MAVLI

[Meaghan G]

I agree...don't feel funny for doing this. I do it too! I don't care if people think I'm talking to myself!! It really is good practice.

[Jenn Horvath]

While phrase shadowing in the car, why not hold your cell up to your face or attach one of those mic's that may have came with your phone but you never use -to your ear/mouth!
This way, you don't look as crazy.
I am loving this discussion!

[Glenda Pratt]

Those are good things to think about and do affect the situation greatly. Thank you Tracey for mentioning it. I have been known to try that copying the radio thing also out loud. Sometimes I find that I loose my train of thought right in the middle. Like my brain just shut off. Of course that may have something to do with the fact that I am driving and may have two tiny trouble makers in the back seat.

I appreciate everyone's ideas and comments. I do hope that this has benefited more than just me. Great discussion!

[Dawn-Marie Hildebrand]

Tracy, don't feel funny about practicing shadowing in the car. I do that too! Although...I do it out loud so people do look at me funny because they think I'm talking to myself perhaps I should try that whole 'practice in your head' thing.

[Tracy Swaitkewich]

Those are great approaches - I definately benefitted from using them. Now I want to throw something different out there. Please note that I am throwing this idea out there as a new colleague, as I am neither an AEIP student, nor an experienced/seasoned interpreter!

What kind of environment are you interpreting in, and is THAT also affecting your ability (or comfort level) in extending your process time?

Are you interpreting a course you're familiar with, or is it all new info? Have you done all you can with prepping for that class? Does the info consist of lists; numbers, names, dates, etc? I find that if I'm less comfortable with the material & language being used, I am less likely to 'hang back' (to put it loosely).
Other factors (as you already know ) would be the classroom dynamics (is it a lecture, or an interactive, animated class, with overlapping speech, or group work)? Is your positioning okay, or are you sitting by that darn overhead fan which impedes your ability to clearly hear the message, then causes you to expend most of your mental energy on clozure skills instead of processing and producing that target language message equivalent?!! One last thing...sleep deprivation would also affect your ability to 'hang back' - and we all know what that's like - smile.

Anyways, my point is, by all means be looking at different strategies on how to increase & improve on your processing time/ lag time or whatever you want to call it, BUT also take a step back and look at the full picture. See what (if any) things you can change, in addition to training your brain with the phrase shadowing and breathing exercises, etc.

Another suggestion? Okay, cat's out of the bag; for those of you who hadn't figured it out yet...yes, I'm a little strange (sarcasm!). One of the things I do sometimes while driving, is listen to the radio and practice my shadowing by repeating everything that's being said on the radio, inside my head. Laugh if you must , but I find this does help me. AND people aren't looking at me like I'm a freak, cause they've just caught me talking to myself while driving. ha ha

My apologies for being long winded. Just wanted to shift the perception a bit. Good luck Glenda.

[Glenda Pratt]

Thanks, these are great suggestions. Can anyone think of more?

[Meaghan G]

Good job Dawn-Marie....I guess that was the more obvious answer! Why didn't I think of that. haha

[Dawn-Marie Hildebrand]

Another excercise we did in AEIP that really helped me was Phrase Shadowing. You just listen to an English text, or Watch an ASL text and repeat after it (in the same language). The goal is to continuously stay a whole phrase behind without getting to close or missing info. It helps with cognitive skills; listening to one thing while saying something else. That way when you are actually interpreting it's less scary to try to wait longer because you are more confident that you will be able to retain the information.

[Meaghan G]

hmmm...that is a good question. As a new graduate, my advice would be to just wait for the point of the message. If the point hasn't been said, then there is nothing that can be interpreted yet. In class as a practice exercise, we would put our heads on the desk and just listen to Judy read us a few paragraphs of something. When we thought the point was made, we were to raise our hands....sometimes we waited for what felt like minutes before we raised our hands. This just proved to us that if we were interpreting that assignment, that is how long we would have had to wait before starting the interpretation. This is just something that you can practice on your own and may help you out. I don't know, just an idea. I don't know if it makes sense....if you have questions, let me know. I know that it really made us think though!!

[Glenda Pratt]

That is a good idea and I will take an extra breath but most of the time my brain stops processing more information while it counts and then I miss information. But I will certainly try that. Thanks

[Mandy MacDonald]

Hey there
I was told when I think I am ready to lift my hands count to 5 and that will give you more time to get that darn topic to come before the comment

[Glenda Pratt]

I am back to work now and trying to improve my interpreting. I have always found that my processing time was not very long. I am usually really close to the speaker and I notice that my interpreting suffers. I would like to lengthen my processing time so I am looking for advice. I am wondering what some of the AEIP students would suggest since they are learning this now and I would also like to know what the experienced interpreters would advise. I hope that this will stimulate some good discussion and help everyone improve their interpreting.