The Study of Difficulties and Strategies in Online Class Interpreting under the Effort Model ()
1. Introduction
In this chapter, a general information about the interpreting task, which includes the background and participant as well as the curriculum provision, definition, features and principles of class interpreting and remote interpreting are presented.
1.1. Content of the Interpreting Practice
With the outbreak and rampage development of COVID-19 since the end of 2019, schools around the world suspend offline teaching for a long time. In Philippines, the education system still carries out the in-home online course till June 2021. At the same time, the development of electronic communication technology, especially online video conferencing platforms, enables people to communicate “face to face” across the country “without leaving home”. In the field of international education, in order to meet the needs of some Chinese students who have language communication barriers, the demand for remote class interpreting is gradually increasing, with the help of which enables teachers and students to communicate simultaneously in different places.
For cross-national education, teachers and students have to take online courses to advance their school work. Given these situations, Inner Mongolia MUHO International Education Technology Co., Ltd., which cooperates with Nueva Ecija University of Science and Technology (NEUST) shifts the offline class into a remote online class. Philippines is the third-largest English-speaking country in the world and English is regarded as the official language. In order to facilitate communication between teachers and students, language assistants are necessary for the classroom. Interviewed twice, an opportunity is grasped for being a class interpreter by the author from June 2021 till now.
This paper studies the author’s online class interpreting practice for students who apply for on-job Master of Science in Information Technology (MSIT) in NEUST, and Information Systems Theory (IST) is a core requirement in the MSIT program. This course is central in providing the students with an in-depth appreciation of and exposure to the various theories related to IS research.
As a class interpreter working for NEUST to assist Information System Theory course for MSIT, the interpreter uses the corpus of remote class interpreting practice, consisting of seven consecutive videos, including the teacher’s teaching process, students’ demonstration, and explanation of the assignment and interaction between the two parties. The corpus lasts for 699 minutes and 49 seconds in total, and the transcription is appropriately 132,658 words.
1.2. Definition of Remote Class Interpreting
Interpretation is a special form of translation communication. Both sides of the communication can communicate information and emotion with each other. Interpreters, as an intermediary part in the interpretation, transfer received information from speaker to listener in another language correctly.
When it comes to interpreting, people often think of traditional on-site interpreting first. But actually, from the perspective of the interpreting model, the typical interpreting activities scale is divided into liaison interpreting, consecutive interpreting (with or without notes), and simultaneous interpreting (with or without text) (Yang et al., 2021: p. 99) . There are different definitions of the term “remote interpreting” (RI) (Niska, 1998; cited in Mouzourakis, 2006: p. 46 ), and the term in this paper just refers to interpreters who do not need to present in a meeting room but work from a screen and earphones instead (Mouzourakis, 2006: p. 46) . Educational interpreting, or class interpreting, is for students struggling to understand the language of instructions and teachers and parents at school board meetings and disciplinary hearings (Mikkelson, 1999: p. 5) . It is also a type of community interpreting. Class interpreting, as the name suggests, is an interpreting activity carried out in class. And the role of the interpreter is to provide teaching assistance to the teacher and build a bridge for the teacher and students to communicate and solve the problems and puzzlement students a time so that they can obtain more knowledge as possible (Wu & Zhang, 2016: p. 259) .
This paper echoes the perspective, remote class interpreting means that one side is teaching something to another side with the interpreter helping both of them to understand each other. Therefore, remote class interpreting means the class professor, students, and the interpreter are interacting with each other in different geographical locations but using the same online software.
The research materials are all chosen from the author’s working experience as an interpreter works for Inner Mongolia MUHO International Education Technology Co., Ltd., which cooperates with Nueva Ecija University of Science and Technology (NEUST). The offline Master of Science in Information Technology (MSIT) in NEUST classes are transformed into remote online classes due to the COVID-19. The curriculum is called Information Systems Theory (IST), a core requirement in the MSIT program, providing the students with an in-depth appreciation of and exposure to the various theories related to IS research.
