Translation, Cognition & Behavior - Online First

This study explores coaching as a pedagogical framework to enhance translation learners’ competence development through a problem-solving lens. Grounded in three core assumptions — translation essentially as a complex, iterative process of resolving ill-structured problems; translation competence as an ill-structured problem-solving competence with translation thinking abilities as its core; and the necessity of cultivating learners’ translation thinking and facilitating their translation learning processes to promote translation competence development and acquisition — the research proposes an interconnection model integrating constructivism, complexity theory, and metacognitive self-regulation. To operationalize this framework, two sub-models are introduced: (1) the Translation Problem-Solving Coaching (TPSC) model, which guides learners through structured cycles to develop adaptive thinking; and (2) the Student-Centred Learning Process Coaching (SCLPC) model, which supports learners in aligning their learning processes with goals. Case-based validation illustrates how coaching scaffolds cognitive and metacognitive growth. Implications for translation pedagogy are discussed.

This study investigates the role of personality and motivation in shaping Chinese translators’ extra-role behaviors (ERBs) — discretionary and unrewarded actions that contribute to project success — through Self-Determination Theory. Although there is growing interest in translators’ motivation, the motivational underpinnings of translators’ ERBs remain underexplored, particularly in non-Western contexts. To address this gap, we developed and validated an ERB scale through a thematic analysis of 38 interviews and factor analyses of 522 survey responses, identifying conscientiousness, help, and voice as ERB subdimensions. We used partial least squares structural equation modeling to examine how Core Self-Evaluations and motivation profiles affect ERBs, with role perception as a psychological mediator. The results reveal distinct motivational pathways for affiliative and challenging ERBs and offer insights into optimizing incentives for ERB engagement. The study contributes to motivation theory and translation studies by elucidating the psychological mechanisms underlying translators’ ERBs, with implications for training and professional practice.