Part Five: Efficacy of the Glossary

This final section of the questionnaire looks into the perceived efficacy of the glossary by the subjects. Firstly, they were asked if glossary building played an indispensable role in preparing for interpreting classes:

Table 4.20 Glossary and interpreting class preparation

Question Choices Counts Percentage

Q5-1: Do you find the glossary to be an indispensable part of interpreting class preparation?

Yes. 85 79.4%

No. 8 7.5%

It depends.

(depends on subject

familiarity; how often you use it; it works only when the speech is highly related to my prepared vocabularies; the glossary lists sometimes are not related to class;

sometimes the words I thought would be relevant do not appear in the speech; Yes, if [we have] technical

materials to interpret)

14 13.1%

135

As Table 4.19 shows, the vast majority of subjects considered glossary an indispensable part of class preparation. For those subjects, interpreting class preparation naturally entails glossary making as part of the procedure:

S5: Making the glossary is part of class preparation. It entails background knowledge and subject matter familiarity.

S7: It is a very important part. There are terms that you know that they mean but cannot render in another language. You really need a glossary to familiarize yourself with them. Even if you cannot memorize them, the glossary items are just like a life-saver for you.

S15: Glossary is a must-do. I see class exercises as real assignments to prepare. I will follow the same procedure to prepare my glossaries in the future.

Around 13% saw glossary building as optional, depending on a few factors, including familiarity with the subject matter of each class, whether the glossary is related to the class, and technicality of the class:

S16: If I just get a topic, my glossary may not be that directly related to the class.

S19: I make a glossary for classes that are more important. I do not make one if the instructor forgets to or does not mention it before the next class.

136

The above two comments are consonant with those of Q1-6, in which 43.6% of the subjects built a glossary only for classes with technical or unfamiliar materials.

Still, the results suggest that the glossary conceptually plays an important role in students’ preparation for classes.

Table 4.21 Fulfillment of expectations

Question Choices Counts Percentage Q1-7

Q5-2: Which of the

137

Q5-2 seeks to examine whether subjects’ expectations have been fulfilled with the use of glossary by comparing with Q1-7. When asked about what they expected to use the glossary for in Q1-7, an overwhelming 93.4% expected that the glossary could bring them language enhancement benefits. Here in Q5-3, 92.5% of the subjects thought that such expectation had been fulfilled. In addition, subjects’ expectations regarding knowledge acquisition (“learn about issues and concepts”) also seem to have been satisfied. As many as 70.8% of the subjects expected that glossary making could bolster knowledge buildup (Q1-7), while a similar percentage (70.1%) of the subjects saw this expectation fulfilled (Q5-2). The matching of subjects’ expectations and the actual benefits of the glossary suggests that most of the subjects were

subjectively aware of how the glossary may help them. Q5-3 further confirmed the matching of subject expectations and fulfillment, with knowledge (88.8%) and language (87.9%) standing out as the two aspects of interpreting competency that the subjects thought had been enhanced with glossary building.

Q5-3: Which

138

Quite a few interviewees commented on what language enhancement benefits the glossary could bring them. They thought that “language” does not exclusively mean technical terms but those items/expressions that would stay with them in the future.

S3: Sometimes when in class, you learn from the instructor a certain

“interpretese,” that is, how certain expressions are rendered in the context of interpreting. If you are familiar with such language, it will help you in your future career. Some of the expressions are very succinct.

S8: Expressions—how you say it—are more useful, not technical terms in the glossary. You can always refer to the glossary when encountering difficult terms. Technical glossaries may just come in handy once or twice.

As discussed previously, glossary building seems to involve more than putting language items on a list. The process entails knowledge build-up as well, as

confirmed by some interviewees:

S1: It is difficult to establish a correlation between my improvement in interpreting skills and glossary building. When you build a glossary, you would read a lot of materials. What you learn from the materials becomes your background knowledge, which will help with your interpreting. It is not about the glossary per se. It is about the preparation process, which makes you more familiar with a certain subject matter.

S3: When building the glossary, you inherently and almost naturally build up knowledge. You would read relevant articles, for example. Language

139

and knowledge are inseparable. If you know what certain terms mean, it would help with the interpreting process. You know the links behind the discourse.

S12: It helps with building up domain knowledge. You will not just take assignments in only one field in the future. You need to be familiar with different domains.

S15: I can become familiar with certain fields. The degree to which I understand a certain field will be revealed in the notes sections in my glossary. I can quickly learn about a certain field and know where I should learn more.

The link between language, knowledge, and skills seem to be inseparable. Some interviewees commented on how the links could be buttressed with the use of the glossary:

S5: If you know a concept well, you can explain it more clearly rather than translating verbatim. Production will sound more natural.

S13: You will have a basic understanding of a topic/field. You know the logic behind speakers’ talks. You feel more confident in your output.

Reaction time will be shorter because you have prepared terms in advance.

140

S14: The glossary reduces the pressure of having to translate everything when interpreting. If you have prepared some sentence structures, they are readily available for you. The task becomes easier.

S18: For interpreters, the worst-case scenario is to get stuck. If you have prepared, you can use what you have prepared right away, which

contributes to smoother output.