1.3. Characteristics of Remote Class Interpreting
Mouzourakis (2006: p. 47) holds the view that RI is a measure to deal with problems such as interpreter availability and cost. Liu Chunwei and Wei Li (2017: p. 15) think that remote interpretation is characterized by “off-site”, “timeliness”, “low cost” and “high degree of professionalism” compared with traditional interpretation. Xu & Cheng (2020: p. 124) also says that RI is more cost-effective than on-site interpreting. However, given that distance would make the interpreter feel uncontrollable (Moser-Mercer, 2005: p. 728) , and without the image (“lip-sync”) synchronization, it can be very unsettling for interpreters (Mouzourakis, 2006: p. 50) . While in remote class interpreting, features of in-class interpreting and remote interpreting are combined and may affect the whole interpreting process simultaneously.
Interpreters can simplify the sentence structure by grasping the main idea of the speaker and interpreting it fluently because of the repetitive expressions or disordered sentence structure of the speaker due to speaking while thinking. Besides, the discussion related to a specialized topic may be an obstacle to the interpreter, in this case, the interpreter should play to the score or request the speaker to explain or clarify the meaning to avoid making mistakes or distorting the meaning of the speaker (Le, 2012: p. 20) .
As we have discussed before, a class interpreter serves both the teacher and the students, that is to say, two-way interpretation becomes the dominant class interpreting form. Hence, the interpreter should change roles in time to convey the opinions and ideas of both sides at the same time. To ensure the accuracy, the interpreter has to input source language information and output the translated version in a very short time with the ability to store and process information under pressure and with good memory, which not refers to remembering the words heard, but the ability to understand the substance and then expressing it without the constraint of source language’s surface structure (He, 2015: p. 167) .
What’s more, in remote class interpreting, the interpreter needs to process the auditory and visual information received at the same time, which means overcoming the uncomfortable feeling of staring at the screen, which definitely will consume their cognitive energy and may lead to inefficient language processing. The lack of paralinguistic assistance leads to more complex cognitive processing, and the interpreters step into the role slowly (Sabine, 2015: p. 5) . And compared with live interpretation, the expression of interpreters on these occasions are more likely to be long-winded with more adding elements (Sabine, 2017: p. 175) .
In addition to comparing traditional on-site interpretation with remote interpretation, different telecommunication tools play an important role in remote class interpreting. For one thing, the development of digital technology makes the interaction analysis more complex (Feng et al., 2014: p. 88) ; for another, various communication tools (such as Tencent Meeting and Zoom Meeting) make it more difficult for interpreters to focus on language only. Besides, we may not have the same visual and spatial cues on these platforms for our brains to jump right into the scenario and then send messages to the rest of the body as if we were in the same scenario (Rutledge, 2020) . Apart from this, due to the high reliance on communication equipment in this interpretation process, the stability of communication signals (such as telephone signals, network video signals, and camera equipment) directly affects the quality and process of interpretation.
2. Literature Review
The Effort Model is raised by Professor Daniel Gile in the 1970s and is used in simultaneous interpreting at first, but later a similar Model is formulated for consecutive interpreting.
2.1. Previous Studies on Effort Model
Cognitive effort is always a hot topic in interpreting research. The concept of cognitive effort is raised on the assumption that the brain of human, or human processor, can perform a limited number of operations and process a limited amount of information within a given time. That is to say, limited processing capacity means that cognitive resources are competed by different processing tasks constantly. Based on this theory, some interpreting scholars have proposed several models to explain the complex psychological processes of interpreting. After conducting experiments on memory comparison on different types of input processing, Gerver (1976) proposed the first synchronous model. Subsequently, Gile borrowed from the information processing model to introduce the concept of cognitive load into interpreting, and developed the effort model to describe interpreting in terms of both listening and analysis, production and memory. Later, scholars proposed some other models to improve or supplement the Effort Model.
