Identifying the causes of errors in students’ consecutive interpreting performances : Looking for hints in student journals & interviews with students

The present study describes my experience of teaching undergraduate translation and interpreting (T&I) majors how to improve their performance in Korean-into-English (K-E) consecutive interpreting (CI). The present study i) offers an account of classroom interactions in a fourth-year K-E CI course designated for advanced students; ii) describes how students performed CI in the classroom; iii) analyzes student journals and interviews with students; and iv) attempts to identify the causes of the errors in student CI performances. In essence, this paper argues the need to identify causes of CI errors students frequently commit in the classroom so that they can continue to make progress in their CI performances. A lot of times, critiques in the CI classroom focus almost entirely on the production phase of CI. Nonetheless, a CI error in the production phase is almost always the effect of a certain cause that can be traced back to the reception phase. By providing customized feedback that befits the particular student s level, students will be able to aim for a reachable goal and make progress in phases.