Around half (40.2%) of the subjects in Q5-3 thought that the glossary would help cultivate the right attitude for class preparation. The building of the glossary, deemed some subjects, was a demonstration of attitude toward interpreting, not least in terms of thorough class preparation:

S2: I feel professionally obliged [to prepare]. Even if I fail when

interpreting, at least I have prepared. It is basic respect to the profession.

S4: It is about the thirst for knowledge. Do whatever you can to prepare for the class. Even if the glossary is eventually not useful, at least you have prepared one.

S13: [Glossary building] has become a habit. Whenever I get practicum opportunities now, I always make a glossary. I require myself to know more about a certain field. I impose high demands on myself when making a glossary.

141

S17: You make a glossary because you take the class seriously. You learn more from the class if you make a glossary. Even if the glossary is not useful for a class, you still absorb much knowledge during preparation. It is still helpful.

From the subjects’ perspective, a glossary could bring a variety of benefits, and most of them were well aware of the benefits.

Table 4.22 Pedagogical and long-term aspects of the glossary

Question Choices Counts Percentage

Q5-4: How do you think instructors can help you with your glossary-building? (multiple selections accepted)

By providing a word list before the class.

142

Q5-4 shows how instructors could help students build their glossaries from the latter’s perspective. More than 70% of the subjects agreed that instructors could

“recommend sources of the glossary” (79.4%) and “explain difficult terms in the glossary” (75.7%). Around 60% of the subjects thought it would be a good idea if instructors would provide a word list before a particular class. This agrees well with Q3-2, in which some subjects deemed the instructor’s introduction to interpreting materials to be very useful. “Sharing their own glossaries” received only 47.7%

probably because the glossary was considered a personal product.

Finally, the subjects were asked if they would continue the practice of building glossaries after they graduate. As many as 60.7% would do so as a life-long learner (under all circumstances), while 33.6% would do so only if they work as an

interpreter in the future. The two possibilities take up more than 90% of the total responses. This suggests that the vast majority of the subjects are very likely to carry on their glossary practice even if they leave school.

Many of the graduate institutes included in the study provide practicum sessions for students to hone their interpreting skills in real-life settings, in front of a real audience. How subjects utilize their glossary for such semi-real situations will

indicate whether subjects’ glossary practice extends to the real world. Q0-7 asked the subjects whether they had had any interpreting experience beyond the interpreting classroom:

Others.

(Yes, it's a habit already)

2 1.9%

143

Table 4.23 Practicum/real assignments and the glossary

More than half of the subjects (53.6%) had not done any real interpreting assignments by the time they filled out the questionnaire. This is considered reasonable as most of the subjects were still students at school. Some subjects may have already been working as a translator/interpreter before studying at a graduate institute of translation and interpretation. Others took part in practicum sessions arranged by their respective institutes. Those who had at least done one real interpreting assignment took about around 45% of the subjects.

When asked to tell whether there existed any difference between glossaries for classes and those for real assignments¹⁵, some interviewees mentioned that the latter would be more detailed (S1 and S3) and more accurate:

S1: The only difference concerns the names of guests and organizations.

Usually we do not have to prepare them because we only do one single speech in class. You will not cover all the speakers. When doing practicum, however, you need to cover everything on the agenda. In class, the focus would be on the content of the talk, rather than, say, the names of speakers.

15 “Do you use the glossary differently when interpreting in class and when doing practicum outside of class (in terms of its role, content, and function)?”

Question Choices Counts Percentage

Q0-7: Have you ever

144

S3: Glossary for practicum sessions would be more detailed. Practicum sessions are more stressful. In class, we focus less on who the speakers are and their names, but in real-life situations, that would take up the majority of space on the glossary. Instructors in class would say that you would naturally know who the speakers are at the assignment venue.

S8: I expect higher accuracy for glossaries used for real interpreting occasions. I will double check such glossaries. I do not necessarily do so for class. I would also make an effort to sort through the items and make the glossary look neat, for the ease of use and search.

The real working situations differ from the classroom, which may contribute to other differences between subjects’ glossary practice for the two occasions:

S2: The glossary would be shorter for practicum. For example, we have no desk to use but only the notebook at exhibitions. I would keep the glossary as small as can be tucked into my notebook.

S5: I seldom use the glossary online except when doing SI. When doing escort, I would bring my glossary but do not use it on the spot at all. For CI, it depends on the setup. If there is no table, I cannot lay out the paper or juggle note-taking with checking the glossary. I have to commit items to memory. The real situation is also more chaotic.

145

S14: I made much more effort to make such glossaries [for real

assignments]…There is no teacher to help you. It would be embarrassing if you do not do a good job in front of peers.

What’s most noteworthy is that some interviewees did mention that they would continue their glossary practice in real situations. For them, they treated every class as a real assignment to prepare for:

S7: I treat every class as a real assignment to prepare for.

S15: I treat class exercises as real assignments.

S19: I also make a glossary for real situations. I bring the habit from class to work.

As the results show, glossary practice may differ in real-life situations from the classroom. Yet, the latter, more often than not, is where the subjects first had exposure to the idea of glossary for interpreting purposes and actually built one glossary after another throughout the two-year training. The importance of the classroom as a bridge to real-world situations in terms of glossary practice, therefore, cannot be

overemphasized.

146