Wickens once outlined a framework to explain the competition for psychological resources. He believes that the limited resources of the human brain can be divided into four dimensions: stages, perceptual patterns, visual channels, and processing code. Based on the above concept, his theory is that for each task, a “conflict matrix” can be developed that includes the interference weights of each domain. Later, Seeber & Kerzel (2011) adopted the concept of “conflict matrix” and proposed the conflict matrix of simultaneous interpreting by mapping potentially conflicting tasks at different stages and assigning them weights. Seeber also developed a cognitive load model, regarding cognitive load as the interference between various requirements in the real-time integration of language comprehension and language production tasks. These needs can occur at the macro structural level, such as perceptual, cognitive, or reactive processing, as well as at the micro structural level, such as the processing of language components. Cognitive load is created by memory demands in language comprehension tasks (Seeber & Kerzel, 2011: pp. 187-189) .
2.2. Effort Model
Interpreting is divided into four basic components including listening and analysis, note-taking, short-term memory and coordination in the Effort Model (Gile, 1995: p. 175) . Gile believes that even professional interpreters may make mistakes in the process of simple translation and interpretation, which are largely caused by improper allocation of energy when interpreting. In order to explain this, Effort Models are proposed which including an Effort Model of simultaneous interpreting and an Effort Model of consecutive interpreting.
2.2.1. Listening and Note-Taking Phase
In the Effort Model of consecutive interpreting, there are two phases when performing interpreting, namely the comprehension phase, and the speech production phase. In the first phase, consecutive interpreting can be summarized as the following equation: Interpreting = L + N + M + C (Gile, 1995: p. 175) . Which L stands for listening and analysis, N for note-taking, M for short-term memory, and C for coordination.
Listening and analysis include all comprehension-oriented operations, including receiving source information and deconstructing it, and then deciding the meaning of the utterance. This requires understanding at least the basic logic of each sentence. Note-taking is taking down the key information of the speaker so as to reduce the pressure of memorizing. Short-term memory is associated with the time period between the interpreter hearing the information and writing it down or processing it mentally and sends on to long-term memory. While for an interpreter, short-term memory may be aggravated because the speaker is free to express herself by reorganizing the information structure or modifying the information being expressed. Coordination means the effort corresponding to resources that are required to coordinate the three other efforts mentioned above.
2.2.2. Target-Speech Production Phase
While in the target-speech production phase, another equation is shown as: Interpreting = Rem + Read + P + C (Gile, 1995: p. 176) . Rem represents remembering, R for note reading, P for production, and C for coordination. Rem, differing from short-term memory, aims to recall the successive parts of the original speech from long-term memory. In this phase, R refers to note-reading. If notes are taken logically with a simple layout, then it may help reduce memory processing effort requirement. Production is the output part of interpreting, referring to the process of organizing the target language after obtaining it from the speaker. However, production is not to simply realize the correspondence of vocabulary between the target language and the source language, but to express the meaning of the source information properly with different interpreting strategies and to take the characteristics and needs of the audience into account. Interpreters are free to allocate the three efforts of Rem, Read, and P in the second phase, which definitely reduces the pressure on the Coordination Effort.
In consecutive interpreting, speech comprehension and speech production do not need to be finished at the same time, which decreases the pressure from short-term memory load resulting from the different syntax between the source language and the target language. The first phase is paced by the speaker while to some extent, the second phase is paced by the interpreter.
The Effort Model is proposed to help interpreters to understand the “difficulties of interpreting and select appropriate strategies and tactics” (Gile, 1995: p. 191) . Since the corpus is consecutive interpreting, so Effort Model is used to analyze the consecutive interpretation and the interpreter’s performance in the practice.
3. Interpreting Difficulties
Interpreting difficulties that occur in the interpreting process are discussed combined with the two phases of the Effort Model.
3.1. Difficulties in the Listening and Note-Taking Phase
Firstly, to finish the remote interpreting successfully, the stability of the Internet is of paramount importance. Once the network is unstable or disconnected, it is hardly to hear clearly what the speaker says, and thus, important information may be missed. Degges-White (2020) thinks that video conference not only zaps our energy and our brains, but it also beats down our bodies, which can also distract interpreter’s energy.
