interpreting strategy training on her L2 speaking:
I feel the impact is: As long as we get hold of the true intention of a particular sentence, we can just express it with whatever kinds of syntax or sentence structures available to us. (Group interview)
Her comment contains the essence of both paraphrasing and selecting important messages. The latter is a strategy under PRINCIPLE 4. BE CONCISE, which will be discussed later in this chapter. In the following examples, we can see the learners tried to jump out of the “box”—both structure-wise and message-wise.
(11)
1-4. Paraphrase: example 1 (Posttest_B, P2)
Someone will go to college or someone will need to uh just keep working on what he is doing.
In (11), S30-L talked about his high school graduation ceremony as a memorable event because it represented a new stage of life. He articulated this sentence quite fluently, but the message he tried to convey was “重考” (“retake the college entrance exam”). He was skillful in paraphrasing the idea, albeit quite vaguely, and moved on to conclude his talk.
In the following example, (12), S49-H commented on the topic: “How have attitudes to marriage changed in recent years?”
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(12)
1-4. Paraphrase: example 2 (Posttest_B, P3, Q2)
And they um people start to think that marriage is not, you know, you can’t...you can’t just marriage one, you can marriage like two or three or more. You can d[i]vorce, and marriage one more, one other guy. And um marriage become more freely... recently.
S49-H explained his thought process in his retrospective interview:
I intended to say: “婚姻不再是種束縛” (“Marriage is not bondage anymore”).
The Chinese term “束縛” (“bondage”) popped up, but I could not come up with either the English equivalent or an alternative. And although [the idea of] “束縛”
occurred in my mind, what I intended to express was not purely the [the idea of]
“束縛.” [The thoughts were] very messy.
The following example, (13), is from S6-H’s Self-interpreting Assignment 6 on the topic of keeping animals in zoos. She paraphrased the concept of “tame” into
“becoming more humanlike.”
(13)
1-4. Paraphrase: example 3
Her Chinese talk: 而因為與人類長期的相處，所以漸漸的變得溫馴，而失去了 牠原本應該有的獸性。
(Literal translation: Because of their [the animals’] long-time relationship with human beings, they gradually become tame, and have lost their beast-like nature that they otherwise should have.)
Her English interpreting: And they expose to people every day, so they will become more humanlike than other… wild animals.
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The following example, (14), is from S58-L’s Self-interpreting Assignment 9 on the topic of “Is technology a blessing or a curse?” Her paraphrasing was done beautifully, probably because of less time pressure when doing assignments, and of generating the content in Chinese first.
(14)
1-4. Paraphrase: example 4
Her Chinese talk:有些人可能會說，科技的發展使人與人之間變得疏離 (…)，但 是科技也縮短了人與人之間的距離。
(Literal translation: Some might say that the development of technology isolates people, (…) but technology has also shortened the distance between people.) Her English interpreting: Some might say that the development of technology enlarges the gap between people (…). But the truth is that we can also use technology to improve the bond between us.
Sub-strategy 1-4-1. Paraphrase from the opposite angle. With regard to this sub-strategy of paraphrasing, S5-L found it quite useful:
Because there are some adjectives that I don’t know how to say [in English]. For example, if I don’t know how to say: “You’re ugly,” I can say, “You’re not beautiful.” Others can still understand you if you use another way to talk about it.
[R: Would you use this way to express yourself before the training?] In the past, [this strategy] rarely occurred to me, so now I find it quite useful. (Group interview) The following examples go beyond my definition of using “not” or “no” to paraphrase from the opposite angle. To paraphrase from the opposite angle can also be executed on the basis of meaning, sentence style, and even mental vision.
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(15)
1-4-1. Paraphrase from the opposite angle: example 1 (Posttest_B, P3, Q2) I think uh marriage is uh um... is become uh become more more uh a little bit hard
Example (15) is S30-L’s response to the question: “How have attitudes to marriage changed in recent years?” According to his retrospective interview, his intended message was “divorce has become easier.” He already produced the subject “marriage”
instead of “divorce,” and seemed to decide to go along with it, changing the subsequent idea from “[divorce has become] easier” into “[marriage is] harder.” Admittedly, this is not a grammatically beautiful sentence, but the intention was successfully conveyed from the opposite angle.
