Difficulties of Simultaneous Interpreting from ‎Translation Students‏'‏‎ Perspective

Abstract

The present study is a survey that explored the difficulties of simultaneous interpreting (SI) for translation students. The survey addressed the senior translation students in the Kurdistan Region, asking them about the troubles of SI from English into Kurdish or Arabic in the classrooms. Relying on the available models in interpreting studies reviewed by Pöchhacker (2004), this study assessed the students` difficulties in SI from the linguistic, cultural, cognitive, interactional, and translational aspects. For this purpose, a questionnaire was designed and distributed among the students, covering the issues relevant to the cited dimensions. Sixty respondents participated in the survey, whose responses were statistically analyzed and discussed in this paper. The results revealed that the cognitive issues- i.e., comprehending fast speaking, concentration, memorization, controlling stress, encyclopedic knowledge, and strategic thinking- formed the highest degree of difficulty (22%) for the students. In sum, working on all aspects of SI should be emphasized by the translation teachers in the classroom to pave the way for developing the students` skills and abilities in these respects.