In the online class, when the professor and the student are exchanging their opinions on the most important component of information system, the interpreter’s Internet connection is very unstable at that time which leads to the discontinuity of the voice and image firstly, and after nearly half a minute, the interpreter finally lost connection from the online platform, and which rebooted automatically. It is obviously she does not get what the following information given by professor. So the professor has to give up the former discussion and proceed to the next part. Besides, due to the unique geographical location, the Philippines is prone to be affected by typhoon which always causes unstable net connection of professors and therefore, receiving and understanding source information sometimes are difficult for the interpreter.
Secondly, concerns like “equipment guarantee” may be solved quickly by professionals in onsite interpreting spot. While in one of the IST classes, something goes wrong with the professor’s laptop and it takes almost ten minutes to have her available again. However, because of the delay of the Internet and the time to interpret for the two parties, synchronous interaction between the professor and the student cannot be realized, and class cannot move forward fluently. At last, the professor has to change a better device. Uncontrollable factors like this can be influential and time-consuming, which may not happen in onsite interpreting. The interpreting production is impacted badly because of such information receiving obstacles.
3.2. Difficulties in Target-Speech Production Phase
In on-site interpreting, an interpreter may come up with the speaker by noticing his or her non-verbal signals like finger gestures or facial expression. Whereas in a virtual meeting room, in turn, it’s harder to catch the body language and micro facial expressions of the professor and the student without face-to-face communication. Even if an interpreter can hear clearly what the speaker is saying, he or she rarely feels the sense of interaction and it seems easier to be overlooked by speakers especially in long speaking duration; thus, the low sense of presence of the interpreter in a virtual space definitely sets a challenge to the interpreter’s attention span (AS) which is an important part of auditory cognitive. The longer AS is, the better the interpreting performance will be (Meng & Kang, 2012: p. 84) . The AS is a challenge to the Remembering Effort in the second phase.
In remote class interpreting, participants are not required to appear in the site personally. For one thing, the pressure of interpreters may be decreased and they can use the Internet to check information when interpreting as long as time permits; for another, because lacking of the environment and setting of a real classroom, there is always a sense that the interpreter is not in the actual meeting even when the network and devices condition are stable enough, which can be regarded as the “sense of distance”. This feeling may hinder interpreters to shift their attention or concentration from the environment they are in to the online virtual environment.
4. Interpreting Problems and Strategies
4.1. Interpreting Problems under the Effort Model
Only by understanding the original text from the speaker can the interpreter convey it to the listener. While factors such as cannot grasp the idea of the speaker or virtual appearance on an Internet platform may lead to difficulties in the input process for an interpreter.
4.1.1. Source Information Receiving
According to Kang (2005: p. 148) , whether the interpreting is successful or not depends on the interpreter’s mastering of the auditory cognitive skill, which will impact the acquisition of source text information. Whether participants can hear each other clearly not only depends on the Internet connection, but also on the devices they choose to use. Sometimes the speaker doesn’t wear headphones or take off headphones during the meeting, on this occasion sometimes, the voice cannot be heard clearly because of the distance between the speaker and computer. On top of that, some other sounds like children’s yelling and the vehicles’ sounds can be received by the computer. The situation even gets worse when the network conditions become unstable at some critical moments when some key information about numbers is given to illustrate the whole example.
Example 1
Note: 
This is an example that the speaker takes off her headphones and then her voice transmitted to the interpreter is weak with shouts of children. On top of that, without a clear voice, the negative effect of the Filipino accent amplifies, making it more difficult for the interpreter to recognize the original meaning. As we can see the “*” symbols in the fragment representing the words cannot be recognized in the dialogue. According to the first equation of the Effort Model: I = L + N + M + C, the interpreter fails to identify the meaning of those “*” words and spends too much time in Listening and Analysis Effort, that is considering the original meaning of the speaker, and therefore the effort spent on Production is limited, which leading to the final interpreting output been heavily impacted as is shown in the TT1. Because of the vacant input of the first “*” part, the appearance of “应该呃” and “对” shows the uncertainty of the interpreter. Inferring the possible meaning in the context, the second “*” part is interpreted into “阶段” by the interpreter. However, the interpreter decides to omit the third “*” part because, in the following part, there is a rectification made by the speaker herself, so this part can be regarded as a piece of useless information.
