Profile: Luo Jing, teacher at School of Foreign Language and Literature, Wuhan University, wined the first prize for the foreign language group of the 5th Hubei Young Teachers Teaching Competition and was awarded “Hubei May 1 Labor Medal” in 2016.
“Mr. President, the right of national self-determination……” After a simultaneous interpreting training in the “booths” (a small room for interpreting), Luo Jing was asking the MTI students to take turns to interpret each paragraph again.
Owing to the long distance between the platform and the round table where the students were seated, only by straightening up her back and craning can Luo Jing see them through the gap between the two chairs. She believes a teacher should not only pay attention to students’ voices when they are interpreting, but also observe their facial expressions. Finally, she stood up, walked towards the front of the round table, and moved away the two chairs so as to fully keep the students in her sight.
One student just finished the interpreting as she came over. Luo Jing started to comment on the interpreting, word by word and sentence by sentence. “You’ve done well in these two parts, basically correct. Besides, some words were interpreted especially well, did anyone ever noticed how she dealt with that word?” “Great, does anyone have any other expressions?” “I noticed an expression in your interpreting……”
The students were taking notes of those key vocabulary while listening to Luo’s fluent English demonstration with standard pronunciation. In Luo’s class, interpreting materials from the textbooks are often replaced by the latest speeches and talks she collected through various channels. It takes Luo Jing almost seven or eight hours to prepare for a three-hour class. All places can be her brain office to consider and collect the materials suitable for class practice--the subway back home, her kitchen and when watching foreign news, etc. What’s more, she would record her interpreting if clients permit, which will later be a part of her in-class interpreting material. .
Luo Jing has another four courses this term. She has to be well-prepared to meet the specific needs of students varying from undergraduates to graduates.
Due to her long-time talking in class and interpreting practice after class, Luo Jing often has a sore throat. “It does always hurt. Sometimes I even don’t want to talk much at home. But, sometimes like today, I feel what I’ve done was quite worthwhile. I saw those students’ process in the booths. The previous silence was gone. They now dare to speak up and are able to achieve a balance between listening and interpreting. ”
Apart from “professional”, Luo Jing is also labeled by her students with “interesting” and “warm-hearted”. “I have been Luo’s student since I was a freshman, she was brilliant at impromptu interpreting,” said Geng Zihan, a MTI( Master of Translation and Interpreting) student, “Luo would combine practices with some interesting current affairs and play some English talk show pieces during breaks, enabling us to learn native English in a comparatively relaxing mood. At the very beginning, we were too shy to interpret loudly and always had difficulty in simultaneous interpreting. Luo would always encourage us patiently and gave us confidence.”
Luo Jing often guides her student to participate in some interpreting competitions and relevant activities so as to increase their practical experiences. “I understand that all simultaneous interpreters would go through a bottleneck period, so did I. To deal with it, we have no choice but keep practicing. That’s why I want to encourage my students more and help them build self-confidence.”
(Rewritten by Zheng Xiaoxia)
(Edited by Zheng Lingling, Shen Yuxi, Liu Jiachen and Liu Xiaoli)
