of note-taking in consecutive interpreting?
INTERVIEWEE 1: I think note-taking plays the second important role. The most important role is memory, short-term memory. It is actually the combination of active listening and good short-term memory. So, if you can have good memory, and then you listen to the speaker in an active way. It will be more important than you depend on the note-taking only. In consecutive interpreting, note-taking is only a part used to remember the things that you cannot store in your brain, or store by your memory. Once again, I would like to confirm that, for me note-taking is the second important skill for an interpreter in consecutive interpreting.
INTEERVIEWER: Can you give me some more information about active listening?
INTERVIEWEE 1: Active listening is a bit technical. I mean it is a specific skill for interpreters because you can listen to a lecture, or you can listen to something else, but
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active listening means you try to listen and process information, and try to anticipate information before speaker really say it out. So, it is active listening. It‟s more than listening
INTEERVIEWER: Yes. What do you think the most important factor or element students should note down in their notes? I mean the most important information.
INTERVIEWEE 1: I cannot say exactly because note-taking is personal. It depends on whether how much the interpreter or the student can remember, or how much information they can store by their short-term memory. So, note-taking is very personal in the sense that, as for me, numbers are very difficult to remember, so I note down the number. But, for you perhaps you find out that proper names are more difficult to remember, but you can remember numbers very easily. So you can note down proper names without noting down numbers. I cannot comment on your second question.
INTEERVIEWER: Yes. Thank you. What is the best time for students to start taking notes?
INTERVIEWEE 1: I would like to come back to the second question a bit. I think the numbers or the proper names or the lists or something like that we cannot make a comparative, but there is a principle for note-taking. That is the ideas, the main ideas. You should always note down the main ideas rather than individual or separate words. I think noting down main ideas. It is the mutual part that all interpreters share
INTEERVIEWER: Can you some tips to identify the main ideas because when the speakers speak in a long time, you have time to note some words only. How do we choose the information that we consider it the main ideas?
INTERVIEWEE 1: It a difficult question because how good analytical skill an interpreter is. I think the main idea is that after listening and catching, you have something to translate. Sorry for make you confusing. When students take notes, they can‟t identify what are the main ideas. So, even they note very much, they can‟t read or translate from their notes. I think that‟s because students are so too nervous when taking notes. They try to note as much as possible. But for me personally if I catch a new idea, something likes complete information. So that is the main idea. Perhaps, they is the main ideas. Key words to remember. The student should try to catch the subject, the verb in a sentence. Normally,
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at least we have the subject, the verb and perhaps the object. You should never note down like you have If clause, and you just note down the If clause without the other clause. That is not the good way. You should wait for complete information.
INTEERVIEWER: The time to note is also important element.
INTERVIEWEE 1: Yes. That‟s true
INTEERVIEWER: So, in your opinion, what is the best time to take notes, when the speaker start their speech or after we get some information then we take notes?
INTERVIEWEE 1: I think we should combine both these. Sometimes the speaker may have the main idea right from the beginning. So they could be very direct like this. Even the first sentence they have the main idea. But some speaker may have an indirect approach. They make something not very important. And you can wait until you find something that might be important to listeners. I would like to make it clear that the interpreter can apply both methods either taking notes as soon as possible. For example, if the speaker says a proper name right from the beginning, for me I will note that down. But for the idea, you can wait until the speaker finish an idea, and then you can note. You can note down by the key words. You can also note down by some symbols, abbreviations. I think we should wait until the speaker finish a complete idea. At that moment, you can understand information and you can store a part of information in your short-term memory. You just note down the thing that you find not easy to remember.
INTEERVIEWER: Do you think it is good for notes that contain only symbols and abbreviations or maybe it should contain full words?
INTERVIEWEE 1: I think note-taking is very personal, you cannot say that whether the note with all of symbols and abbreviations is better than a note with full words. There is no criterion to access whether way of taking notes is better than the other way. The important is that if the note can help the interpreter interpret effectively. Then, the form of the notes is not important. I like a statement from a material that I have read. They said that note-taking for interpreter is not just about taking notes, but actually it should be how the interpreters use the note effectively to help them in their interpreting. I mean the form of the note is not important. The important is the message would be well interpreted or not. I would like to say some interpreters have very good memory or they have been
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working in a certain subject for a long time for example in finance or banking. They are very fluent and knowledgeable in that field. I have seen some interpreters do not their notes. Besides, it would be the case that they have known the speaker for a long time and they know the way the speaker will deliver the speech, or the method, or the issue talked in the speaker‟s speech. They can follow the speaker very well without using notes.
INTEERVIEWER: Yes. Another important factor that affects the quality of notes is the language.
INTERVIEWEE 1: Accent you mean?
INTEERVIEWER: I mean the source language and the target language, because some interpreters prefer to use their mother-tongue language in their notes. What is the language the interpreter should use in their note? Or maybe they should combine them?
INTERVIEWEE 1: Yes. I think they may combine because for my experience, I combine both the source language and the target language. When the interpreters take notes, they try to write down as effectively as possible. I mean we have to keep it short and simple;
we cannot have lots of time to note down many words. Many phrases in Vietnamese are shorter than in English. In that case you should note what come to your mind first. For example if the speaker is a Vietnamese and he has a phrase “ ộ ao động Thương binh và Xã hội”. It could be a quite long. ut you note down it as an abbreviation in English as MOLISA. It is possible. If the speaker is Vietnamese, the source language is Vietnamese, the interpreter can note and vice versa. In the case of “non-performing loans”, it could be noted as “nợ xấu” in Vietnamese. If you note down it as “nợ xấu” is possible.
INTEERVIEWER: Can you suggest some other tips for students to improve their note- taking skill?
INTERVIEWEE 1: They should be more active. I mean when they listen to the speaker, they should analyze the information, and try to anticipate the information that perhaps is spoken. It is difficult, if the students put themselves under pressure. Sorry I have not had that idea enough. The interpreter should never wait. They could be passive in the way that they note down information, and they interpret from their note but they do not understand.
So it is not active. The active means that you listen to information and you analyze information in your mind. Then, you transfer it from into the other language. That is the
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way I think about active listening. So from my observation, a lot of students just note down the words, and they interpret from the notes not from the brain. You see, so they do not understand the message. It is not good for interpreting. It‟s not human work.
INTEERVIEWER: Thank you very much.
INTEERVIEWEE 1: Hope it help.
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