(16)
1-4-1. Paraphrase from the opposite angle: example 2
His Chinese talk: 缺點則主要是限制了動物的自由權
(Literal translation: The main con [of keeping animals in zoos] is that it restricts animals’ right to freedom.)
His English interpreting: And there are a main cons of keeping animals in the zoo is that, animals should have the rights to live freely.
Example (16) is from S49-H’s Self-interpreting Assignment 6. The topic was:
“What are the pros and cons of keeping animals in zoos?” Examples (15) and (16) show how the learners expressed their intended message from the opposite angle.
The following example, (17), is from S6-H’s Self-interpreting Assignment 6 about keeping animals in zoos. It shows the use of opposite sentence structure (i.e., from
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active voice to passive voice) to convey the intention.
(17)
1-4-1. Paraphrase from the opposite angle: example 3
Her Chinese talk:優點是一些兇猛的動物就比較不會有機會能夠傷害到人類 (Literal translation: The pro is that some ferocious animals have less chance to harm human beings.)
Her English interpreting: As for the pros, keeping animals in zoos can prevent any accidental attacks by dangerous animals.
(18)
1-4-1. Paraphrase from the opposite angle: example 4 (Posttest_B, P2) And we went to many many other place to borrow some... fields to practice our skills.
This most visual example, (18), is from S49-H’s posttest Part 2. He was describing his cheerleading practice as a memorable event. In retrospective interview, he thus explained the thought process:
Near our college, there’s a place called “ 道南橋下” (“under the Dao-Nan Bridge”) There is a flat ground, but you have to borrow it before you use it.
At the moment [of speaking], I wanted to say “橋下” (“under the bridge”), but I forgot [the English word] “bridge,” so I said “fields.”
To be able to shift from the intended message “under the bridge” to the articulation of the word “fields” required having a mental image. It seems that S49-H was playing the role of a camera man, and in his mind’s eye, he realized one angle did not work, and was able to look at the same thing from the opposite angle.
The above four examples of Sub-strategy 1-4-1 show that the opposite angle can
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be operated based on message, sentence structures, or mental images. The learners were flexible in working with their intended message to achieve the purpose of communication.
Sub-strategy 1-4-2. Use plain but clear English. This second sub-strategy of paraphrasing seemed enlightening and relieving to some learners, as the following comments illustrated:
I feel that in the past, the English we learned was more written- and grammar-oriented, so when I spoke, I often got stuck, and my English was rigid. (S34-L, Group interview)
My impression of English since I was little had been that it was a subject for test, so I thought I had to be very precise, and that I had to use those complicated words to express my intentions. (S40-L, Group interview)
But after the training, they realized that in everyday conversation, they did not have to be very precise in word choice, and that others could also understand them even if they used plain and simple English. This realization was reinforced by watching how native speakers speak and how interpreters perform in the video clips played in class:
Foreigners [English native speakers] are not excessively particular about wording, either. Sometimes they also use very simple English to describe a particular situation. (S40-L, Group interview)
Native speakers always use phrases easily understood by others, which is different from my previous understanding. We don’t need to use difficult phrases, or express all of our ideas in one go. (S3-L, Group interview)
When foreigners [native speakers] chat, they use slangs and idioms, unlike us, we tend to use words on textbooks… (S43-M, Group interview)
Interpreters’ performance left a strong impression in S14-H’s mind. She learned the importance of “using plain but clear English” in both interpreting and L2 speaking:
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My biggest impression is that: actually, sometimes it’s ok not to be perfect. They [interpreters] had weird translation at some parts, so I feel it’s not a big deal if you don’t speak well. As long as people catch the meaning, it’s fine. So I think the most helpful [strategy] is “using plain but clear English.” (S14-H, Group interview)
The following example, (19), is from S30-L’s Self-interpreting Assignment 6 on the topic of keeping animals in zoos.
(19)
1-4-2. Use plain but clear English: example 1 His Chinese talk:有一些是瀕臨絕種的動物
(Literal translation: Some are endangered animals.)
His English interpreting: Some of the animals will, uh, nearly disappear.
(20)
1-4-2. Use plain but clear English: example 2 (S58-L’s Assignment 6) Her Chinese talk: (…) 也造成牠們失去了以前物競天擇的天性
(Literal translation: [Living in smaller spaces than their habitats] would also lead to the loss of their nature, which is about the survival of the fittest in natural selection.) Her English interpreting: As time goes by, the animals gradually lose their instinct to um compete and survive.
