Learning needs in consecutive interpreting: Survey of English majors at a private Chinese university

Fu Yunyun; Marilyn  Fernandez Deocampo

doi:10.62819/jel.2025.1438

Authors

Fu Yunyun Graduate School of Human Sciences, Assumption University, Bangkok, Thailand
Marilyn Fernandez Deocampo College of Foreign Languages, Guangdong University of Science and Technology, Dongguan, China

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.62819/jel.2025.1438

Keywords:

Chinese English majors, consecutive interpreting, interpreter training, learning needs

Abstract

This study examines the learning needs of English major undergraduates in consecutive interpreting (CI) at a private Chinese university, with a particular focus on their perceived linguistic and cognitive challenges, learning motivations and attitudes toward computer-assisted interpreting (CAI) tools, aiming to inform curriculum design and pedagogical practice. A mixed-methods approach was employed, incorporating a needs analysis questionnaire issued to 72 students. The findings reveal that students identify idiom translation and vocabulary expansion as the most significant linguistic difficulties; while listening comprehension and short-term memory (STM) emerge as their primary cognitive challenges. Investigation into student motivations demonstrates a hierarchical structure, with academic requirements as the primary driver, followed by career preparation and personal skill enhancement. Participants also demonstrated a strong enthusiasm for integrating CAI tools into their learning process. These results underscore the necessity of designing interpreter education curricula that simultaneously address cognitive and linguistic challenges while leveraging students’ strategic approach to technology. This study offers an empirical basis for refining the CI curriculum design and pedagogical practices.

References

Bao, G. (2011). Introducing interpreting studies. China International Translation and Publishing Co., Ltd.

Baran, E., Chuang, H.-H., & Thompson, A. (2011). TPACK: An emerging research and development tool for teacher educators. The Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology, 10, 370-377.

Berwick, R. (1989). Needs assessment in language programming: From theory to practice. In R. K. Johnson (Ed.), The Second Language Curriculum (pp. 48-62). Cambridge University Press.

Brindley, G. (1989). The role of needs analysis in adult ESL programme design. In R. K. Johnson (Ed.), The Second Language Curriculum (pp. 63-78). Cambridge University Press.

Chang, C.-c. (2018). English language needs of Chinese/English interpreting students: An error analysis of the Chinese-to-English short consecutive interpreting test. English Teaching & Learning, 42(3), 207-225. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42321-018-0011-7

Chen, S. (2017). The construct of cognitive load in interpreting and its measurement. Perspectives, 25, 640-657. https://doi.org/10.1080/0907676X.2016.1278026

Donald, K. (2000). A social constructivist approach to translator education: Empowerment from theory practice. Routledge.

Fantinuoli, C. (2016). InterpretBank redefining computer-assisted interpreting tools. Proceedings of the 38th Conference Translating and the Computer, 42-52.

Fantinuoli, C. (2023). Towards AI-enhanced computer-assisted interpreting. In G. Defrancq & B. C. P. (Eds.), Interpreting technologies – Current and Future Trends (pp. 47-73). John Benjamins Publishing Company.

Fantinuoli, C., Merchesini, G., Landan, D., & Horak, L. (2022). KUDO interpreter assist: Automated real-time support for remote interpretation. arXiv.

https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2201.01800

Gharaei, Z., & Ketabi, S. (2024). Learning needs analysis at different stages of an undergraduate course in consecutive interpreting. Journal of Language Horizons, 7(4), 63-85. https://doi.org/10.22051/lghor.2023.41041.1714

Gile, D. (2009). Basic concepts and models for interpreter and translator training (Rev. ed.). John Benjamins Publishing Company.

Gile, D. (2018). The effort models and gravitational model clarifications and update. [Report]. ResearchGate. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.21975.27049

Gile, D. (2021). The effort models of interpreting as a aidactic construct. In S. Sanjun & L. Defeng (Eds.), Advances in Cognitive Translation Studies (pp. 139-160). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-2070-6_7

Hutchinson, T., & Water, A. (1987). English for specific purposes. Cambridge University Press.

