Forced to go online: A case study of learning consecutive and simultaneous interpreting under Covid-19 in Iraq

Authors

  • Hala Ghanim Mohammed Mustansirriyah University
  • Balsam Mustafa

Keywords:

Online learning, synchronous, asynchronous, consecutive interpreting, simultaneous interpreting

Abstract

This paper explores the perspectives of Iraqi undergraduates studying consecutive and simultaneous interpreting (CI, SI) in the Department of Translation at Mustansiriyah University in Iraq following the sudden transition to the online environment due to Covid-19. The online mode of teaching and learning has never been adopted in Iraq before. This study, therefore, aims to investigate the challenges and opportunities that have emerged from this unprecedented experience of online learning. It does so by adopting a mixed-method approach combining an online survey and two online focus group sessions. We also conducted two online pilot experiments to test the feasibility of the Zoom app to teach CI and SI synchronously. The main findings of this study suggest that while a synchronous online learning environment would potentially contribute to enhancing interpreting skills, the online mode cannot totally replace actual classes in the Iraqi higher education context unless a rigorous infrastructure is first established.

Author Biographies

  • Hala Ghanim Mohammed, Mustansirriyah University

    Hala G. Mohammed is a lecturer in interpreting studies at Mustansiriyah University, Department of Translation and Interpreting Studies in Iraq. She has MA in Interpreting and Translation from University of Salford–UK (September- 2013), and her main research interests are interpreting studies and blended learning.

  • Balsam Mustafa

    Dr Balsam Mustafa is an HEA Fellow and Leverhulme Early-Career Researcher in the United Kingdom. She received her PhD degree in Modern Languages (Translation Studies) from the University of Birmingham in December, 2018.  She worked as a Teaching Fellow at the department of Political Sciences and International Studies in the same university. She had previously worked as a lecturer in translation and interpreting studies at Mustansiriyah University, Baghdad, Iraq. She is author of 'Islamic State' in translation: Four atrocities, multiple narratives.

Downloads

Published

2023-02-28

Issue

Vol. 15 No. 1 (2023): Translation & Interpreting

Section

Articles

License

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
  1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
  2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).