Teaching consecutive interpretation as a way to develop professional competences of future specialists in international affairs

The article makes the case that the skills of consecutive interpretation are the key ones among professionally relevant competencies of modern specialists involved in international relations. Focusing on the specificity and complexity of the interpretation process, the author considers the issue of cross-language asymmetry.The author gives ground for making consecutive interpretation the object of analysis by emphasizing the fact that the related training modes are, on the one hand, cross-functional and multifaceted, and, on the other hand, universal. Their convenience and usefulness for both students and teachers are highlighted, since they help identify learning problems of special importance, was to fix them and elaborate new strategies for interpretation skills development.The purpose of the paper is to reveal and analyze the most typical mistakes in interpretation as well as outline methods of their prevention. The author sums up a number of theoretical sources, that serve as the main methodological basis for the analysis of the phenomena in question, and reflects on her own teaching experience at MGIMO University.The methods of analysis applied herein comprise elements of generalization and classification, contextual and semantic analysis, pragmafunctional analysis, empiric investigation through observation and experiment.The presented analysis results in the overview and the rationale of the most common translation mistakes arising in the process of students’ mastering skills of bilingual consecutive interpretation, and the set of suggested corrective exercises. The paper highlights the value of propaedeutic work and the process of building up successful learners’ activities