Control and value of learning activities: Two Things Everyone Should Know About Translation Students’ Motivation

Abstract

The idea of putting students at the center of all educational efforts has entered translation studies discourse and one of its fundamental aims has bee to get to know students (of translation) betterit has been based on the idea of better knowing the students. A literature review and the results of an empirical study based on translation internship reports suggest that students’ perceptions about who controls learning outcomes and about the value of learning activities contribute to loss of self-confidence. According to the principles of social-cognitive theory (Bandura, 1977), self-confidence is the basis of motivation. This theoretical article describes two aspects of motivation that are essential for student-centered approaches: the control students can exert over learning activities and the value they attribute to such activities.