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for a short period of time without creating the neural mechanisms for later recall. Long-Term Memory occurs
when you have created neural pathways for storing ideas and information, which can then be recalled weeks,
months, or even years later. To create these pathways, you must make a deliberate attempt to encode the
information in the way you intend to recall it later. Long-term memory is a learning process. It is essentially an
important part of the interpreter's acquisition of knowledge, because information stored in LTM may last from
minutes to weeks, months, or even an entire life. The duration of STM is very short. It is up to 30 seconds.
Peterson found it to be 6 - 12 seconds, while Atkinson and Shiffrin and Hebb state it is 30 seconds. Memory in
interpreting only lasts for a short time. Once the interpreting assignment is over, the interpreter moves on to
another one, often with different context, subject and speakers. Therefore, the memory skills, which need to be
imparted to trainee interpreters, are STM skills. "The interpreter needs a good short-term memory to retain what
he or she has just heard and a good long-term memory to put the information into context. Ability to concentrate
is a factor as is the ability to analyse and process what is heard".
Mahmoodzadeh also emphasizes that a skilful interpreter is expected to "have a powerful memory".
The thing that is one of the most important in interpreting is memory training. The purpose of memory
(STM) training in interpreting is to achieve a better understanding of the source language, which will lead to
adequate interpreting. As Lin Yuru et al. put it, "memory in consecutive interpreting consists of nothing more
than understanding the meaning, which is conveyed by the words”. Understanding is the first step in successful
interpreting; therefore, memory training is to be provided in the early stage of interpreter training. Memory
functions are different in consecutive (CI) and simultaneous interpreting (SI), because the duration of memory is
longer in CI than in SI. There are different methods of training STM for CI and SI respectively. Interpreting
starts with the encoding of the information from the original speaker. According to Gile's Effort Model,
interpreting is an STM-centered activity; the process of interpreting could be re-postulated into:

Encoding of information from the Source Language + Storing Information + Retrieval of Information +
Decoding Information into the Target language.

There is probably up to 15 minutes (depending on the speaker's segments) for the interpreter to encode
and then store the information. This is the first phase of Gile's Effort Model for CI. In the second phase of Gile's
Model, the interpreter starts to retrieve information and decode it into the target language. In SI, encoding and
decoding of information happen almost at the same time. The duration for storing the information is very limited.
Therefore, in the first step of interpreting, encoding (understanding) information uttered in the SL is the key to
memory training.

One of the best exercises for memory training suggested by W.Zhong is the retelling in the Source
Language: the instructor either reads or plays a recording of a text of about 200 words for the trainees to retell in
the same language. The trainees should not be allowed to take any notes. In the first instance, trainees should be
encouraged to retell the text in the same words of the original to the largest possible extent.

Although the most important thing for the students of Translation Department is translating/interpreting I
suppose that firstly after the teacher has announced the topic there should come an introductory part, where the
teacher and the students discuss the topic. It helps to refresh the learners’ speech skills, which is very important
for further interpreting. At this point active vocabulary (special terms, realia if any) should be introduced and
discussed (forms, if it is a verb; plural form if it is some particular noun; collocations).

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