Contents introduction chapter definition and concepts of the methods of simultaneous interpretation

Consecutive interpretation
The consecutive mode relies heavily on taking structured notes. When used at on-site events, consecutive interpretation can only occur if an interpreter stands in close proximity to the presenter. While the speaker delivers a speech in their native language, the interpreter listens and remains silent for a few sentences. The original speaker has to pause every few sentences as the interpreter constantly interrupts the speech to deliver it in the target language.
Since the interpreter and the speaker have to take turns during consecutive interpretation, event duration increases, and audience engagement drops. These are the key reasons why consecutive interpretation loses in popularity to simultaneous interpreting.
To maintain audience engagement against all odds, consecutive interpreters rely on their short-term memory a lot. After reading their notes, they need a lot of practice to deliver the message concisely. Even though active listening is a significant part of interpretation, it differs from your regular talk with a friend. When listening, a consecutive interpreter’s goal is to remember and reproduce the meaning with the highest accuracy possible – a task that takes a lifetime to master.
In consecutive interpretation (Cl) the interpreter listens to the speaker of the source language while taking notes and awaits a pause (which can occur after a longer paragraph or part of the talk) or the end of the talk to transmit the message to the listener in the target language, using the notes as a supporting technique to organize and synthesize the output. Note-taking during the listening process fulfills a double function: it serves as an external storage device and produces also essential indices for the organization and reconstruction of the message in the target language (di Vesta and Gray 1972). It can therefore be considered an external tool in active information processing. Although there is a tendency to favour notetaking in the target language, there is no clear consensus on the question whether notes should be taken in the source or the target language. Research has shown though that performance in Cl can be optimized by paying maximal attention during the listening process, making use of well-developed strategies of note-taking (e.g., use of symbols (Rozan 1956)) and the extraction of the focus of information as well as a high degree of automatization of parts of the process during listening, note-taking, analysis, and synthesis (Gile 1991 ).