Simultaneous translation

[Noelle_Rancourt]

Dear all,


I would be grateful for advice or experiences with facilitation using simultaneous translation, including how much it affects timing.


My office is assisting with the delivery of a training seminar of 25 mid-level government officials from 17 different Arab states on monitoring the implementation of the UN Convention Against Corruption. The training we have in mind involves a lot of back and forth between small group work and plenary. Although I understand that Arabic is a common language for the group, not all of the facilitators speak Arabic (e.g. the ones from our office, who are doing most of the planning). Participants also speak a mix of English and French, as do the main trainers.


As I see it, the way this would work would be to hold plenary sessions in English, with simultaneous translation into Arabic. Work in small groups would be done in whatever language groups are most comfortable using, with handouts available in both English and Arabic. Reporting back from small groups could be done by English speakers.


The limitations would be felt most in large group discussions, in cases where the trainer does not speak Arabic. In these cases, the time would be doubled for the facilitator to take in the comments of English-speaking participants, and it could become agonizing for the group as a whole. To minimize the problem, as much as possible, facilitation would be carried out by an Arabic speaker, with ourselves (non-Arabic speakers) providing guidance, and stepping in with comments as necessary, if left out in the translation.


On the whole though, I'm coming round to the idea that small group work might be less tiring for participants, as it would at least give them a break from translation!


Welcoming any ideas on this!

Kind regards,
Noelle

[Simon_Wilson]

Hi Noelle

This does not answer your question but I have sometimes found it useful to consider the difference between people who do not speak a language at all and those who have some understanding. If everyone is in a group (small or plenary) is able at least to understand each other's language you can use the approach of 'each speaks their own language' - so for instance in English/French exchanges I would speak English but listen in French and French colleagues would speak French and listen in English. This gets rid of the need for formal translation.

Not sure if this applies to any of your groups or sub-groups...

Best wishes

Simon

[Cameron_Fraser]

In Canada we often run facilitation sessions with simultaneous translation, particularly those of us working on governement projects. It slows things down a bit but is not, generally, a significant difficulty. There are a couple of considerations:

Treat the languages as equal. Any participant, or facilitator, can use whichever language they choose at any time.
The unilingual facilitators need to have the headsets as well. This allows presenters to speak in the language of their choice rather than requiring them to speak English
As facilitator, adjust the volume on your head set so you can hear the translation but can still hear the tone of voice of the speaker in the background. Your translators will get the words but will rarely get the tone and we know how important that is.
Be aware that those listening to you translated into another language aren't getting your exact words or your tone. Misunderstandings can arise.
On a related point, have an Arabic speaking facilitator listen to the translation into Arabic. They can catch differences in nuance and errors in translation
Have co facilitators and trade off regularly...its tiring...the listening is simply harder work than usual.

[Sheila_LeGeros]

Hello Noelle,

I find the ToP® methods work exceptionally well in multilingual environments. One benefit of ToP is that there is a lot of individual and small group work, which allows people time to think and talk in their native language without an interpreter. I found I can get a strategic plan done in two languages in about twice the time it takes to do it in one language using ToP. If you know ToP, I can share with you the modications I have done to ToP to make it even more friendly in multilingual environments.

Another question to consider is which dialect of Arabic to use? There is a standardized version called Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) which is used in formal situations. Make sure that all participants speak MSA and spec it to your interpreters.

Another tip is to get your interpreter(s) on the planning team right away. They can give valuable advise, and the more they understand about what is happening at the meeting, the better off they will be. I try to arrive at least 2 days in advance of the meeting, so that I can have the interpreter translate all of my flip charts into the local language, and we can review the process together one last time. I prepare the charts in English advance, and leave a large space for the local language. You and your interpreter are basically a team, and you need to review how things are going throughout the process. Get their advise during breaks and at the end of the day on how to improve.

When I undertake the kind of work you're doing, I provide training to the group at the beginning on how to effectively use an interpreter. Once people become aware that the manner in which they speak has a great deal of influence on the interpreter's ability to interpret, they are able to change their speech patterns to increase the accuracy and completeness of interpretation.

Given the sensitive topic, and the number of countries involved, I also recommend you think about how to get them speaking in Arabic as much as possible (you don't have to understand everything they're saying). How do you make them feel comfortable sharing with each other from the outset? The level of trust in the group needs to be high in order for these conversations to be meaningful. Perhaps you can begin the trust building by having the group design their own guidelines for behavior. I wonder if there's a common reason they all share for wanting to undertake this challenging work? If that reason can be noted at the outset, then it helps to build a common bond between them, even though they come from different countries.

Best regards,
Sheila LeGeros
www.legerosintl.com