Sources of Motivation and Demotivation in BA Students of English Translation

The Students’ Perspective

Abstract

This study sought to explore the sources of both motivation and demotivation among BA students of English Translation from their own perspective. Employing a qualitative, exploratory research design, this study gathered data from fifty volunteer undergraduate translation students, through an open-ended questionnaire. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the students' responses. The results showed that the participants’ motivation and demotivation are justifiable within self-determination theory framework. Both intrinsic and extrinsic motivational factors were identified with extrinsic elements being more frequently stated by the students as the reason to choose translation as a specialization. In addition, regarding their academic experience throughout their studies, factors such as existence of engaging and relevant pedagogy, inspirational and supportive instructors, and positive peer interaction were reported as strong motivators to support the students’ psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Conversely, the most significant demotivating factors were an outdated and impractical curriculum and ineffective teaching methods, which were particularly characterized by the lack of attendance to technology-related concerns of the students such as CAT and AI tool integration. Moreover, shortage of meaningful feedback, pressures from anxiety-inducing assessments, and job market concerns in the age of AI were also identified to be demotivating.

Keywords: Demotivation, Motivation, Self-Determination Theory (SDT)