Formation of Conversational Skills among Linguists-translators when teaching Chinese as a foreign Language

Tsao Panpan ORCID: 0000-0003-4586-1237 PhD in Pedagogy Postgraduate student, Department of Foreign Languages and Translation, Ural Federal University named after the First President of Russia B. N. Yeltsin 620036, Russia, Sverdlovskaya oblast', g. Ekaterinburg, ul. Brusnichnaya, 7 tsaopanpan@yandex.ru

In a rapidly changing world, it is necessary to respond promptly to the challenges of the time. The training of linguists-translators specializing in Chinese in Russian universities implies mandatory training in interpretation and translation. Teaching methods vary, but as a result, the translator must have not only a broad outlook, well-read, but also translation intuition.

Theoretical issues of teaching a foreign language were studied in the works of N. D. Galskova, R. P. Milrud, N. I. Geza, etc.; intercultural communication was covered in the works of O. A. Leontovich, V. G. Zinchenko, etc. The problem of teaching Chinese was touched upon in the studies of I.V. Kochergin, O.A. Maslovets, K.A. Lozovskaya, N. A. Demina, V.A. Kurdyumova. N.A. Demina emphasizes that currently teachers pay increased attention to the transfer of knowledge about the language to students, but not the skills of proficiency in it. This problem requires careful consideration, since there is currently no educational standard of teaching and effective methods of teaching Chinese as a foreign language.

The subject of the study is the formation of oral speech skills among linguists-translators. In the course of writing the article, general scientific methods of deduction and induction, methods of comparative analysis were used. The scientific novelty consists in the study of the features of the competence approach in the formation of oral conversational skills among linguists-translators.

The purpose of this article is to study the features of the formation of oral speech skills among linguists-translators.

 To achieve the designated goal , it is necessary:

? consider the types of translation,

? consider the characteristics and methods of teaching interpretation,

? identify effective exercises,

? Create guidelines.

Currently, the methodology of teaching Chinese has not been sufficiently developed, but attempts are currently being made to improve it with the help of Confucius Institutes and classes functioning in the Russian Federation (hereinafter referred to as the Russian Federation) ^{[6, p. 124]}.

Bi Jiwan emphasizes that "communicative rules are historical cultural sedimentation (different cultures have different communicative rules). The main feature of communicative rules is awareness and correction of communicative actions and ways of behavior in an intercultural context; correct and tactful resolution of obstacles and conflicts with cultural differences in customs and habits, norms of behavior, concepts of values, etc." ^{[11, p. 67]}

The key task in the process of training an interpreter, in addition to improving linguistic competence, is to create a comprehensive knowledge system, which manifests itself as the highest awareness, special erudition. Yu. O. Shvetsova emphasizes that "translation erudition is the ability to apply an individual complex of structured extralinguistic knowledge in situations of professional activity, which is correlated with the global goal of learning — the formation of translation competence" ^{[12, p. 87]}. An interpreter is implemented in many professional fields, generalizing several areas of knowledge, therefore, he is distinguished by a specific way of thinking, which is required for the rapid transformation of extralinguistic information that is necessary for a translation situation ^{[1, p. 40]}.

Hypothesis. To form the skills of oral colloquial speech among linguists-translators, it is necessary to practice speech individually and in a group, apply exercises that allow you to deeply explore the studied culture and traditions, navigate the industry vocabulary. To prove the hypothesis, it is necessary to consider the types of translation, identify their advantages and disadvantages, and the features of practical Chinese language teaching.

Interpretation is more complex in terms of implementation than written translation, in which the translator has enough time to familiarize himself with the content and form of the document he is working on ^{[13, p. 69]}. A professional specializing in interpretation should be able to translate a statement once heard, taking into account all its linguistic and cultural aspects, focusing on specialized, industry-specific vocabulary.

There are two types of interpretation:

? Synchronous,

? Consistent.

Simultaneous translation consists in simultaneous translation of the content transmitted orally at a specific time. The translator must be extremely concentrated and must be able to simultaneously translate the content of the speech to the addressees, being in the context of the speech. During consecutive translation, the speaker teaches a fragment of speech, and then pauses, during which the translator translates the statement into the selected translation language.

A professional translator specializing in consecutive translation should not only be fluent in Chinese and Russian, but also have high stress resistance accompanying public speeches and the ability to act in conditions of time constraints, which all interpreters have to cope with ^{[3, p. 112]}.

Simultaneous translation is considered to be the most difficult to implement than sequential translation, which is due to the need to fix in memory the content and meaning of statements and their immediate translation into the target language. Therefore, a translator specializing in simultaneous translation should have a very good memory and the ability to quickly construct stylistically and grammatically correct sentences, especially important when translating using specialized industry vocabulary.

In the case of consecutive translation, the translator's ability to remember the most important points of speech and transmit them in another language to listeners is of great importance ^{[16, p. 243]}. The physical barrier that almost all interpreters specializing in sequential translation face is the limited possibilities of short—term memory - it is possible to memorize from 5 to 8 speech fragments and reproduce them within 30 seconds, therefore, an important working tool of a sequential translator is a notebook in which he writes down the most important moments of the speaker's speech. When translating sequentially, it is important to convey the meaning of the statement, and not its verbatim presentation.

