Motivational Profiles of Chinese Undergraduate English Majors in Translation Learning — A Mix-Methods Approach

Motivation is regarded as a key factor influencing students’ learning performance. In translation teaching research, motivation, one of students’ key learning variables, remains an important domain to be further explored. This study aims to inquire into the types of Chinese English majors’ motivation in translation learning and account for their motivational profiles. 34 third-year English majors participated in this study. They were administered to a motivation test using a revised Attitude / Motivation Test Battery (short for AMTB). The results show that: 1) overall, motivations in translation learning among English majors were moderately strong; 2) instrumental motivations were statistically higher than valuational motivations in translation learning among English majors. Subsequent interviews with the students reveal reasons behind the uneven levels of motivations, including institute-related, administrative-related and self-related factors. Some measures are suggested to help boost students’ motivation, especially valuational ones in translation learning. Findings from this study may have pedagogical implications for translation teaching research in the Chinese context.