As the interpreter fails to recognize the words, the processing capacity used in Listening and Analysis Effort is increased which results in the poor quality of speech production. In TT1, due to putting too much effort into listening and analysis, the interpreter forgets the message appearing in the context and misinterprets “building” as “模型”. Although the interpreter takes down what she hears but does badly in Note-reading Effort for not knowing the meaning of symbols at that moment. According to the transcript, the “building” here refers to a golf course. Thus, in TT2, the revised translation text, the interpreter redistributes the effort by spending less time pondering the unclear message but focusing more on Short-term Memory Effort to grasp the logic and key information of the original text and on Production Effort so that the interpreting output is clear with less repetitive expression.
4.1.2. Rigid Translation
Rigid translation is a common problem in translation and interpreting, which just transfers the language word by word only but does not extract the meaning of the source language (Zhang, 2013: p. 148) . Two major reasons include improper comprehension of source language caused by vocabulary, grammar, cultural information, and encyclopedic knowledge in the source text, and linguistic inexpressiveness resulting from the limitation of interpreters’ interpreting ability always leads to rigid translation.
Example 2
Note: 
If spending more effort analyzing the ST, then the interpreter may find that the meaning of “站在这个公交站台” actually does not focus on the action “stand at” but the condition that someone is waiting for a bus in the bus station. Similarly, “打开这个软件” does not emphasize the action “open” but focuses more on using the app. The interpretation of “stand at a station” and “open this application” in TT1 seems too rigid and does not convey the speaker’s actual meaning clearly and properly. While in TT2, we can find “waiting for” and “using” made the interpreting output more fluently and is closer to idiomatic English expression.
As we can tell in TT1, when decoding the source information and organizing the interpreting output, the interpreter does not perform well in the Listening and Analysis Effort and the Production Effort. The source texts are sort of wordy because the speaker need time to get ideas into shape, and obviously, the interpreter is limited by the literal meaning which resulting in failure to meet the requirements of concise and flexible speech production.
4.1.3. Dysfluent Expression
Interpreting products play a crucial role in mutual communication, which may have a direct influence on the listener’s receiving and understanding of the speaker’s idea. Therefore, the interpreter should focus more on their expression at the same time.
Example 3
Note: 
As showcased in the example, dysfluent expression degrades the interpreting product for there are four “uh” pauses breaking the flow of the interpreter’s delivery. There is a classification that there are two kinds of pauses in interpretation, which are individual pauses and functional pauses. Actually, there is another pause known as hesitation pauses, which can be divided into silent pauses and filled pauses. Filled pauses can be defined as “um”, “uh”, “erm”, and all similar variants (Shriberg, 1996: p. 1) . The improper pauses occur in interpreting mainly resulting from self-monitoring and rectification of the target language.
According to the second phase in the Effort Model, Interpreting = Rem + Read + P + C, obviously dysfluent expression is directly related to P (production). The interpreter analyzes three pieces of main messages marked as A①, B①, and C① but is trapped by the phrase “开班量”, interpreter distributes too much time on Listening and Analysis Effortto find a proper expression but finally, no equivalent expression is found in TT1, which generating an incomplete sentence C②. Thus inadequate effort is distributed on noting “人均” which is missed in TT1. This interpreting process also shows the inadequate coordination in the three efforts of the second phase of consecutive interpreting.
In TT2, the phrase “开班量” is interpreted and explained as “the most profitable class size” to show its hidden and deeper meaning of it. Besides, sentence B③ is placed as a reason, and sentence A③ is the corresponding result to reveal the inner logic of the speaker. And sentence C③ integrated the third information and the following example together to make a further explanation of the key message in the speech.
4.2. Strategies under the Effort Model
In the first phase of the Effort Model, Listening and Analysis effort is placed in the first. Once receiving the source information, the interpreter needs to analyze it and decide what strategies may be applied when interpreting as soon as possible.
4.2.1. Generalization
According to Jones Roderick (2008: p. 101) , a number of specific items and details mentioned by the speaker can be generalized and expressed in order to let listeners grasp the main idea and message in a better way. Our oral expression is sometimes wordy, and interpreters can make different degrees of generalization according to their own abilities and communication needs (Li, 2013: p. 38) .
