A dynamic approach to understanding motivation in an interpreting course

Guided by a dynamic systems theory framework, this study observed and investigated how the motivation of students learning interpreting changed during an undergraduate English-Chinese interpreting course, with the aim of delineating, if any, typical trajectories. Nine students submitted anonymous reflective learning logs five times to yield qualitative data; one of the nine participated in an in-depth interview. All the data were coded and analysed on the basis of grounded theory. The findings revealed the intra- and inter-individual variability in terms of motivational dynamics, which constantly evolved and interacted with a variety of factors. For these students, high motivation in the initial conditions did not guarantee stable performance later. Throughout the study, the students self-organised into different attractor states under the influence of various internal and external elements. For them, an encouraging teacher led to increased motivation, whereas deeply ingrained diffidence eroded it. Two swing factors, which refer to factors that either strengthen or weaken motivation, were mid-term exams and practice. Furthermore, an archetype of a strongly motivated student was identified and discussed at length, thereby adding another piece of jigsaw to the broader picture of motivational dynamics in second language acquisition. The conclusions drawn from the present study are expected to enhance the understanding of teachers and researchers about the intricate nature of language-learning motivation, especially for interpreting learning, and the encompassing potential embedded in dynamic systems theory.