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(21)
1-4-2. Use plain but clear English: example 3 (Posttest_A, P3, Q3)
But...uh...however, if...the person who are who is famous make a mistake, ...that would be...emphasized by the citizens...too.
In (21), on the topic of the pros and cons of being famous, S64-M’s intended message was a metaphorical but a common expression in Chinese: “他的錯誤會被放 大” (“his mistakes would be magnified”). She used neutral and plain English (“emphasize”) to express the message.
Based on all the examples above, we can see that the participants were willing to explore and use alternatives to convey their intended messages. However, according my own observation during the posttest, some participants, although having noticeable improvement in fluency, still had obvious long pauses. One such example is (22) from S64-M’s posttest, during which she described the current female president of Taiwan as the person she admired. She wanted to convey the meaning of the Chinese phrase
“ 沈 穩 ” (“calm, composed, steady, or measured”), but did not know the English equivalent.
(22)
Um the person I admire is the President of Taiwan now, uh which is who is Ms. Tsai.
And... actually I ...I don't really know the things that she has done, but every time I see her, I can feel her…(5-second pause) natural personality. And she give me an...
impression of ...(4-second pause) a calm person. (Posttest_A, P2)
In (22), although S64-M successfully completed the sentence with a more general phrase (“I can feel her… natural personality”) before “adding” an explanatory remark
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to clarify her intention (“And she give me an... impression of ... a calm person.”)36, there were obvious pauses in-between. Considering this is part 2 of posttest, which means she had one minute to plan before giving her response, the presence of long pauses (5 seconds before “natural personality” and 4 seconds before “a calm person”) is intriguing.
Retrospective interview showed why the word “calm” was not on top of her list, leading to the long pauses.
At that time, I felt “沈穩” was slightly different from “calm.” Later, I thought it might be ok, so I used the word “calm” in the end. [R: Why does it matter if they’re slightly different? You spent time on finding a better word, but that led to obvious long pauses. ] I like to find words that are very precise and accurate. But I don’t have many [English] words at my disposal, so I tend to get stuck and have longer pauses. Sometimes I feel the words available to me oversimplify what I want to convey, so I don’t feel like using them.
S64-M’s insistence on precision, which led to obvious pauses in the example above, is not without company. The following example (23) from S58-L, albeit a successful use of Strategy 1-3. Explain, shows once again how the concern of lexical choice led to dysfluency and verbosity.
(23)
And... currently, people also um accepted that uh...th- there can uh... it can be two wives in a marriage or two husbands in a marriage. (Posttest_B, P3, Q2)
S58-L revealed her inner struggle in retrospective interview:
36 This is also an example of the “new hybrid strategy” (defined as: Finish my current sentence with a general, similar, or appropriate term before I start another (or use several) short and simple sentence(s) to clarify what I mean) that will be explained in the next section. Here, the focus of attention is S64-M’s insistence on finding a more precise word at the expense of fluency.
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The [Chinese] term “ 同 性 戀 ” (“homosexual”) occurred in my mind, but I couldn’t come up with a neutral [English] word for it. I was not sure if it would be inappropriate to say “gay” or “lesbian.”
From my perspective as a teacher, I find it unwise that their perfectionism compromised their fluency in some occasions, especially if they were lower achievers.
The pursuit of precise wording should be the goal for higher achievers who have reached a satisfying level of fluency. Why is it that some lower achievers still could not maintain the smooth flow of speech without obvious and awkward pauses after the training? Why did they still spend “two seconds” or more on searching for the right words? As S30-L said:
Now [when I get stuck on words,] I would spend two seconds searching for the right word, and then I would know that I can’t find it, so I’d try to find a similar term as fast as possible, whereas in the last semester, it took me ten more seconds before I tried to use alternatives. (Individual interview)
Perhaps the improvement from ten seconds to two seconds in searching for words is already commendable. And perhaps, to be even smoother and more fluent, these strategies are not going to help. The key may lie in one’s L2 repertoire. To be more specific, the insufficient lexical resource and the various extents of mental translation might be another reason why some learners still could not achieve the ideal smooth delivery after the training.