Example 4
Note: 
The above example is an answer to the question “if you have an opportunity to restart, what careers do you want to do”. The underlined part lists the three primary information while the other parts are considered interpretations of the student’s choice. Age, ability, and interest are mentioned as influential factors when making a new choice by the student. In order not to express redundantly, generalizing the example content is necessary to make the output concise and flexible.
As we can see that the note is in a good layout with clear logic, it is helpful in reducing the pressure of Short-term Memory Effort. On the other hand, only by comprehending the source text thoroughly can the interpreter do well in Note-taking Effort. Short-term Memory also assists in producing a complete interpretation because the last sentence of the speaker is interpreted but is not shown in the note. Since the interpreting product is complete in giving the key information fluently, we can say that the efforts in the two interpreting phases are coordinated well.
Generalization here leads to the reconstruction of all the important messages. Since the original text is the mother tongue of the interpreter, she gets the point quickly and listens actively. Catching the logic of original speech and expressing it basically belongs to logic memorizing skill, and whether to use the same sentence structure with the original sentence does not matter (Li, 2013: p. 35) .
4.2.2. Simplifying Information Structure
Concise expression is useful and important in interpreting which means to expurgate unnecessary fillers such as “you know”, “actually” and “well”, to abandon any rhetorical precautions such as “if you can understand me” and so on, and avoid unnecessary repetition especially when the speaker tries to emphasize a point with some synonyms (Roderick, 2008: pp. 95-97) . To compress secondary or redundant information in interpreting is necessary, which means the interpreter only needs to interpret the main message of the speech, and there is no need to repeat the message many times with the speaker (Yao, 2018: p. 107) .
The speaker may deliberately use synonyms to repeat some concepts to highlight the main points, but most of the repetition is unnecessary from the perspective of the participants, thus the interpreter needs to make a judgment and choose to give better output in a short time (Yao, 2016: p. 19) . In the remote video conference interpretation process, the interpreter should not only pay attention to the single mode of the speaker’s language, but also pay attention to the text information and picture information on the PPT. Through the combination of the three modal information and according to the professional background of the participants, the translation can be made more concise and clear, which is conducive to the efficient communication between the two sides (Jiang & Li, 2020: p. 166) .
Example 5
Note: 
As is shown in sentence fragments A① and B①, the speaker explains the reason first and adds a concluding sentence as an end. According to the Effort Model as well as after listening and analyzing the source language, the first part and the last part are unnecessary in expressing the main idea but a word-by-word interpretation of this information may increase the listener’s comprehension pressure and the interpreter’s listening and analysis pressure and note taking pressure. Simplification is for a better presentation of the original message but not information loss (Wang & Wang, 2007: p. 56) . Thus, the interpreter simplifies the expressing structure by highlighting the major information and explicating the inner logic of these messages, while unnecessary information is omitted here.
4.2.3. Amplification
When expressing, sometimes the interpreter may produce rigid translation due to the inadequate proficiency level of the target language, that is to say, the interpreter may be trapped by vocabulary, grammar, and cultural information in the target language and produce a diffluent interpreting product. On this occasion, amplification is of great help in making the interpretation confirm to target language habits so that the meaning of the source text can be expressed more accurately and flexibly (Zhang, 2013: p. 150) . Tang (2020: p. 73) mentions that after translating the information in the source language, an interpreting learner may produce an expression with similar meaning.
Example 6
Note: 
Under the guidance of Listening and Analysis Effort, as clearly manifested in the example above, the word “if” in ST is interpreted into two words “如果” and “但是” so that the expression conforms more to the target language’s speaking habit, and obviously, the latter one is an addition. Adding conjunction here can reveal the hidden logic of the source text which decreases the comprehension pressure of the listener. While comprehending the source text, the interpreter notes down “bz” and “c” on purpose, so that the underlined sentences B① and C① in TT are broken into three sentences B②, C②, and D② in which the interpreter expands the meaning of “purchase” into “analyze customers’ needs” and “support business” into “analyze company’s operation situation”. This is a manifestation of proper use of Note-taking Effort in amplification. What’s more, sentence D② is added as a beneficial result of “analyze customers’ needs and company’s operation situation” considering the last sentence of the speaker is an advantage of using IS in a company.
