“At advanced levels, where grammar has been more or less mastered, the main difference between foreign students and native speakers is that the latter have been exposed to their language for many years, over thousands and thousands of hours. As a result they have a wider cultural and contextual understanding of the language, a wider vocabulary and a commands of a wider range of registers. Constant contact with the language and the subjects that are discussed in that language mean that native-speakers have a huge head start on foreign learners.” (From Conference Interpreting – a Student’s Practice book, Andrew Gillies)
Interpreting students therefore have to make a continued effort (over and above the long periods of time spent in the countries where their foreign languages are spoken) to expand their knowledge of their languages, not just in terms of technical vocabulary but also in terms of register and cultural knowledge. In this film Andy Gillies presents 3 exercises, which, if done regularly, can help you to catch up with native-speakers.
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¡Qué interesante! Estos consejos me vienen de perlas. Habrá que ponerlos en práctica.
I really enjoyed this video