Igualada, M. T., & Echeverri, Á. (2019). Translator and interpreter training: Past, present and future. MonTI, 11, 29-46.

Jing, T. (2012). Curriculum design and effectiveness of interpreting training for undergraduate English majors: A case study at Dalian University of Foreign Languages [Master’s thesis, Shanghai International Studies University]. CNKI.

Li, X. (2025). Mapping the research landscape of interpreter and translator education. Routledge. https://doi.10.4324/9781003487494

Liu, J. (2020). Interpreter training in context--european and Chinese models reconsidered. Springer.

Liu, T., Wang, Y., Wang, Z., & Yu, H. (2025). Exploring cognitive effort and divergent thinking in metaphor translation using eye-tracking and EEG technology. Scientific Reports, 15(1), 1–12.

Liu, X. (2025) An inquiry into the teaching of note-taking based on Gile’s Model of consecutive interpretation. Journal of Changsha University, 39(4), 99–104.

Lu, H. (2018). An analysis of the reform of interpreting teaching models in private universities under the background of application-oriented transformation. Yanbian Journal of Education, 32(6), 58–60.

Macalister, J., & Nation, I. S. P. (2019). Needs analysis. In Language Curriculum Design (pp. 24-36). Routledge.

Pöchhacker, F. (2004). Introducing interpreting studies. Routledge.

Pöchhacker, F. (2016). Introducing interpreting studies (2nd Edition ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315649573

Rand Khalid Abdulrahman, L., & Gailan Mahmoud Al-Jubori, A. p. D. (2025). Exploring students’ attitudes towards teaching methods of consecutive interpreting. lark, 17(3), 267-242. https://doi.org/10.31185/lark.4436

Saleem, A., Kausar, H., & Deeba, F. (2021). Social constructivism: A new paradigm in teaching and learning environment. Perennial Journal of History, 2, 403-421. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.33258/birci.v4i3.2558

Seleskovitch, D., & Lederer, M. (1984). Interpréter pour traduire. Didier Érudition.

Setton, R., & Dawrant, A. (2016). Conference interpreting: A trainer’s guide. John Benjamins Publishing Company.

Sun, H., Zhao, Y., & Zhang, A. (2025). The cultivation model of master’s in interpreting with Chinese characteristics: A case study of the “SISU model”. Shanghai Journal of Translators, (5), 58–62.

Sweller, J. (2011). Cognitive load theory. In B. H. R. Jose P. Mestre (Ed.), Psychology of Learning and Motivation (Vol. 55, pp. 37-76). Academic Press. https://doi.org/doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-387691-1.00002-8.

Syahputra, B. P., Amri, Y. K., & Sagala, R. W. (2021). Linguistic competency analysis of consecutive interpreting results for 6th semester students of FKIP UMSU. Budapest International Research and Critics Institute-Journal, 4, 7092-7098.

Thao, N. T. M., & Huyen, N. T. (2023). Factors affecting the quality of consecutive interpretation at multi-media roooms: From lecturers’ perspective. VNU Journal of Foreign Studies, 39(2), 149-163. https://doi.org/10.63023/2525-2445/jfs.ulis.5069

Wang, H., & Liu, S. (2021). Research on technological turn of translation in the era of AI. Foreign Language Education, 42, 87-92. https://doi.org/10.16362/j.cnki.cn61-1023/h.2021.05.015

Wang, H., & Li, Z. (2022). Constructing a competence framework for interpreting te-chnologies, and related educational insights: An empirical study. The Interp-reter and Translator Trainer, 16(3), 367-390. https://doi.org/10.1080/1750399x.2022.2101850

Zhang, T., & Mao, T. (2023). Interactive alignment in interpreting training: A pedagogical experiment based on continuation task. Journal of Guizhou Education University, 39 (08), 53-59.