Actually, the three sentences amplified in TT are the explanation of why using IS can create competitive advantages for a company, and the examples given by the interpreter are related to the topic and examples mentioned in the whole class. With the amplified information, the interpreting output not only expresses the idea of the speaker but also demonstrates the inner logic of sentence fragments to give the listener a thorough understanding of the speaker.
5. Conclusion
Based on the Effort Model of consecutive interpreting and combining the features of remote class interpreting, this paper analyzes the difficulties and problems that occur in the online class interpreting practice of Information System Theory for MSIT of NEUST.
5.1. Major Findings
Receiving and understanding the meaning of source information clearly and correctly are the basic foundation of interpreting. While some uncontrollable equipment troubles may interrupt the information receiving process which impacts listening and analysis of source information negatively. Hence, generalizing the main idea grasped under the limited conditions is an advisable way to maintain basic communication-effect.
When taking notes, the interpreter has to balance the effort distributed on short-term memorizing and note-taking to make sure that the important points will not be missed. It is obvious that notes in logical layout with key points stressed are very helpful in producing a better interpreting product. When it comes to the Note-reading Effort, except for the logical note mentioned above, long-term memory which can be recalled in time also plays a vital role to pass on the source message correctly especially in long speaking turn with intensive information points. Besides, being familiar with note-taking symbols and then decoding notes as soon as seeing them are of great importance.
What’s more, source information sometimes is expressed redundantly and dysfluently by the speaker which may confine the interpreter’s mode of expression. Under this circumstance, summarizing the repetitive information and simplifying information structure when there are too many wordy and dysfluent expressions in source information are two useful strategies in online class interpreting. To illustrate one point detailedly and deeply so as to maximize communication effect, amplifying logic words and relative examples is better.
Last but not least, coordinating different efforts in the whole interpreting process is of global importance. To allocate and balance one’s efforts in interpreting practice properly reduces the pressure on the interpreter and helps to produce a better interpreting output.
5.2. Suggestions on Remote Class Interpreting
Finishing this remote classroom interpreting practice, I draw some suggestions for future remote class interpreting from my personal experience.
First of all, interpreters should familiarize themselves with different accents, which is the most basic comprehensive ability that one should have. Foreign accent together with local dialect is a huge challenge for interpreters.
Secondly, when interpreting an online class, we need to do sufficient preliminary work and related preparations. Including but not limited to the preparation of subject’s expertise. Learning about the subject from authoritative sources or related books and websites, and noting down the most commonly used terms and concepts in the field, researching for some recent hot issues and topics are of great help.
Thirdly, as a connecting bridge between teachers and students in class, interpreters should contact professors in advance to ask if they have any special needs and communicate with them at any time. Close attention should be paid to the schedule of professors. Inform students in time if there is any change in the schedule.
In addition, considering the particularity of remote classroom interpreting, online interpreting quite depends on network stability, we, as interpreters, need to ensure the stability of our personal network because once the interpreter is disconnected, the normal communication between the professor and the student cannot continue, which will greatly reduce the effectiveness of the class.
Finally, we also need to prepare spare equipment in case of unexpected situations. Hope these suggestions are helpful to those who may be concerned with remote class interpreting in future.
Funding
This paper marks a stage in a research that was made possible by Offline First-class Curriculum Construction Project (“English Interpreting Practice”) funded by Education Bureau of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Key Research Project of Undergraduate Teaching Reform funded by Education Bureau of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region (grant#2022JG20220222502022-09-01000016) and New Liberal Arts Research and Reform Practice Project “New Model and Practice Innovation of Digital Intelligence Collaborative Training of Foreign Language Teaching with Multidisciplinary Interdisciplinary Empowerment in the Context of New Liberal Arts” funded by Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region (grant#20900-231528).