S38-H, a high achiever with reportedly low dependence on mental translation, speculated the mental processing of those who depend highly on Chinese in English speaking:
Chinese [words] may appear first in their minds, so even if they attempt to use a more general term, that term is still in Chinese, so they still need to make an extra
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effort to transform [that more general Chinese term into English]. (Group interview)
Her speculation is confirmed by S40-L’s comment, a lower achiever with reportedly high dependence on mental translation:
These strategies are like the last life-saving rope…. If we want to use these methods effectively and smoothly, we have to improve our vocabulary. Like I myself don’t have enough vocabulary at my disposal, so no matter how hard I try to search [for a more general or similar term], I still cannot find one. But [the principle and strategies] provide another way out. In the past, I only had one path available, now I have three or four paths. If one alternative turns out to be unfeasible, I can still try another one. (Group interview)
In other words, the strategies under BE FLEXIBLE may reduce the length of pauses and silence, but may not entirely eliminate them. As S49-H commented at the very end of his individual interview:
After learning these techniques, it is less likely to get stuck and come to a dead end, but we may still get stuck.
In the same vein, S58-L, who felt that the most helpful skill was paraphrasing, admitted that she was not sure whether her management of the speaking process was faster after the training. However, she revealed an important takeaway of the strategy instruction: mindset change.
The major difference [before and after the training] lies in the mindset. I’d remind myself not to have long pauses, and to quickly find a term. …Although I’m not sure if I’ve become faster at coming up with an alternative, at least now, mentality-wise, I remind myself to paraphrase more often. (Group interview)
A couple of learners also mentioned about how the strategies under BE FLEXIBLE reduced their anxiety of L2 speaking. As S3-L explained:
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I don’t know a lot of vocabulary. Now I’ve learned that with “a more general term,”
“a similar term,” and “paraphrasing,” I can still get my meaning across. When I speak [in English], I’m not that nervous anymore. I can somewhat explain [my ideas]. (Group interview)
Perhaps an understanding of the nature of communication and reduction of anxiety are good enough to set off improvement in oral proficiency. Ultimately, it is learners themselves who need to find their balance between fluency and precise lexical choice through extensive trials and errors. S64-M seemed to understand this, as she made the following conclusion in the group interview:
I think the principle of BE FLEXIBLE is quite useful, but it also forces us to make a trade-off between the precision of wording and the use of alternatives. It is a test to our competence. (Group interview)
The use of strategies under PRINCIPLE 2. ONE CHUNK AT A TIME. Since my focus of analysis was the application of strategies to L2 speaking, the following reports are categorized based on the learners’ perceptions of the five applications (rather than the three interpreting strategies) under this principle. For convenience sake, Table 3.2 is copied and pasted here for an overview of the five applications operationalized based on the three strategies under PRINCIPLE 2.
With the first three applications, the learners’ perceptions were the main focus of analysis. This is because real-time on-line processing of L2 speaking cannot be seen directly, and therefore we can never verify how the learners broke their thoughts down into smaller chunks, dealt with only one chunk of thoughts at a time, or followed the flow of their thoughts. With the last two applications, however, both the learners’
perceptions and their actual application will be reported.
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Table 3.2
Interpreting Strategies Under PRINCIPLE 2. ONE CHUNK AT A TIME and Their Application to L2 Speaking
Strategies Application to L2 speaking
2-1. Chunk the source text.（斷句） Application 2-1a. Break down complicated thoughts into smaller chunks. (分成小段)
and self-contained sentences in the target language.（簡單句）
Application 2-3a. Use several short & simple sentences to express my ideas.
(分成幾個簡單短句表達)
Application 2-3b. Finish my current sentence before I start another one.
(先把講到一半的句子說完，再另起一句)
Application 2-1a. Break down complicated thoughts into smaller chunks.
Several learners found this application useful because one could reduce, avoid, or stop worrying about grammar mistakes. As S31-M wrote:
It’s really useful. It means that you don’t have to worry about whether the grammar you used is right or not. And it’s simple to use it practically. (Worksheet) In addition to the alleviation of grammar burden, this application might also give learners a relief that one does not have to hit the mark in one attempt. As S3-L shared at the end of the semester:
Strategy instruction is quite useful because in the past, when I spoke English, it didn’t occur to me that I could break down very long thoughts into many small sentences. I always attempted to say it all in one go, but I would get stuck in the middle. (Group interview)
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An extra benefit of breaking the thoughts down is to give learners more time to plan their next chunk. As S46-M commented:
An extra benefit of breaking the thoughts down is to give learners more time to plan their next chunk. As S46-M commented: