The process and product of note-taking and consecutive interpreting: empirical data from professionals and students

Consecutive interpreting (CI) plays a crucial role in interpreting practice and education. To gain a better understanding of the skills and competencies needed on the path to consecutive expertise, this study collects empirical data from 22 professional interpreters and 22 students in terms of both the process and product of note-taking and CI in two interpreting directions. Important differences are found between the two groups. During note-taking, the professional group showed such features as higher writing speed, shorter time lag, larger note size, and lower note density than the students. The data also revealed different patterns in their use of symbols and choice of language. As for interpreting quality, the largest difference was found in information completeness, followed by fluency of delivery. Moreover, directionality was found to play an important role in interacting with the differences. Findings of this study point to some areas requiring special attention in CI training.