To teach Chinese in the Russian Federation, the opposition "language" — "speech" is used, which implies:

? familiarity with the language material,

? Speech practice.

Linguists-translators must have the skill of translation:

? oral,

? from a sheet,

? Two-sided.

In practical terms, these types of translation should be made taking into account the rules of word combinations ^{[15, p. 41]}.

A significant disadvantage of teaching oral colloquial speech is its insufficiency, which can contribute to the language barrier. This is especially true when studying Chinese, since there is a tone system in this language, and linguists-translators must constantly work out the oral part ^{[5, p. 84]}. It hinders the acquisition of a profession and limits the possibilities of self-expression and understanding.

I. V. Kochergin notes that "... the main problem lies in the organization of the learning process turned upside down. Instead of a logical sequence: qualification characteristic — curriculum - textbook, we often have a very incomplete and not specific qualification characteristic, based more on intuition, subjective vision of the subject than on a scientific basis, curriculum and in no way related to either the first or the second educational material" ^{[4, p. 19-20]}.

In the Russian Federation, a "Practical Chinese language course" is used for the initial level, which is an arrangement of the textbook "Shiun Hanyu Kaben". It contains specialized exercises that help to develop the skill of oral communication ^{[2, p. 212]}.

When teaching Chinese in the process of forming oral communication skills among linguists-translators, a set of methods with an emphasis on communication should be used ^{[8, p. 224]}. The use of only a communicative approach is not entirely effective, since the linguistic structure of the Chinese language is specific, it is distinguished by the presence of:

? hieroglyphic writing,

? a special phonetic, lexical and grammatical system.

Teaching the linguistic basics of the Chinese language requires more time than when teaching Western languages ^{[14, p. 6]}. As Tan Aoshuang points out, the effective model of language learning is: Russian — meaning — Chinese ^{[10, p. 503]}.

When forming oral conversational skills among linguists-translators, it is necessary to focus on intercultural communicative competence that promotes confident oral speech, allowing active interaction ^{[9, p. 57]}, which implies mastering:

? Speech,

? linguistic,

? discursive,

? socio - cultural,

? compensatory , etc . competencies ^{[7, pp. 98-99]}.

To prove the hypothesis, intelligence diagnostics was carried out among the 3rd and 4th year students (total number – 22 people). They were asked to make a written translation and a summary of the article in writing, which was given as a homework assignment. The performance was evaluated according to 5 criteria: literacy, consistency, completeness of presentation, unity of composition and style. The analysis of tasks showed that students perform tasks at an average level when translating from their native language into Chinese – 6 and 7 points out of 10. Translation and abstracting from Chinese into Russian was performed on 5 and 6 points. In the course of increasing the amount of oral and written speech practice, active work in a group and individually during the control exercise, the subjects increased the level of points.

Thus, we come to the following conclusions. To form the skills of oral colloquial speech among linguists-translators, it is necessary to practice speech individually and in a group, apply exercises that allow you to deeply explore the studied culture and traditions, navigate the industry vocabulary.

We will offer methodological recommendations for the formation of oral conversational skills among linguists-translators:

1. Significant skills are knowledge of Chinese culture, negotiation, therefore, preparatory work should include independent and classroom work of linguists-translators in this direction, as well as the creation of a glossary, additional knowledge in a certain professional field.

2. Articulation gymnastics should precede practical exercises. It not only develops the correct sound reproduction, but also allows you to develop memory.

Sound- producing exercises are different:? improving all types of memory,

? improving attention,

? maintaining the speech tempo,

? vocabulary replenishment.

For exercises, it is necessary to use excerpts from films, authentic conversations.

3. Functional principle. It is necessary to focus on the material that allows you to actively practice oral speech. The units of vocabulary and grammar of Chinese are given in a certain context, in stages.

4. Analysis of monologues and dialogues, analysis of errors is key in teaching oral speech skills to linguists—translators. All students can participate in the discussions.

5. The inclusion of different types of games during the training of two-way translation is important for the training of speech skills. So, there is a dramatization of the negotiation process in a certain professional field. After staging, it is necessary to summarize, discuss the translation, identify its advantages and disadvantages.

6. It is necessary to use materials that were collected in China:

? replicas from TV series,

? Ads,

? audio materials,

? interviews, etc.

 The use of the indicated materials is effective, since the pace of Russian speech is slower, and the translator must get used to it. Linguists-translators get acquainted with the authentic speech of native speakers, in the context of real communication, often with a strong accent.

7. For the development of socio-cultural competence of linguists-translators, it is necessary that the materials have a linguoculturological orientation. To form the skills of oral colloquial speech in linguists-translators, it is necessary to include a set of non-equivalent vocabulary, phraseological turns, speech cliches, oral analysis of articles in Russian and Chinese of a linguistic and cultural nature.