EFFECT OF BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE ON AUDITORY COMPREHENSION IN INTERPRETING COURSES
EFFECT OF BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE ON AUDITORY COMPREHENSION IN INTERPRETING COURSES

Author(s): Reima Al-Jarf
Subject(s): Theoretical Linguistics, Semantics, Higher Education , Translation Studies
Published by: Masarykova univerzita nakladatelství
Keywords: interpreting skills; foreign proper nouns auditory discrimination; meaning transfer; background knowledge;
Summary/Abstract: Saudi college students majoring in translation take six interpreting courses. In those courses, they practise listening to and interpreting authentic lectures in a variety of subject areas. Results of an interpreting pre-test showed that college students majoring in an interpreting course have problems with media reports. They have difficulty discriminating phonemes and comprehending the meaning of unfamiliar foreign proper nouns such as place name, names of politicians, organizations, chemicals or diseases that they encounter in oral media reports. Results of questionnaire-interviews with students showed that the source of difficulty was lack of prior knowledge and unfamiliarity with foreign proper names.

• Details
• Contents