THE MOCK CONFERENCE AS A TEACHING TOOL TO PROMOTE COMMUNICATION AND INTERPRETING SKILLS

The paper focuses on such a multidimensional learning activity as a mock conference (MC) and aims to cover MCs’ design, framework and teaching effect relying on the account of recent academic events held by the Chair of Linguistics and Translation Studies (Moscow City University). Despite its status of being a well-established and viable teaching tool, MC’s design, framework and teaching effect are still relatively under-researched.

Trainee interpreters are taught in MC-format in their practical courses on oral / written translation of English and Russian economic texts. At the beginning of the term students are offered research issues for teams of 4-6 students. Each team is to submit an abstract proposal to contribute to MC. An elected organizing committee publishes the programme of the event.

Relying on role-play, MC allows a wide range of roles such as the team leader – the chair (who distributes the roles and moderates the roundtable discussion); the team leader assistant (who is to circulate information among the team members, makes calls, etc.); the proceedings consultant (who works on timing requirements); the role of supporter (provides evidence, arranges the data); the challenger (who is being critical); the expert (who does research into the problem) (English Communication Perspectives 2013: 13). As a team of economists, political scientists, lawyers, columnists, bloggers, etc. students are to swap their opinions about the growing phenomena in question (e.g. fake news, white-collar crime, black swans, soft power, Bitcoin as the world’s leading cryptocurrency, the paradox of investing in terms of the ‘new economy’, etc.) and suggest a problem-solving stratagem. MC’s panel sessions are accompanied by English-to-Russian simultaneous interpreting. Each panel discussion follows with Q&A (questions and answers) session. Students’ performances are videotaped and then analysed for better design of the follow-up MCs.

MCs help students develop relevant communication skills relying on social setting analysis and proceeding to practicing the suggested communication patterns as well as promote their interpreting skills. The format proves to be a stimulating and beneficial experience as professional and psychological competence, strategic competence and many other non-linguistic dimensions may be better instilled at MCs than through traditional interpreting classes.