The Effect and Issues of Interpretation Training Applied to General English Learning

The number of universities which offer interpretation training courses has been increasing recently. There seems to be two reasons for this trend. One is that universities respond to recent social demands for bilingual speakers and studentsﾕ curiosity about interpretation training. The other one is that instructors are becoming aware of the effectiveness of interpretation training applied to general English learning. This paper proposes to apply interpretation training such as quick response, shadowing and sight translation to general English learning to improve overall English competence and points out its effect and problems by analyzing studentsﾕ views on interpretation training class based on their responses to questionnaires. The positive comments on their improvement of English competence by most of the students show the effectiveness of interpretation training for general English learning. However, modifying interpretation training which usually requires a high command of English to university studentsﾕ levels is an issue instructors need to consider