Difficulties encountered by English Translation and Interpretation- Majored Students during the Interpreting Process

Abstract

In today’s interconnected world, effective communication is increasingly important, particularly when individuals need to interact with others who do not share the same language. The role of the interpreter, thus becomes more crucial. Meanwhile, achieving professional proficiency in interpretation presents a significant challenge for foreign language students. This study, therefore, focuses on identifying the specific difficulties and inadequacies that students majoring in translation and interpretation encounter. The study employs quantitative and qualitative descriptive-analytical methods, utilizing a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews as instruments for data collection. A total of 59 participants majoring in English Translation and Interpretation were engaged in the study as the sample. The primary findings reveal that learners encounter several obstacles during interpreting, including short-term memory, idiom meaning, fast delivery of speaker, and emotional intelligence and others challenges related to the accent and linguistic knowledge. These factors create great challenges for interpreters in the process of interpreting, leading to significant impact on interpreting performance especially short-term memory and speed of the speaker. This study contributes to the understanding of the difficulties encountered by English translation and interpretation major-students when interpreting and highlights the importance of addressing these obstacles to ensure effective interpretation. The study provides valuable insights for educators, practitioners, and stakeholders in the field of translation and interpretation to improve the learning and training and ultimately, enhance the quality of interpreting services. Finally, some limitations and recommendations for students and teachers as well as for future researchers were also presented at the end of the thesis.